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There's the exposition beginning the the Wings' humiliation at the hands of Claude Lemiuex and the Avalanche the season before. Finally there's the resolution culminating in the Wings' ultimate triumph. The 2008 Detroit Red Wings were special. Despite being almost twenty years removed, watching Isiah Thomas kiss the Larry O'Brien Trophy after the Detroit Pistons at long lost reached the summit of professional basketball excellence rekindles the same emotions that I felt that evening. You wouldn't know it by this video.
While the video was about the Red Wings undoubtedly, coupled with a nod to Michigan's current economic plight, I walked away from the experience feeling as though this video could have been about any team, playing any sport, during any season. Gone is the uniqueness that accompanied the `97, `98 and 2002 Wings' videos. Despite my alleged maturity I'll confess to being a memorabilia geek when it comes to one of my hometown teams winning a championship. However, the fact that my wife (who actually wanted to watch the video) lost interest about half-way through is indicative of how formulaic this video was approached by the NHL. To this day watching Vladimir Konstantinov's open ice hits and Steve Yzerman hoisting the Cup after the Wings vanquished the Flyers in 1997 still brings tears to my eyes. So after unwrapping the 2008 Red Wings' Championship video from its hyper-protective plastic wrap cover, finally convincing our three year son to go to bed, placing the DVD in the player, my wife and I sat together on our couch anxiously awaiting the unfolding of yet another championship campaign with a `Made In Detroit' stamp. There's nothing like sitting down on the couch in our living room on a slow television night and recapturing the emotion and glory of a championship campaign condensed into a one-hour DVD or video. The accomplishments in themselves were memorable.
I won't get into a blow-by-blow analysis of the video as viewers can come to their own conclusion. Die-hard Wings fans will rush out to buy their copy because that's what die-hard fans do. I'll admit to having most of the Detroit Lions season recap videos from back in the 90s when the NFL still produced them. However, I almost hope that the Red Wings organization takes a close look at the production and decides that their fans deserve more than this obviously half-hearted League effort. For example, the 1997 Red Wings Championship video brilliantly captured everything that Red Wings fans experienced that season following classic dramatic form.
After sitting through those, the Menu Screen comes up with little fanfare. The rising action and climax that recalls the acquisition of Brendan Shanahan, The Fight, through the Wings' playoff campaign. However, it was the production value that went into the championship videos that preserved in perpetuity the emotions and memories associated with each championship. I'll buy the hat, I may get the shirt. Owning a championship video is part of the rite of being a sports fan.
I'll concede that we're talking about a sports highlight video here and not the latest Coppolla offering. In the end, it was a cut-and-paste job that fell far short of recapturing with any true meaning what the Red Wings accomplished in 2008. But one thing that I'll definitely buy is the video. The corks on the bottles of champagne in the Red Wings' locker room were yet to be popped before I hit the "Send Order" button at NHL.Com for my copy of the Red Wings' Championship video. The disappointment began at the inception when the video began with advertisements for NHL Films and NHL.Com that couldn't be skipped.
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