NBC previews the classic
http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2...l-bridgestone-winter-classic-conference-call/
http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2...l-bridgestone-winter-classic-conference-call/
Pierre, I believe you’re from Montréal, and Mike, you’ve spent a great deal of time in Boston. Can you guys each weigh in on how big this game is in each city and how it plays into the culture of both big sports towns and how much of an important event this is in each city?
PIERRE McGUIRE: Any time Montréal and Boston play, it’s a huge event. As a kid growing up, there were long, long lines just for standing room only tickets just to watch Bobby Orr play. That’s how far back I go. But you think about the iconic picture of “Sugar†Jim Henry and “Rocket†Richard, both of them bleeding profusely in the handshake line; it goes back that far.
When I was a kid growing up and going to school, everybody loved to hate the Bruins. I kind of was in between, because my favorite player was Bobby Orr. And then all of a sudden Larry Robinson came along from Montréal, and I kind of went towards the Canadiens.
But it’s a huge, huge thing whenever Boston and Montréal play, doesn’t matter where they are in the standings. What matters the most is you know it’s going to be intense and you know it’s going to be full of passion and you know both teams are going to give everything they have. I think that’s one of the things that makes it great.
I’m speaking of it from a fan’s point of view. Mike can speak from having actually been in the cauldron of Boston and Montreal, what it’s like.
MIKE MILBURY: Yeah, it’s really about the fans. They make the rivalry. They are the ones that get juiced up, and these two towns, we all know groups of fans travel to certain events.
But when they travel from Montréal to Boston and vice versa, it’s usually in a large group and even when the odds seem stacked against you, you get that jolt of adrenaline because you know your fans are watching. You don’t want to let them down when you’re playing against Montréal how much emotion and rivalry, and if they want to find a way to cheer for their home team with a win.
It elevates your, I think commitment to play, and that probably isn’t the right thing to say. You should be able to play every game with the same intensity, but it just isn’t that way. And it’s really a tribute to the fans and how much they invest in it and how much they require the players to invest, and it’s a lot every time these two teams square up.
