A Winter Classic in Miami: A Unique Celebration of Hockey and Culture

The atmosphere at loanDepot Park on the night of the NHL’s Winter Classic was nothing short of electric. The scent of burning marijuana was quickly overshadowed by the old-school cool of cigars, Ferraris, and Miami Vice-inspired attire from the Florida Panthers’ arrival. Tailgaters blasted the Panthers’ goal song and Pitbull, while faux snow blanketed the area, creating a scene that was as much about spectacle as it was about hockey.

This event, often described as the “Little Havana version” of the National Hockey League’s annual outdoor game, brought together fans from all walks of life. The Panthers faced off against the New York Rangers, with the latter winning 5-1. But the real story wasn’t just the game—it was the cultural fusion that made this event unique.

A Tradition of Celebration and Spectacle

If you’re going to bring a January sporting event to this neighborhood, you better bring as much production, food, and fuss as some nearby homes put into holiday decorations and Nochebuena parties. The Orange Bowl used to do that when the Orange Bowl Stadium sat where the current loanDepot Park now sits. Back then, the pregame area was filled with the aroma of lechon and other traditional foods, as unofficial street vendors fed sports fans in the area’s January football days.

Friday marked an important date in local history. It was exactly 44 years since the Dolphins’ hook-and-lateral touchdown in “The Miracle that Died” in the AFC title game against San Diego. It was also 42 years after the University of Miami upset No. 1 Nebraska in the 1984 Orange Bowl, securing the Hurricanes’ first national title. The first tailgate tent at loanDepot Park reflected this legacy, with UM football national championship years and Panthers’ Winter Classic jerseys hanging at each tent pole.

A Fan’s Perspective

For Fort Lauderdale’s David Lindo, a UM-clad Panthers season ticket holder, the event felt like tailgating “on hallowed ground.” Lindo moved to South Florida in the mid-1980s from Edmonton, where the Oilers used to win Stanley Cup Finals. At the time, he was a club hockey player in South Florida, which was unusual and often drew strange looks.

“I played hockey in Homestead,” Lindo said. “We were one of the clubs that was invited to test the ice at Miami Arena back when the Panthers were being thought of.” He recalled the experience as rough, with poor ice maintenance. When asked what he would have found more unbelievable 10 years ago—a pair of Panthers Stanley Cups or an outdoor game—he said, “The outdoor game. I never would’ve thought the outdoor game would’ve been here. Never.”

The Fashion of the Fans

In the parking space next to Lindo, reggaeton music thumped from a black pickup truck adorned with Panthers flags and a Panthers’ license plate. To this soundtrack, Davie’s Antonio Deligio, a contractor from Chicago, his family, and Halifax, Nova Scotia native Dave Coldwell prepared for the game in Winter Classic jerseys.

Jerseys often say something about the wearer. Those draped in the special Panthers or Rangers Winter Classic jerseys clearly can afford to drop $200 to $300 on a single jersey or are liked by someone who can. Some current Panthers jerseys had “Panthers” in Hebrew. Others featured original Panthers jerseys or Rangers’ home whites and classic blues with “Messier” or even “Kypreos” on the back—long-time fans who know both Stanley Cup joy and playoff-less pain.

Joey Cross of Selden, Long Island, was born in 1996, 18 years after the Rangers last wore the Rangers logo-centered jersey associated with two disappointing seasons from 1976-78. “I’m an aficionado of vintage Rangers memorabilia,” said Cross, who joins his Pompano Beach-based family each winter for Rangers-Panthers games in Sunrise.

Cross’ sister, Brooke Cross, came double jerseyed—Rangers’ road blues over a Panthers’ Brad Marchand jersey, an arrangement reflecting the order of her devotion.

The Arrival and Atmosphere

As the Rangers stepped off the team bus on Northwest Sixth Street, they sported white pants and short sleeve shirts, looking ready for less of a dominos game than an oceanfront bar business meeting. A half-hour later, the Panthers arrived on Miami time and Miami style, rolling up in a parade of Ferraris and other high-end performance cars, clad in Crockett-and-Tubbs jackets, slacks, and pastel pink shirts. Injured stars Matthew Tkachuk and captain Sasha Barkov emerged from the lead car sporting smiles and cigars.

The First Fans on Scene

Before the NHL pregame fences blocked off Northeast 16th Avenue, popular with the area’s walkers, runners, and baby strollers, the first two fans in Panthers jerseys sat on a bench watching the setup for the Friday night fuss.

The Buchkos of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, actually are Pittsburgh Penguins fans, as Megan Buchko’s hat proclaimed. But, she and husband LesPaul (his family are guitarists) are general puckheads who like physical players. “She’s a huge Tkachuk fan, I’m a huge Sam Bennett fan,” LesPaul Buchko said. “We watch a bunch of NHL games and we have different players we love from different teams. And, we said, ‘It’s January, we have a foot of snow at home. Might as well go to Miami and watch some hockey. Make a whole vacation out of it.'”

They wanted to swim in a part of the ocean where they could see the bottom, as well as swim in Miami’s cultures. As trend trackers say about Gen Z, they collect experiences more than things. “We have 80 or so good years on this Earth,” LesPaul said. “We want to do as much with that as we can.”