I won't be watching the NHL's All-Star game. I won't be taking in any of the pre-game festivities that include the Skills Competition or the YoungStars game. I won't actually hear any sound files on the television about the NHL's new direction when it comes to the uniforms the plays will wear next season. And I'll have to read about the results and live vicariously though pictures.
I remember growing up as a kid, probably 10, maybe 11 or 12, and watching the Skills Competition on TV (readily available, what?!) and watching players dance around pilons on the ice, timing their trials. I remember watching players fire ridiculously fast slap-shots and being amazed that a puck can travel in excess of 100 MPH (ask Al MacInnis!). And who can forget Ray Bourque's accuracy on net? All of those festivities, including the game itself, make for an amazing All-Star event... possibly the best of its type among the other sports leagues in this country. While I did get into the Quarterback Challenges during the mid-90s, those weren't directly tied to the NFL Pro Bowl (not that I can recall) and they only focused on one aspect of the game - the quarterback. The NHL Skills Competition takes players from ALL positions and puts their abilities to the test - for the benefit of bragging rights around the league and for the bewilderment and excitement of the fans watching. What other sport does that? Baseball has the Home-run Derby, and the NBA has a Slam Dunk Competition (and even a 3-point Shootout, too?). But where the other leagues miss, the NHL nails it perfectly.
After watching these kind of events, you immediately become tied to players who excelled in certain areas. You instantaneously remember facts like what I mentioned earlier. That's what also makes these events special - you learn more about the players in the league that you wouldn't normally be exposed to, whether it be because of scheduling or because you're just the "casual fan". Putting a face/name/number to a particular skill makes that person noteworthy and you'll be hard-placed to forget them for at least excelling in that particular skill. I mean, we all know that Ilya Kovalchuk has a wicked-fast slap-slot from the point when he can hit the one-timer, but if for one night we can put a number attached to that slap-shot ("OMG, he just put a 110+ MPH slapper in the net from in between the circles/on the blueline/etc.!!!"), we know what to fear and what to be proud of as fans.
I'm just a bit sad that I'm going to miss these events that I think I've seen only a handful of times growing up. I was sooooo excited when I heard that the All-Star game was coming to Atlanta in the '04-'05 season. And yeah, like everyone else, I was pretty letdown when the lockout happened and cancelled the season. What really hit hard, though, was that I was going to miss the All-Star festivities AGAIN. Even when it comes to where I live, I miss out on it somehow. Now that it WILL make its stop in Atlanta next season, it's really pointless to say that, "I'm excited about this!" I know what happens when these events take place - the city gets transformed as the best hockey players from the best hockey league in the world converge in one area for a few days and everyone celebrates their abilities. Of course, there are the things I mentioned, but there are many more things for the fans to take in. I could just imagine the GWCC opening its doors to hockey fans from across the world and exposing them to every single facet of the game - from the uniforms, to the Stanley Cup, to All-Stars of yesteryear, to collector's items, to apparel from every team... you get the point.
Just be glad that you have this opportunity, Dallas, and soak it up. But come next year, I'm going buck-wild during those days that the hockey world puts all of its attention on Atlanta.
For a magnitude of information about the events going on this week in Dallas, the NHL website has a whole area devoted to just this (and rightfully so!).
NHL '06'-'07 All-Star Game in Dallas: http://www.nhl.com/allstar/2007/index.html
All-Star festivities for fans: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=285594
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