THE “STATE OF HOCKEY” WILL HOST THE WINTER CLASSIC THIS WEEKEND

Every sport has an all-star game of some sort where the best of all the athletes in their respective sport get together and play together. The NHL has something that’s better than a lazily played exhibition game where defense becomes non-existent: The Winter Classic. For the past 12 years they have played a hockey game as it was truly meant to be played, outdoors on a frozen sheet. You don’t have to be a hockey fan to appreciate the majesty of watching a sport out in the elements as if you were watching a bunch of kids out on the frozen pond on a crip winter’s evening. And it will be crisp! With subzero temperatures this weekend it will feel like hockey weather in Minneapolis at Target Field where the annual game is being played. The Minnesota Wild take on the St. Louis Blues on a field that is usually used on sunny summer days for the Twins to play on. There is always a great turnout for the game, and it should be even better in Minnesota, nicknamed “The State Of Hockey” ever since the Wild were formed in 1997. The NHL finally figured out that this is where the true hockey fans south of the border reside. I have to admit I’m a bit jealous of those that get to celebrate the New Year being at the biggest spectacle in hockey that isn’t the Stanley Cup. I’ve read reports that it will be so cold that they will need to actually WARM the ice to play the game. Whodda thunk it? No matter the weather or whether you enjoy hockey it will be a great boost the economy on both Minneapolis and St. Paul as thousands gather to see them drop the puck outside. GO WILD!