Not sure how the Sharks fit into the game, your arguments didn't really convince me.
Classic rivalry: Nope
TV Ratings: Nope
Huge Fanbase/Travelling Fans: No and not likely. Cotton Bowl holds over 90,000 people??
Growing the game in small markets: Dallas is in it, focus on continued growth in Texas and make it a desired event for Texas residents to attend. The Stars have no obligation to host another small market team. That could be a disaster.
First off, thanks for reading the piece!
That's fine, I wanted to share my full thoughts and thought "Defending Big D" was a great place for it (I don't see anyone else from any other opposing fanbase going into Stars territory to make a case for why it should be their team), and also shared them here. As to classic rivalry, I made my Texas vs. California rivalry argument, I don't think there's anything more classic than that, but that's my 2 cents. And I'm not sure why you (Stars fans) would care about TV ratings. In fact, there's an argument that if anyone should care about how the actual TV ratings turn out for a Winter Classic in Dallas, it's Sharks fans and fans of Pacific division teams who still have yet to sniff a Winter classic even on the road.
Also not sure why you would want a visiting team's fan base to dominate the stands. Not to mention, overall, I intended the tone of piece to be somewhat light-hearted while making some points.
Edit: For some reason, y'all aren't talking much about the Winter Classic, but eventually you'll come back to it, so I thought I would add another thought. For anyone who read my piece, I think you are discounting the "Easy win" part. Keep in mind, y'all are fans. Not the organization, not the NHL, not NBC, etc. As a fan, at the end of the day, what you should care about is 1.) having a blast at the event and 2.) winning.
That's why I say, do you want to have this one and only winter classic and get drilled 6-0 by Nashville? Do you want to leave the end saying "yeah, it was fun, but man I wish we didn't get killed" OR do you want to have this one and only winter classic and kill the Sharks LIKE YOU ALWAYS DO IN DALLAS AND HAVE THE PAST 6 GAMES IN DALLAS? That way, you enjoy the event and leave with a smile over the win.
That's why my piece is about what Stars
fans should want. Fans want to have fun and win.