History was made in the NHL on Tuesday night. It wasn’t a landmark goal or a decisive victory, but rather a live hockey game that was the first of its kind to be animated in real time and broadcast nationally.
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ESPN recreated the Tuesday game between Washington Capitals And New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in the style of Disney’s animated series “Big City Greens”, in an effort to attract young crowds and grow a national audience for the league.
Both goalkeepers were replaced in the broadcast by Gramma characters Alice and Bill, while Cricket Green and Tilly Green entered for a player on each team. MSG’s iconic ice surface was replaced with a cap at Big City Greens’ “Times Circle,” and the chicken animatronics were favored over human umpires.
Until we saw Patrick KaneHis first goal was at MSG as he made his way onto the ice in cartoon form, outrunning Bale – I mean, Darcy Comber – in a power play to extend the Rangers lead in the first half.
The hits were big Accompanied by “Boom”the whistle was beeping represented by a dust ballThere were also educational segments on Alex OvechkinHe climbs to break records for goals and even explains the offside rule. The broadcast had it all, including analyst Kevin Weekes strapped into a motion capture suit as he called the game and did intermission clips.
This is an incredible commitment to having family friendly programming tied to popular cartoons. And the little part seemed to work, as families immersed themselves in the nationally televised game and praised ESPN for putting together such a unique and groundbreaking broadcast.
So what’s next? Will we see Disney expand their reach and have Marvel-themed NHL broadcasts? Will we see The Simpsons get in on the act and entertain the generation that grew up with the iconic show? The possibilities seem endless now, and not only with streaming, but the ability to successfully track players and tweaks has also been shown.
The Rangers will come away With a 5-3 win In front of their fans at home led by Mika ZibanejadDouble night.
We’ll just have to wait and see, but Big City Greens Classic can be considered a huge success.
