There are 107,000 hockey fans expected at the New Year’s Day outdoor NHL Winter Classic in Michigan and Mayor Rob Ford says he plans to be one of them.
“Definitely,†the mayor said of the much anticipated Jan. 1 game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings. “I don’t have the plans worked out yet but I want to go.â€
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It’s unclear if Ford will try to take his family to the game or travel down with a group of fans.
It’s also unknown if the mayor will also partake in the alumni game, on New Year’s Eve, inside the Detroit Tigers’ stadium, Comerica Park.
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He is also scheduled to attend Saturday’s Cavalcade of Lights at Nathan Phillips Square.
Ford told me he will try his best to get to the ‘Share the Love’ Philippine Typhoon Benefit and Silent Auction Dec 5 at the Virgin Mobile Mod Club on College St. featuring such acts as Eddie Bullen, Jenny James, Puente Del Diablo, Quisha Wint, Coldjack, Hilary Weaver, George Kash, Jessica Sheppard and Donny Anderson.
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It’s still not determined if the mayor will attend two big football games this week.
One is Friday at Etobicoke Centennial Stadium at 11:30 a.m. between his beloved Don Bosco Eagles and Cardinal Newman of Hamilton, and the other is the big Buffalo Bills game Sunday at Rogers Centre against the Atlanta Falcons.
The mayor has not tipped his hand either way but you know if he can be at both, he will be.
Not just because of the huge reception he received when he showed up at the Argos playoff game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats but because there is no place he’d rather be than at a football game.
Ford loves hockey too but the fact that the Winter Classic is going to be played at legendary Michigan stadium is also part of the allure for the football-loving mayor.
Over the telephone this week the mayor was enthusiastic about the big outdoor game in Michigan, saying he will be attending as the mayor of Toronto, leader of Ford Nation and a member of Leafs Nation.