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Heritage Classic Weekend Finishes for Proud City

October 24, 2016, 11:37 AM ET [16 Comments]
Peter Tessier
Winnipeg Jets Blogger •Winnipeg Jets Writer • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Heritage Classic Weekend Finishes for Proud City


Let’s be honest, the Heritage Classic is not about the hockey. The hockey is basically an after thought and for the Jets yesterday, after the first 10 mins it appeared they felt that way too. They suffered a 3-0 defeat to the upstart Oilers based around mistakes, lack lustre play, and perhaps a bit of luck. However, after 5 games this season the Jets may have to really consider what the idea and role of ‘luck’ means to them. Right now if they are not benefitting from good luck they are not doing much to thwart bad luck coming against them.

But the hockey, or quality of it was an after thought this weekend. For most fans these 4-5, days, depending on your celebration and commitment level, are about reliving the past while relishing in the present.

The Heritage Classic is an event, it’s a production, and at it’s core it’s a celebration of the city, the team, the legacy, the fans and the future. In this case, the Winnipeg Jets and True North Sports and Entertainment came out on top, and by a long margin.


I can’t find the original source to the quote but I do trust that Carlo would not tweet it without it being accurate but I think this sums up how fans felt and outsiders saw the city:





The event itself was somewhat odd. Like most things at IGF, Investors Group Field, it’s an awkward walk around to get anywhere. There are only 4 access points for spectators and to get to them you have to go through and around parking lots or fan experience areas. Then you line up, and lines were the theme this weekend, and then you wait.

The stadium and surrounding areas were great and the weather was very cooperative all weekend, but like anything at IGF, once inside and not sitting watching the game there were problems. The first was the NHL Fan Experience Plaza. Let’s be clear when you have 30,000 people coming to an event you don’t skimp on the size of your fan experience area.

There was plenty to do in the Fan Plaza but not accessible in any way for the amount of people attending. Shooting, and virtual reality and contests and such should be reserved for kids. If you are going to make it a beer garden and concert separate the two, by a big wide margin. I wonder if any other Winnipeg organizations would like to get that liquor permit for open area with kids permitted all over? I’ve never seen that happen before.


Heritage classic

Aside from the size of the fan plaza I’m sure it was great if you could experience anything.

The games though, they were fun especially the pre-game warmups and announcements. With two large screens at either end of the venue being far away didn’t have too much of an effect for any fan. I had my concerns about putting a hockey rink in the middle of a CFL field, one that is significantly bigger than NFL ones but probably not as awkward as baseball stadiums.

In IGF it was alright, especially if you were up top.

Heritage classic

Even from the concourse below on the 100 level the views were good.

Heritage classic

But if you wanted to watch the game like you would normally you did need to be up higher.

Heritage classic

The truly odd thing about the experience of watching hockey in a stadium was the sound. For the actual NHL game the league and it’s team had microphones all around the rink and then piped the sounds through speakers located further away and shooting it out to the fans. Amplified hits, sticks sounds, pucks and such is a strange sensation, in some ways it takes reality and makes it seem rather unreal. This is not so much a criticism as observation.

For most fans though, the games were almost second fiddle to the event, the spectacle of putting a hockey game on in a football stadium and the accompanying hubris all seemed to overshadow the hockey. Now had the Jets shown up after the first 10 minutes of yesterday’s game this might be a different scenario and this story has a much different ending.

That being said no one should ever accuse the NHL of not learning from past mistakes with these kinds of events. With the Heritage game being somewhat of a lacking hockey experience the league and teams played it out the best they could and just like in WWE fashion the ending was something only a story teller could make up. Was it a fix? Who cares but like wrestling, give the fans what they want and let them go home smiling.




Always leave them smiling and Selanne did that as did the entire event. There were warts but some if not most were not the NHL’s doing there were the same flaws that happen at every event at IGF and really, only the most cynical seemed to care. Now it’s time for the city and the team to get back to reality and onto the less fun business of hockey.
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