Re: Worst Frozen Four Ever
One comment/question about the title of this thread: For the old-timers around here, do people really think that the overall Frozen Four experience was worse this year than in Cincinnati in 1996? From my point of view (and as stated by many others on the board over the past few weeks), the overall experience comes down to three things: the fan experience outside of the games, the facility itself, and the games. Looking at each individually:
- Fan experience: IMHO, there is no question that Detroit was far ahead of Cinci in this regard. My most memorable non-game experience in Cinci was hundreds of people storming a grossly understaffed Skyline Chili between semifinal games, because there was just about nothing else around the arena. The event was a non-event in the city, and virtually no preparations were made to make people feel welcome. The comments on this thread and others about Detroit, on the other hand, are very positive, with plenty to do around the venue, a host organization that made a real effort to welcome people, etc.
- The facility: Cinci wins, but by a much closer margin than you would expect. Other than the fact that the arena was a basketball/hockey facility, it had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The food was awful, the seats were ripped, a Zamboni broke down before the first game even began, and, if I recall correctly, the facility staff had a touch of a problem with the ice . Ford Field was the opposite--the "smaller" things were very good. It was the "big" ones that were the problem
- The games themselves: In terms of excitment, of course Cinci wins. Of course, this isn't really something you can credit or blame the host committee for.
Any thoughts?
One comment/question about the title of this thread: For the old-timers around here, do people really think that the overall Frozen Four experience was worse this year than in Cincinnati in 1996? From my point of view (and as stated by many others on the board over the past few weeks), the overall experience comes down to three things: the fan experience outside of the games, the facility itself, and the games. Looking at each individually:
- Fan experience: IMHO, there is no question that Detroit was far ahead of Cinci in this regard. My most memorable non-game experience in Cinci was hundreds of people storming a grossly understaffed Skyline Chili between semifinal games, because there was just about nothing else around the arena. The event was a non-event in the city, and virtually no preparations were made to make people feel welcome. The comments on this thread and others about Detroit, on the other hand, are very positive, with plenty to do around the venue, a host organization that made a real effort to welcome people, etc.
- The facility: Cinci wins, but by a much closer margin than you would expect. Other than the fact that the arena was a basketball/hockey facility, it had no redeeming qualities whatsoever. The food was awful, the seats were ripped, a Zamboni broke down before the first game even began, and, if I recall correctly, the facility staff had a touch of a problem with the ice . Ford Field was the opposite--the "smaller" things were very good. It was the "big" ones that were the problem
- The games themselves: In terms of excitment, of course Cinci wins. Of course, this isn't really something you can credit or blame the host committee for.
Any thoughts?
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