Tonight was a special experiment that has been widely applauded by those on the internet and even my typically cynical self. Big City Greens collided with the NHL in a bizarrely beautiful way. But first, we need to know why this happened in the first place. According to the lore of this special event, it all happened when Cricket called the NHL Commissioner, “Gary B.”
Disney and the NHL partnered for a first-of-its-kind broadcast: an entire hockey game recreated in real time inside a virtual environment, featuring 3D animated players whose movements synced with what was happening on the ice at Madison Square Garden in a live game, thanks to puck and player tracking data. That game happened tonight, featuring the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals. Spoiler alert: The Rangers won 5 to 3.
The real version of the game aired simultaneously on ESPN and ESPN+ while the NHL Big City Greens classic aired live on Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney+, and ESPN+. Called by commentators Drew Carter and Kevin Weekes, the game followed the human version to the tee with a few notable differences. Namely that Cricket Green was actually the track of the Rangers’ Vincent Trocheck, and Tilly Green in place of the Capitals’ Evgeny Kuznetsov. The goalies for each team were also replaced, with Bill siding with the Capitals and Gramma for the Rangers. Later in the game, Gloria and Remy also filled in on the ice briefly.
Behind the scenes, Carter and Weekes were broadcasting from ESPN's Bristol studio wearing motion capture suits, with their avatars animated in a Big City Greens style and interacting live with several of the characters thanks to show creators (and voice actors) Chris and Shane Houghton. Voice of Tilly Green, Marieve Herington, also appeared live, even singing the National Anthem as her character. At lulls in the game, we would hear calls and interviews with characters, including Jimmy the Zookeeper who somehow let all the animals in the zoo TWICE, complicating things at the game, and even Zamboni Tony, who took the ice in-between periods.
To figure out “why Big City Greens?“, we have to go back a bit to 2021, when the NHL started making new media rights deals. They already had a tried and true player and puck tracking technology with “NHL Edge,” which collects data through sensors on player uniforms and inside the puck itself. It also includes an optical tracking component that validates that data "within a few milliseconds," and also measures speed and distance for skaters and on their shots, among other data points. To put it into a virtual 3D environment with animated players, that would be completely novel, right? Well…not entirely. That was something a Netherlands-based company called Beyond Sports was already doing for professional soccer matches. The NHL partnered with the firm and began showing demonstrations of virtual hockey games, which could be viewed on screens or using VR goggles. After a bit of refinement, Beyond Sports and the NHL presented their technology to ESPN during the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.
In an ESPN office in New York, a later game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning was screened on two screens, with The live game on one and a real-time recreation of the game on another. In hearing the real play-by-play and watching the virtual game, Ed Placey, a vice president in ESPN's Event and Studio Production group spoke of the future: “Take the game seriously … but laugh a little bit in the presentation.”
Interest was found on the Disney XD side of the business, and with the success of the series Big City Greens, along with the personal connections between the Houghton Brothers who created the series, the groundwork had been laid for this new idea. The show follows much of the Houghtons Brothers youth, being from a small town and moving to the Big City, and Shane Houghton shared his personal history with ESPN prior to the broadcast, sharing how he and his brother Chris would lace up skates when the pond on their parents’ property would freeze over every winter.
The end result, albeit jarring at first, was truly entertaining and a great way to introduce younger viewers to the game. Reportedly, the NHL and ESPN are chasing the new demographic and using Big City Greens is a great way to gain those potential new fans, especially using the Disney branded platforms that the special game was broadcast on – Disney Channel, DisneyHD, DisneyNOW (using the What’s On feature), Disney+, and it’s own special stream on ESPN+ which also featured the game live from Madison Square Garden.
For Hockey fans, the action might have been a bit slower paced compared to a normal game, but stayed true to the events happening in real time. It was more like watching a video game when you set it to CPU v. CPU, but still highly entertaining thanks in part to the humor and world-building of Big City Greens. Example, prior to being pointed out by the commentary, eagle eyed viewers were quick to notice Vasquez (Remy’s bodyguard in the series) guarding the penalty box.
In my opinion, it’s the detail overlooking that is the weakest part of this whole venture. Heavily marketed as taking place in Times Circle in Big City, we actually spend the entire game in a Wholesome Foods parking lot and the street across from the Green household and the Gloria – Green Cafe. Commentators were also saying things like Cricket is the co-owner of the Cafe (It’s actually Gramma) and little things like that. However, all of it is overall forgivable considering commentating on live Hockey and staying true to a fictitious universe for a one-time event (as far as we can tell) is a pretty difficult task. All was redeemed however, simply by showing player stats for the characters like “Bill Green – Carved his own hockey stick.” or “Cricket Green – Launched Chicken Into Space”
Tl;dr: I loved it. And so did the internet. Thanks to the game, #BigCityGreens was a trending topic on Twitter, with numerous PG-13 rated jokes but positive reviews throughout, including fans of the series and even a sports journalist or two, and many wondering when the next game is, or WHAT the next game is with many pointing to an NCAA or NBA interpretation or even an NFL game.
But more than any game, this just made me want that open world Big City Greens video game even more.