Decline of NHL Winter Classic: Causes and Betting Trends

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00:00The winter classic is their crown jewel.

00:06Now, it has lost some luster over the years, in my opinion at least, and you probably as

00:12well being a huge hockey guy.

00:15This used to be something you really looked forward to, great venues, classic teams, you

00:21know, you get sometimes the snow like the first one in Bob was Pittsburgh and Buffalo

00:25at the Ralph.

00:27What's happened to it the last few years, David, because I even from like a betting

00:30perspective of it, I was mentioned before the break.

00:34It's typically always an under.

00:36It's always a tough game to get goals in.

00:39Now they're moving it to New Year's Eve, playing it at five o'clock in Chicago at Wrigley.

00:45What do you think's happened in the winter classic and how can they kind of get that

00:49spark back?

00:50Mike, first of all, Happy New Year.

00:53Merry Christmas.

00:54Happy holidays.

00:55Okay.

00:56I know I haven't seen you, but I know how busy it is in the book.

01:00The winter classic always, you know, it was like the precursor to the bowl games on New

01:07Year's Day.

01:08It was, it was early out West.

01:09It was always an under.

01:11I used to sit in and tell the guys to bet the under it got low.

01:17It was always an issue with the quality of the ice because now, you know, making a game

01:24outside in different places where maybe it was going to be cold enough.

01:28Maybe it wasn't, maybe it was going to snow.

01:30Maybe it wasn't.

01:31Sometimes it rained.

01:32You always had a question about the ice and now they've gotten, making ice better.

01:37And now there's more stuff going on on New Year's Day.

01:40I mean, we just saw it on Christmas.

01:42Christmas used to be an NBA day.

01:44It's no longer an NBA day.

01:46So now the NHL is making moves and, and I don't know, I would give the NHL credit for

01:52a lot of things being adaptable to the situation, making a shift change.

01:59They've done it pretty well.

02:00They've embraced the gambling more than other leagues and moving, you know, the winter classic

02:06to New Year's Eve where there's really a bunch of bowl games and one very important bowl

02:11game.

02:12You know, at least to me and Penn State people, instead of on New Year's Day is not a bad

02:17move, putting two teams in the Midwest, the Wrigley field, not a bad move.

02:22I don't know, Mike, this might not be an over for, for winter classic.

02:27That's my first thought because the over today with the Blackhawks and the Sabres who are

02:33favored minus what the game's going over today, the game in Wrigley is that the winter classic

02:43is going to go over actually.

02:45Well, like I was saying to you that they've played at Wrigley once before, I think it

02:49was the second or third time they did it.

02:51And it was a six, four game.

02:52It was a 10 goal game, Blackhawks and Red Wings, but that was so long.

02:56It's so long ago when they played that for me, Dave, it's two things of what happened

03:01to them.

03:02Number one, New Year's Day used to not have any important bowl games right before the

03:07new college football playoff.

03:09Even when there was four teams in the college football playoff, you know, it would maybe

03:14the Rose Bowl, maybe the night game would be involved.

03:17Now you have from noon all the way to midnight, important college football playoff games.

03:23So that's going to get it pushed to the side.

03:24I like that they're doing it at five before the Fiesta, which of course this year is the

03:29Penn State game, which is going to matter the most eight o'clock.

03:32And the other thing that I think is, has hurt them, Dave, is they added all these other

03:36outdoor games that, you know, in January, why do you know, you have such a great thing

03:41that people look forward to.

03:42And then three weeks from now, you know, you got Washington and the Hurricanes playing

03:46and Navy, you know, and they have all this, like they do all these things that don't make

03:51said Columbus at the shoe against somebody like those aren't like, it's just the same

03:57serious games.

03:58Take the luster off of it.

04:00Like anything else, when you do it good, they want more of it and they want to make more

04:05money in a lot of times it's greed.

04:07A lot of times it's just, Oh, that really worked.

04:10Let's do that again.

04:11Well, the reason it really worked because less is more and it's a unique thing.

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