Outdoor Hockey: Fun but Fan-Friendly?

I love the concept of the NHL hosting outdoor hockey games. It's sports the way sports were played as kids. The elements play a role in the game, not to mention that any cold weather city never gets to have a Super Bowl, so at least this is some consolation.

Today the Chicago Blackhawks are hosting the Detroit Red Wings at Wrigley Field. It's blustery and a bit snowy there today, making for perfect hockey conditions and a fun atmosphere.

I just wonder how fan-friendly it is to watch in person.

As a comparison, when attending an Eagles game, one can watch the game as it progresses on the field, or if, say, you are sitting really low behind one end zone but all the action is happening at the opposite end zone, you can watch the humongous scoreboard as the play unfolds. Otherwise, it's very difficult to see.

In today's "Winter Classic," (as it's being billed... though I'm not sure an annual game that's three years into the making can truly be considered a "classic," but I digress), the hockey rink is set up over the infield of Wrigley, and the fans are seated in the regular baseball seats. And there's no jumbotron scoreboard to get an up close view. So I must ask... can a fan on the second level or in the outfield really see much of anything? The puck is so small to begin with that it must be an eyestrain just to tell what's going on.

Last year I was very excited about the rumors of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers playing a game in Penn State's Beaver Stadium. It sounds like a tremendous idea, with the possibility of 100,000+ fans coming out to a mid-state battleground. But would it be too much like watching ants chasing arond a pebble from 50 rows up in the stands? Perhaps it doesn't even matter and fans would just go to enjoy the cold weather...