WinterFest/ Winter classic Final thoughts

[MTU_Huskies963 398]

I am just curious to know what people's thoughts were of the Entire event. I thought overall the NHL/Detroit did an excellent job. Some of my thoughts,

Positives:

-Really enjoyed the Fanfest next to comercia it was cool seeing the Question and Answer sessions with the alumni

-The HOF exhibit was really nice (kind of crowded)

- The Parking for the Winter Classic was not as bad as I thought it would be. Paid $5 to park in Downtown Ann Arbor and walked to the stadium. We did have the option of taking the shuttle though.

-Michigan and Michigan State did not make it to the GLI championship game

-The atmosphere was electric at the winter classic. Both fan bases sang their national anthem

Negatives:

-I went to the concession stand twice, waited 20 minutes both times, just to be told they were out of hot chocolate.

-The Lines for the bathrooms were horrendous, if you could even find the line. Even at a UofM game they are not that bad. The main issue was everyone was coming up from the stands during intermission, and just made it horrible to navigate to the bathrooms. They could have brought in porta-johns.

[stillwater 186]

What?

You waited 20 minutes for hot chocolate? You were told they were out of it and you stood in line for hot chocolate .... AGAIN?

[MTU_Huskies963 398]

What?

You waited 20 minutes for hot chocolate? You were told they were out of it and you stood in line for hot chocolate .... AGAIN?

Right before game time I waited and they said they would have more in 20 minutes. To make it worse my friend got the last one! So I tried again during the first intermission at a different concession stand, and they ran out again!

Edit: I only waited 20 minutes. Some guy was complaining because he waited 40 minutes haha

Edited January 2, 2014 by MTU_Huskies963

[shoe 165]

I had no idea the seating was going to be as tight as it was I mean people were practically climbing over each other to get down the rows.

I dont think we will ever see something as "classic" as that game was though, the pictures that I have seen look incredible, being there in a sea of fans one half chanting LETS GO RED WINGS and right after Go Leafs GO, and then back to LETS GO RED WINGS, Go Leafs Go ect ect ect and when it died out not much longer it starts up again.

Amazing

Too bad people missed parts of the game trying to get food drinks and long washroom line ups. The scene at the mall parking lot after the game was ridiculous, I feel like they organized it so well to get everyone in there but getting home not so much thanks for your money good luck getting home see ya.

PS How many snow plows are there in Michigan 2?

[ToledoWingsFan 8]

Yeah, we sat in the mall parking lot for upwards of two hours. Not to mention the shuttle ride that took almost an hour.

[Vladinator16 236]

Thought it was great!

My only complaints are what you guys have already mentioned.

At the first intermission I figured I would go to the merchandise building and get a few souvenirs (and some hand warmers) and had to wait 20-25 minutes just to get in. Then there was trying to get back to my seat, lucky for me I was in section 32 which conveniently the entrance tunnel was shared with a restroom which caused a giant log jam that made it impossible to get through (seriously it took 10 minutes to get through the damn tunnel). By the time I made it back to my seat after I got up at the end of the 1st I got back with 8:26 left in the second. I didn't even bother trying to use a restroom I just held it til after the game and I got home, lines were ridiculous.

Absolutely amazing atmosphere for the game though, couldn't have picked a more wintery day for a winter classic and the fans and energy in the crowd was amazing.

Wasn't able to make it down to Comerica at all so can't really comment on that but from what I've heard it sounded like a real blast!

[thegerkin 189]

I didn't attend personally, but I think the whole weekend was absolutely great. Pretty much everything went off without a hitch. I'm bummed that the Wings lost in the SO, but it was still a damn fun game to watch. And on top of that, seeing the Russian Five and all four members of the Grind Line on the ice. I realized how much I miss Fedorov skating for Detroit. He skates so smooth and fast. Nice to see Stevie Y, Shanny, Lids, Lapointe, Little Ball of Hate, Rafalski, etc... Lots of nostalgia for sure

[Hockeymom1960 5,107]

[MTU_Huskies963 398]

I had no idea the seating was going to be as tight as it was I mean people were practically climbing over each other to get down the rows.

I dont think we will ever see something as "classic" as that game was though, the pictures that I have seen look incredible, being there in a sea of fans one half chanting LETS GO RED WINGS and right after Go Leafs GO, and then back to LETS GO RED WINGS, Go Leafs Go ect ect ect and when it died out not much longer it starts up again.

Amazing

Too bad people missed parts of the game trying to get food drinks and long washroom line ups. The scene at the mall parking lot after the game was ridiculous, I feel like they organized it so well to get everyone in there but getting home not so much thanks for your money good luck getting home see ya.

PS How many snow plows are there in Michigan 2?

Yep that's the big house for you, it's horrible. Did you see 2 snow plows? I did not see any on the drive home haha. The Road Commision was one of the first things to get funding reduced when the economy tanked in MI.

[Din758 371]

Awesome experience. My seats were in the "leafs section", and even though we were completely surrounded by them, they were all pretty cool.

Biggest problem was definitely the bathrooms. I ended up missing 3/4 of the 2nd period from walking all over the stadium for a bathroom. I was given bad advice on where to go by the ushers, which was probably the biggest issue since I was able to cut in line when I finally found them.

Really sweet though overall.

[Manny>Ozzie(by a long shot) 55]

The Winter Festival was awesome. Saw several Wings alumni. Ran into Chelios in the Molson tent just hanging out having a beer. Saw Fischer, Larionov. Draper and Dino also. Pretty cool for $5.

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Looking at the pictures, stories and the rewatching the game itself to me is just amazing. Wish we could've been there if somebody ever mentions again, that nobody cares about hockey just link them this picture

The only WC that will come close to this will be Toronto Montreal. It's amazing to have such a great owner making all of this possible another reason why the new arena should be called Ilitch Placa.

[MTU_Huskies963 398]

Looking at the pictures, stories and the rewatching the game itself to me is just amazing. Wish we could've been there if somebody ever mentions again, that nobody cares about hockey just link them this picture

The only WC that will come close to this will be Toronto Montreal. It's amazing to have such a great owner making all of this possible another reason why the new arena should be called Ilitch Placa.

Wait until the gigapixel picture comes out that will be really amazing. They took one right before/at puck drop.

[vladdy16 2,154]

Does anyone do better justice to a fedora?

[RedWingsRox 614]

just curious ... what was the take home amount for the 50/50? $100K?

[DRW Dominance 255]

like i just posted in the game day thread....i ended up with box seats in the leaf alumni box. it was beyond amazing and did not have to deal with any bathroom/food concerns. for everyone else it sounds pretty rough....waiting for the bathrooms that long would have been difficult for sure.

[BottleOfSmoke 5,965]

Wait until the gigapixel picture comes out that will be really amazing. They took one right before/at puck drop.

Ooooohhh, I didn't realize they did this! Where will it be available, do you know?

[TheUkrainian 49]

I believe the take home amount for the raffle was between 45 and 48k.

My friend and I got seats in the leafs area (section 37), but there were quite a few Wings fans around us, including some from Toronto. Lots of playful back and forth, but everyone was having a great time.

I agree about the parking and snow crews. We parked at the mall and walked to/from the stadium. You think they would've at least tried to clear the sidewalks a bit...saw more than a dozen people fall in the snow/slush and a few bit patches of ice. Same deal on the way back. When we got back to the parking lot around 6, my friend decided to try and leave, but I went inside the mall to grab a bite to eat. After an hour, he calls me and says he's on his way back because they closed the road on him twice and made him turn around. He got to the mall around 8, and said the traffic was still not going anywhere. We ended up staying till 9 and it had finally cleared up, but the roads were crap.

It was an awesome experience, but as previously noted, the seating sucked, especially since people were layered up. Saw a guy spill 2 beers as he was trying to get to his seat after slipping on some slush. Never again am I going to the big house for a game haha. The entrances to the actual seating area should be more in the middle of all the rows instead of being so high up. The stadium crews also could've at least salted the ramps leading up to the stadium. Saw several people fall, and a lot more almost fall while clutching the one handrail. I know you can blame some of this on the snowstorm, but they knew it was coming.

[TheUkrainian 49]

Panorama picture from my seat (13th row):

Crowd singing along to Sweet Caroline:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152187444762774&set=vb.624092773&type=2&theater

[stillwater 186]

That looks like a particularly bad view of the rink.

Was it bad from there? I had tickets and gave them away. Beer rep tickets.

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

Loved the event, so many good things. However one thing stood out that I was waiting along time for.

This guy.

[BottleOfSmoke 5,965]

Loved the event, so many good things. However one thing stood out that I was waiting along time for.

This guy.

He looked so happy. Not a dry eye in the stadium, including my own.

[Miss Wing Queen 154]

just curious ... what was the take home amount for the 50/50? $100K?

Take home was around $75K.

[MTU_Huskies963 398]

Ooooohhh, I didn't realize they did this! Where will it be available, do you know?

I have no idea, they only mentioned it once during the game. I have not heard anything since then. I'd say give it a week or two before it's released.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

John Shannon was part of "Prime Time Sports" on Sportsnet 590 The Fan today and suggested that the League should consider having a Winter Classic game at Michigan Stadium every five years.