Detroit dazzles with Frozen Four
-By Mike Moore-
Detroit - If a picture can tell a thousand words, Mike Hoffman had quite the story for his friends and family when he got back to Milwaukee.
Part of a dozen or so fans creating their own standing room section, Hoffman leaned forward, armed with his digital camera and determined to capture every angle of this spectacle that he could.
First he aimed forward, then to the side, then up, and once more at the view in front of him.
“This is pretty cool,” he uttered, his expression already saying the same thing. “I’ll never forget any of this.”
And with that another picture was snapped, another piece of history recorded.
-World record twice over-
Hoffman certainly wasn’t alone setting off the flashbulbs, nor will he be in rare company of those who took home a ticket stub of history. But by the time this April 10 NCAA hockey championship game concluded — a 5-0 victory for Boston College over the University of Wisconsin — the official attendance of 37,592 at Ford Field would set a world-indoor record for a hockey game, breaking the old record of 34,954, set all of two nights before.
——————————————————————————————-
Photo taken by C&G photographer Patricia O’Blenes
——————————————————————————————-
The three-game attendance of 72,546 was the most ever for the Frozen Four, which played in a non-hockey arena for the first time ever in 2010.
“I love how it looks and the atmosphere it creates,” Hoffman, donning a Wisconsin jacket added about the layout of the rink, which sat in the west end zone and ran from one sideline to the other. “I left Milwaukee around 5:30 a.m. (April 8) in order to beat Chicago traffic and I’ve been down here ever since. It’s been great.”
Teddy McGourthy, also from Milwaukee, dealt with the interesting dilemma of traveling from Badger Country but rooting for the Eagles.
“My father played football at Boston College. My brother played baseball, my sister went there, and my nephew is there now,” he said with a laugh, defending his allegiances.
But asked about the Frozen Four, which he attended all three games, and the city of Detroit as a host, McGourthy couldn’t lay out his praise quick enough.
“I’ve been to a lot of sports towns, Boston and Chicago for example, but I learned very quickly the people of Detroit are very passionate about their sports,” McGourthy explained. The Frozen Four was a perfect excuse for his first trip to the Motor City. “I’m not surprised at all at the turnout here. I mean, it’s Hockeytown after all, isn’t it?”
——————————————————————————————-
Photo taken by C&G photographer Patricia O’Blenes
——————————————————————————————-
McGourthy considered going to the Tigers’ game on the afternoon of April 10, but instead took part in a Boston College pre-game party at one of the local bars downtown.
“This whole experience,” he continued, “being down here and seeing this city and everything has been great.”
-Near perfect-
While official numbers weren’t released at press time, organizers expected the Frozen Four to generate anywhere from $7-10 million dollars of revenue in the downtown area.
Coupled with the Tigers home opener on April 9, the city, needless to say, was alive and well.
“We went to the Tigers game (April 10), stayed down here and then came to this,” Roseville resident Gary Fleming said while watching the championship. “I’m not surprised with the amount of people that have been down here, but the number of out-of-towners has been crazy. We saw a ton of Wisconsin and Boston College people at the (Tigers) game and at the bars and everywhere we’ve been.”
And while most comments in regards to the Frozen Four were positive, it’d be tough to be entirely perfect.
Fleming, who was at the final with his brother Paul, bought tickets more than a year ago and spent $200 each to sit in the risers that were installed on the east side of the rink.
“We should have gotten the 40-dollar package,” Gary Fleming said. “The seats in the risers were way too low. There was too much of the ice that you simply couldn’t see from where we were sitting. For the Final Four (2009) they had the court off the ground some. I wish there was a way they could have down the same here.”
“I was hardly impressed with all of this,” Minnesota resident James Sterly said, with a smile. “The seating is too far from the ice, no matter where you are. The stadium is too big for hockey and that takes away from the atmosphere. I’ve been impressed with the whole downtown experience, but as far as the stadium setup is concerned, I didn’t like it.”
-Frozen forever-
With nearly 40,000 people buying into the event — 30,000 tickets were sold prior to the teams even reaching the semifinals — seeing the typical hockey venue in the typical hockey atmosphere was never the chief concern.
“It was about the experience,” McGourthy said. “I think a lot of people are here to support the sport of hockey and the NCAA and to be a part of history. After seeing this, I honestly believe Detroit should host more of these. It’s like the perfect city for things like this.”
Hoffman may not have gotten the result he was looking for on the final night of his stay. Yet, even with his beloved Badgers struggling to keep pace with Boston College, the picture taking continued.
“I can’t be too upset,” he joked. “I’ve got friends at both schools.”
He’s also got a part of history, captured one photo after another, a story to tell a thousand times over without a single word.
——————————————————————————————
This story was originally published on the C&G Web site. To view it, Click Here.
Mike Moore can be reached at mjm12@albion.edu.
