Unpredictable Texas: Everything that you didn’t know about the outdoor hockey, bitches
Dallas Cotton Bowl gathered more than 85 thousand fans.
Photo: Arnold Gold
Ryan Clare appeared near the Texas state fairgrounds much earlier before another historic event on the Cotton Bowl Stadium. And no, geeks, that was not Texas-Oklahoma football match, quite a typical event to October. Being a hockey fan and the Stars for more than two decades, Clare had never visited Red River competition before.
Clare was one among 85,630 who got tickets to the NHL’s Winter Classic for Dallas’ 4-2 win over Nashville. He mentioned, that it was a unique event, that happened once in a life. And hell yeah! The outdoor hockey in Texas is a fucking spectacular show with racing pigs and smashing fireworks, that spook horses on the stadium during “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
One corner of the stadium was filled with dancers, jigging to the live country music in front of a mechanical bull.
Gary Bettman, a commissioner, said, that they tried to combine Texas and hockey in an explosive mixture to make Twitter crazy.
Thousands of fans filled all the space around the stadium, riding the Ferris wheel, swinging the pirate ship or having fun in a haunted house. The State Fair of Texas, a corn dog, gathered around itself endless lines of people. But those admirers stated, that was worth it.
Samantha Williams, visiting Dallas for the first time with season tickets, mentioned, that she is totally chuffed.
The main entrance to the Cotton Bowl was packed by people, though there were more than enough entrances.
Bettman said, that the only complaint about the event they got, that it was overcrowded. But it’s business, babe! Moreover, the weather came in handy with comfort temperature and clouds, that wouldn’t bring any rain.
The Predators were leading during the first period with 2-0, however, the Stars defeated them with four goals in the second and third periods. So, the score was 4-2 ˗ the hunky-dory Dallas game!
Peter Laviolette, Nashville coach, said, that he was happy to be a part of Texas hockey and Southern teams, to feel the atmosphere, to touch the ice…
In contrast to Texas-OU, this spectacle had a huge benefit: once the game started, people emptied the fairgrounds, without any looky-loos.
The stadium was filled with Dallas green and yellow fans of Predators much more than with orange and crimson. One of them, Sonya Baird, who lived in southeast Texas during her life, couldn’t explain her love to Nashville. She liked Shea Weber for his style and loyalty to Predators for 11 seasons.
A Predators fan Bryan Granstaff, Nashville, came here because his daughter’s wish to attend the event. He hadn’t even seen the Cotton Bowl on TV before.
To put it in a nutshell, smashing combination of Texas and hockey… Well, sounds like something unpredictable, but fucking spectacular!
