Those Seattle sports fans hoping to cut back on their holiday excess are going to have their resolve tested this New Year’s weekend.
The NHL’s sold-out 2024 Winter Classic is a very nice side dish, but football is the main course.
Coach Dave Hakstol declared, “You can’t really encapsulate how great of a sports city this is any better than we can over the next 36 hours,” following the Seattle Kraken’s outdoor practice on Sunday at T-Mobile Park, home of the MLB’s Seattle Mariners.
The Vegas Golden Knights and the Kraken square off in the Pacific Division on Monday at 12:00 PT. First, though, about 70,000 football fans flocked to the Seattle Seahawks game on Sunday, hoping a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers would keep their hopes of making the playoffs alive.
“My son and a couple of his buddies were on the ice for the family skate,” Hakstol stated. “They’re racing over to go see the Seahawks game because they’re excited to be part of that.”
A few of the Kraken players intended to visit the game as well.
T-Mobile Park is directly next door to Lumen Field. The NHL’s free Fan Village is positioned in the north parking lot of the stadium, and although the league anticipates more foot traffic from the Seahawks game, a line of hockey fans wearing Golden Knights and Kraken uniforms had formed as early as the first quarter.
Highlights of the fun-for-all event include playing air hockey on a massive table, touring the United by Hockey mobile museum, and participating in games and activities with a hockey theme, ranging from the classic’shoot into a dryer,’ Crosby-style, to getting state-of-the-art analysis comparable to the new NHL Edge data.
The stadium arrangement is stunning as always, with maritime accents that complement the Kraken’s mythology. The shipwreck near center field, which sank after hitting the enigmatic sea creature’s tentacles, is a sight to behold. The shipwreck also houses the stage where renowned Heart will rock out during the first intermission, Seattle’s Sir Mix-a-Lot will lend his flavor to the player introductions, and during the second half, there will be a salute to the city’s thriving sports community.
On Sunday, players and coaches from both teams expressed their delight at participating in such a unique event, which took place in nearly perfect conditions with temperatures in the mid-40s Fahrenheit and partly cloudy skies.
“I tried to tell the guys to try and absorb everything,” stated Bruce Cassidy, the coach of Vegas. It’s distinct. Make sure your family likes it, and you should too.”
Matty Beniers is a resident of the Boston region, and when he was seven years old in 2010, he went to Fenway Park for the first outdoor classic. Ever since then, his dream has been to play baseball for one of the local schools.
“When (Boston College) would play, my dad was out there with his beer league team, playing a game at Fenway before the game actually happened,” he said. “Then you see all the other colleges; they use those outdoor rinks to play games.” I believe that’s how I approached it more—as a collegiate athlete. However, now that you’re here, it’s kind of wonderful to look back and say, “Hey, I got to play in one, and I went to all these other ones.”
There are two crucial points at stake for both teams even though the NHL’s outdoor games are all about spectacle and drawing crowds outside of the die-hard hockey fan.
The Golden Knights had a rocky start to the season, losing four games in a row, before emerging from the Christmas break with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.
When the time is right, his players will find their focus, according to Cassidy.
“We’re a very competitive group, and I think for our guys, the bigger the game, they get a little more juices going into it,” he stated. “Knowing our group, I believe that’s how we will handle it. Because of the stage they are on, all they will want to do is win. That’s just the way our guys are wired, not that it’s a switch you flick or anything.”
After Philipp Grubauer sustained a lower-body injury on December 10, the hosts enter Monday’s game riding a four-game winning streak, points in their previous eight games, and strong goaltending from Joey Daccord.
Grubauer is not anticipated to be activated for the game, but he did skate on Sunday and show off his adorable custom setup for the occasion.
Despite having a 6-1-3 record in their past ten games, the Kraken still have more games to play. They were three points off of a wild-card berth in the west going into Sunday’s games.
A football game that will be of great significance to fans of Seattle sports will take place in New Orleans, 2,500 miles away, after Monday’s Winter Classic.
The 2024 Sugar Bowl features college football’s 13-0 Washington Huskies against the 12-1 Texas Longhorns, which is expected to be a major local draw as well. The College Football Playoff Final will take place at NRG Stadium in Houston on January 8; the winner advances to play the winner of Monday’s Rose Bowl. Kickoff for the semifinal is set for 5:45 p.m. PT.
Defenseman Vince Dunn of Seattle stated, “Hopefully everyone will be up early—using our game, maybe, as a pre-drink for that one.” Being able to host something at home is fantastic for us. There will be a fantastic environment, I promise.”
Furthermore, don’t undervalue the allure of getting to apply some eye-black makeup.
“In hockey, we don’t get many opportunities to do that,” defenseman Alec Martinez of Vegas stated. “We see football and baseball players doing it, and it looks pretty cool.”