Over Winter Break, the St. Louis Blues played in their first ever Winter Classic. The Blues defeated the rival Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at Busch Stadium on Jan. 2, 2017.
The Winter Classic included many events held downtown at the baseball stadium including an alumni game which was on Dec. 31 and the One Nation Classic which was held on Jan. 8.
Pattonville senior Kyle Hanford was one of a few students that went to the Winter Classic.
“I bought my ticket for $200,” Hanford said. “I went with two of my good friends. I also went to the alumni game with three friends. One of the most memorable moments was seeing the amount of fans that actually came down to the game and downtown. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Many festivities were held at Ballpark Village including music, food trucks, hockey skills games for fans to play, and many statues to take pictures by.
“We got downtown at 7 in the morning and eventually went to Ballpark Village to watch Nelly perform before the game,” Hanford said. “It was neat to see Nelly perform live and support his city.”
Weather on the day of the Winter Classic wasn’t ideal causing concern that the game might have been delayed, but Hanford was still impressed with the loyalty of the Blues fans.
“Even though the weather sucked, the Blues fans didn’t care,” Hanford said. “It’s the Classic and there might not be another one.”
The St. Louis alumni team defeated the alumni squad from Chicago 8-7 on New Year’s Eve, and the Blues followed that performance up with a 4-1 victory on Monday in the Winter Classic.
The Blues now have a 1-0 record in Winter Classic games, and Hanford hopes that the Blues will play in more Classic games in the future.
“We made history at the Classic, and I hope that I can experience all this again in the near future.”