Boy, did NBC Los Angeles (Channel 4) show its true feelings and ignorance of hockey on this one (I had other more colorful phrases I wanted to use, but decided to show a modicum of self-restraint).
Now, I know that Southern California isn't known as a traditional bastion for the sport of hockey, but it's certainly up and coming enough to be home to TWO National Hockey League teams (the LA Kings and the Anaheim Ducks, who actually won the Stanley Cup championship in 2007) and a smattering of a few minor league teams. The local ice rinks are filled to capacity with men's and kids' leagues, and high schools are now getting into the act. In fact, if it wasn't for our 16+ year relationship with The Rinks - Anaheim ICE, it would be nearly impossible to find ice time to host USC hockey games (many ice slots at all rinks are booked a year out, unless you wanted 4am or 12am times).
For those not familiar with the NHL's Winter Classic, here's the long and short of it: They build a hockey rink at an outdoor venue, and two of the more well known teams go at it at the beginning of the new year. This season, the Winter Classic is at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia (home to baseball's Phillies), and features the New York Rangers versus the hometown Flyers.
Just how big is this event? With social media now the gauge of all things, "Winter Classic" was trending on Twitter not only in Los Angeles, but worldwide.
Such an auspicious spectacle calls for NBC to even dust off and wheel out Bob Costas.
Another point of context for those not familiar with hockey: The annual Winter Classic is just about as high profile an event for the NHL as the Super Bowl is for the National Football League, possibly second only to the Stanley Cup Finals.
So what happened at approximately 12:02pm PST on Monday, January 2, 2012 caused what I'm sure I can describe as a collective scream of anguish and despair from LA-area hockey fans. Just after the NBC mothership started their coverage of the Winter Classic at noon, Channel 4 News butted in with "Breaking News."
My hockey-oriented mind raced through the possible scenarios that could have warranted a preemption of such a televised event. Had Japan suffered another massive earthquake? Did Stephen Hawking just confirm the Mayan calendar's prediction that the world will end in 2012? Did a nuclear World War III just break out?
I certainly had plenty of time to come up with such major catastrophes, since the "Breaking News" graphic alone lasted a full THIRTEEN SECONDS.
It was a bit of local news. The area of north of Downtown LA has been hit by a recent rash of arson fires, and they had just captured the suspected arsonist at 3am this morning. Let's be clear, this by no means is a small incident... the arsonist caused over $2 million in damages and terrorized the area for several days.
But does one interrupt the Winter Classic for a news conference about the capture, which happened 9 hours prior? Would you interrupt the Super Bowl? Here are some interesting tidbits for your consideration:
- ABC 7 did not interrupt coverage of the Outback Bowl to break to the press conference;
- CBS 2 did not interrupt their broadcast of The Young and the Restless;
- Most of us probably already heard about the arrest through reliable online sources, such as TMZ.com;
The information given at the press conference could have been summed up with the following statement: "We caught someone -more details later today."
Even Ana Garcia, the NBC newswoman who unwittingly and inadvertently became face of all who hate hockey, stated, "[T]he police aren't saying an awful lot."
While the "Breaking News" segment carried on for what seemed to be forever, as I hung on every word not because I was hoping for more details but rather wondering when the talking heads would stop talking, they got us back just in time for the national anthem.
But the damage was done. When I should have been taking in the moment, the pageantry of the Winter Classic, I was instead driven to contact NBC 4 to express my opinion and was motivated to take to this editorial. And I can't be the only hockey fan with similar feelings.
I certainly hope the NBC mothership catches wind of this, since one of their spawn decided it had found a more newsworthy event than the Winter Classic, which had been promoted for months. And the NHL can't be too happy, with Southern California being such a unstable market for them to warrant this level of disruption to their marquee game.
I hope, for NBC LA's program director's sake, that the coverage of non-news was worth creating a legion of hockey fans who hate Channel 4. Good on you, mate.
To send feedback to NBC 4, go to http://www.nbclosangeles.com/contact-us/
Johnny Nguyen is Assistant General Manager of USC Ice Hockey, and a USC alumnus. This editorial reflects his views alone, and does not necessarily represent statements or opinions by USC Ice Hockey or the University of Southern California.
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