No Guinness world record for hockey attendance at Winter Classic
Nick Cotsonika, who covers the NHL for Yahoo Sports, reports on Twitter that the NHL will not get the Guinness world record for hockey attendance for the Winter Classic held at Michigan Stadium.
NHL sold 105,491 tix, enough to break record. But fans were still entering in second because of weather. Not all tix were scanned.
Guinness would certify only fans whose tickets were scanned, plus some media and league officials.
Michigan keeps record of 104,173, set at Big Chill in 2010. NHL still shatters its own record.
He didn't report the figure that Guinness certified.
EDIT: Cotsonika has a story out now.
The NHL still obliterated its own attendance record of 71,217, set at the first Winter Classic in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, by about 30,000.
. . .
But make no mistake: This is a blow. NBC trumpeted the Winter Classic as the biggest hockey game ever. Some merchandise referenced the world record. NHL officials tried to think of everything they could to count everyone– even using hand-warmers to keep the scanners’ batteries from freezing.
After warm-ups New Year’s Day, the public-address announcer told the fans that they were already part of an NHL-record crowd – and that they had the “potential” to be part of a world-record crowd. As it turns out, the Guinness record will remain with the University of Michigan.
January 24th, 2014 at 8:19 PM ^
Good.
January 24th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^
I never had any doubt
#Thisismichiganfergodssake
January 24th, 2014 at 8:22 PM ^
That's cool for the Big Chill to keep the record, and I'm glad to have been at both. The Winter Classic was just on a completely different level, though. Best sporting event I have ever attended, and that includes a few decent ones.
January 24th, 2014 at 8:22 PM ^
It's refreshing to see the record still stays with a UM event!
January 24th, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^
2014 just keeps getting better!
January 24th, 2014 at 8:29 PM ^
As a side note, in case people didn't see this, Dave Brandon recently revealed the beer sales at the Winter Classic (note at bottom of this DetNews article):
On how many cups of beer were sold at Michigan Stadium during the NHL’s Winter Classic on New Year’s Day: “At $9 a cup, close to 75,000. That’s $650,000 worth of beer.”
January 24th, 2014 at 8:35 PM ^
I imagine that in preparation for making love to his wife, Dave Brandon scans athletic department income trivialities like this until all the blood in his body engorges his penis
I can't wait until I get to vote against him for governor
January 24th, 2014 at 8:56 PM ^
I am going to use this next time my buddy and I are crying about the state of Michigan Football. I will give you credit.
January 24th, 2014 at 9:17 PM ^
January 24th, 2014 at 9:41 PM ^
Yeah! Maybe he'll use it to make going to Michigan football games mildly more affordable, in recognizance of their incredible budget surplus and the shitty product they put out!
... Nah. Be right back, I have to go mail Michigan my mandatory "donation" for the right to then overspend on season tickets
January 24th, 2014 at 9:47 PM ^
You don't have to do anything.
January 24th, 2014 at 9:52 PM ^
Excellent point. There's 45 million people on the no-longer extant, currenly mythical waitlist just waiting to take my place, so I can get out if I don't like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 25th, 2014 at 8:58 AM ^
January 24th, 2014 at 8:45 PM ^
January 24th, 2014 at 9:10 PM ^
Dump it on Nuss.
January 24th, 2014 at 8:30 PM ^
Makes sense, and happy they didn't fudge around with numbers to give them the cheap record.
January 24th, 2014 at 8:31 PM ^
thank god we keep our hockey-game-at-a-football-stadium world record
I knew I chose Michigan for a reason!
January 24th, 2014 at 8:46 PM ^
January 24th, 2014 at 8:50 PM ^
First Beer Sold in Michigan Stadium
January 24th, 2014 at 8:54 PM ^
You have to be so freaking dumb if you'd pay $9 for a cup of beer. How hard would it be to sneak a few in with your giant coat?
January 24th, 2014 at 8:57 PM ^
Oh, I did. Those ran out by the end of the 1st period though :)
January 24th, 2014 at 9:29 PM ^
January 24th, 2014 at 9:09 PM ^
January 24th, 2014 at 9:13 PM ^
January 25th, 2014 at 8:52 AM ^
January 24th, 2014 at 9:15 PM ^
January 24th, 2014 at 9:56 PM ^
will be Michigan vs Redwings.
January 24th, 2014 at 10:25 PM ^
115,000 strong.
January 25th, 2014 at 9:07 AM ^
January 25th, 2014 at 9:09 AM ^
January 24th, 2014 at 10:37 PM ^
Big House has seen biggest crowd at: (1) college football game; (2) hockey game of any type, in this case college; and (3) NHL game.
Maybe they should flood the field, a/la the Coliseum, and have a swim meet.
January 25th, 2014 at 12:13 AM ^
Now they just need to host the World's Largest Superbowl. Then if the U.S. ever gets the World Cup, have the finals here.
January 25th, 2014 at 1:45 AM ^
January 25th, 2014 at 12:00 AM ^
Helluva redneck shit show that'll turn into.
January 25th, 2014 at 12:09 AM ^
Yeah, that's like setting a hockey attendance record in a football stadium.
January 25th, 2014 at 2:15 AM ^
January 25th, 2014 at 1:44 AM ^
January 25th, 2014 at 1:25 AM ^
I have a love hate relationship with DB. He's giving us national championship level facilities in every sport and opens the checkbook for assistants, but the down side is him trying to invent our tradition and doing stupid gimmicky things.
January 25th, 2014 at 9:17 AM ^
Not sure if its egomania or something else, but he's way too much of a public figure for my taste. It's fun to imagine how busy a press pool would be for a school that employed Brandon as AD, Charlie Weis as football coach, and Tom Izzo as basketball coach. They'd never get any rest.
January 25th, 2014 at 7:39 AM ^
UM made no money on the beer sales, turnkey operation. We got the check, the NHL controlled everything.
In the spring of 2012, before the 2013 Winter Classic was canceled with the rest of the NHL games, Brandon said he hoped the NHL broke the record, so we could re-break it the next time UM hockey played at the Big House.