Chicago vs. Philadelphia: Who has bigger home-ice advantage?
Leading up to Saturday's Game 1, Puck Daddy's Sean Leahy and Greg Wyshynski are previewing every facet of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks — on the ice and off the ice.
For the first time in three years, we will be watching Stanley Cup hockey from buildings that never experienced the 1980s. We won't read any media articles bitching about the amenities of the building being antiquated, or how the place is a dump, or any other complaining from those being paid to cover the finals.
With United Center (1994) and Wachovia Center (1996) in their teenage years, there hasn't been a ton of legendary memories inside these buildings. Like the Blackhawks, for example: Saturday's Game 1 will be the first Stanley Cup Final game at United Center, a nod to the turnaround of the franchise since Bill Wirtz died.
When the Flyers return home for Game 3 next Wednesday, they'll be looking for their first Stanley Cup win at Wachovia Center.
Coming up, we look at 11 different aspects about each building, from historical hockey moments to beer prices to WWE-related moments in a tale-of-the-tape style.
Who has the better building: Chicago or Philly?
Category | Chicago | Philadelphia | Edge |
Corporate Sponsor | United Airlines | PUSH Both have hit hard times with bankruptcies and government intervention. Plus, nobody likes corporate sponsors of arenas. | |
Alternate Unofficial Former Nickname | "The UC" | "FU Center" |  "The UC" makes one think of The OC, and that's way too closely related to Spencer Pratt. Plus, Philadelphia and the "FU Center" were the perfect match when the arena was sponsored by First Union Bank. |
Statue Outside | PUSH Different eras. Different dominant ballers. | ||
Major Championships | 1996, 97 Bulls | None |  Got to see the end of the Bulls' dynasty. |
Celebrity Fans | Vince Vaughn, Jim Belushi | David Boreanaz, Trey Anastasio, Rasheed Wallace | Vaughn has been all over the Chicago sports scene the past few years, taking the torch from Belushi as the city's celebrity fan. Their star power combined powers them past Boreanaz and the Phish frontman. As for Wallace, repping his hometown hockey team while its playing against a team from Boston, like one he plays for, received points for balls. |
Notable Concert | Frank Sinatra was the venue's first concert in October 1994 | Guns N' Roses helps promote Chinese Democracy Tour by not showing up for gig | What better way to christen an arena with the Chairman of the Board? And what arena hasn't been stiffed by Axl Rose? |
Memorable WWE Moment | Summerslam '94 featuring Undertaker vs. Undertaker with help from Leslie Neilsen | Butterbean knocking out Bart Gunn in 34 seconds during the Brawl for it All finals at Wrestlemania XV | Brawl for it All was a terrible idea all around and Gunn's knockout just reminded everyone about that. Anytime you can somehow combine old school 'Taker and Frank Drebin, it's always a win of an idea. |
Puck Daddy Fan Beer Cost Matrix | 16 oz Bud, Bud Light, Bud Select $7.00 | 20 oz domestics $7.00 | Four more ounces of liquid courage to call an opposing player any number of four-letter words. |
$319.21 | $323.30 | That extra $4 can go towards another brewskie. | |
Legendary Penalty Box Moment | Marian Hossa(notes) exits one in Game 5 vs. Nashville, scores OT winner | He might have been a Maple Leaf and one of the most hated players in his time, but admit it: You still crack a smile when you see Domi pounding on that drunken Flyers fan. | |
Historical Hockey Event | Bobby Hull / Stan Mikita Night 2008 | Bringing legends like Mikita and Hull back into the fold was a nice gesture, but the gesture Stevens made towards Lindros in 2000 was one that will forever go down in the annals of memorable hockey hits. |
Advantage
Chicago. Barely.
Both buildings are located in tremendous sports towns. Both are filled nightly with some of the most passionate fans in all of sports. Both provide reasons why networks should never cut to commercial right before the National Anthem is performed. Both will provide reasons why we wish it were possible to turn off the mics of 'Doc' Emrick and Ed Olczyk on the NBC broadcast to just hear the roars of the crowd.
