FROM CHICAGO — The Detroit Red Wings, world-class athletes who have won every reward hockey can offer, were as giddy as little kids for a few moments Thursday and didn't care who knew it.
Lined up before the NHL's Winter Classic, wearing uniforms modeled on a style their forbearers wore in 1926-27 -- and facing the Chicago Blackhawks in a version of their 1936-37 uniforms -- they shed any pretense of being blase while soaking up sounds and sights they had never expected to experience.
There they were on a hockey rink plopped down in the middle of Wrigley Field, surrounded by a roaring crowd in the venerable stadium and hundreds of fans perched on rooftop seats across Waveland and Sheffield avenues.
Skies were gray but dropped no snow. Temperatures were in the 20s, almost made to order for outdoor hockey.
It was surreal. It was stunning.
It was too much to digest with a straight face.
"I looked around with my mouth open at the beginning," Detroit forward Jiri Hudler said. "We're standing during the national anthems looking at each other like, wow, this is awesome."
And it was.
A tad less awesome, maybe, for the Blackhawks than for the Red Wings, who scored five straight goals and rallied for a 6-4 victory that deflated the crowd of 40,818.
But the Blackhawks, despite losing to the defending Stanley Cup champions for the second time in three days, appreciated what they had done to promote a league that has rarely marketed itself effectively in the United States.
The sense of occasion that prevailed, the historical references contributed by the stadium and the participation of Chicago sports greats Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Tony Esposito, Denis Savard, Ferguson Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg and Billy Williams and a laughable rendition of a hockey-oriented version of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," combined with the weather to make this uniquely enjoyable.
Playing outdoors was a romantic return to the game's roots that didn't make a mockery of this particular game. The NHL sold some souvenirs and some lucrative sponsorships -- no small feat in this economy -- without selling out the players, who were enthusiastic participants.
"It's probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing for some of us," said Chicago forward Patrick Kane, who played despite a sore shoulder, "and I definitely cherished it."
There were many wonderful sights, starting with the mini-rink set up in short center field for kids to use during the intermissions and pregame flyover and fireworks.
