Taking Hockey Back To Its Roots
- Sunday, February 20, 2011 11:06 AM
- Written By: Josh Marks
Ice hockey was birthed on outdoor frozen ponds in Nova Scotia, Canada, in the 19th century. Over 200 years later the game is played indoors in big city arenas underneath high definition video boards. But there is a movement to take hockey back to its roots outdoors -- away from the big business of professional hockey and the overly regimented and pressure-filled youth hockey leagues.
Today's is NBC's Hockey Day in America -- a day long celebration of the fastest sport in the world and how it has grown at the grassroots level here in the United States. And not just in the far north, but in nontraditional places such as the African-American community of Anacostia in Southeast Washington, D.C. The special is being broadcast from Chicago's Millennium Park ice skating rink and features a segment on the National Pond Hockey Tournament in Wisconsin.
And later this evening the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic will be broadcast live on Versus. The game pits the Calgary Flames against the Montreal Canadiens from McMahon Stadium on the campus of the University of Calgary. The event is basically Canada's version of the popular Winter Classic, which this year took place at a rainy Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
But it is too cold in Alberta for rain. This game is going to be hockey at its purest form. Under the big, cold Canadian sky, these two franchises will go back to their childhood days of playing on the frozen ponds and backyard rinks. Back to when there were no rules, no refs, no money, no pressure, no parents. Just neighborhood kids playing for fun and building memories that will last a lifetime.
Meanwhile, enjoy this excellent documentary courtesy of Snag Films on the history of pond hockey and how ingrained outdoor hockey is to the fabric of life in Minnesota.
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