The Big Chill at the Big House

Stadium interior view

The Big Chill at the Big House (also Cold War II ) was an open air ice hockey points game of the college and university sports league National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) between the university teams of the University of Michigan (UM) and Michigan State University (MSU) ) , the Michigan Wolverines, and the Michigan State Spartans . Some of the sports teams at both universities have rivalries that have lasted for decades. A similar event, called Cold War , had already attracted 74,554 spectators to the Spartan Stadium in 2001 and still means the fourth highest number of spectators in an ice hockey game (as of May 2014). The Big Chill at the Big House took place on December 11, 2010 at Michigan Stadium , nicknamed The Big House , in Ann Arbor . After an audience of 113,411 was initially announced, the Guinness Book of Records set a new world record for viewers of an ice hockey game, valid until 2014, with 104,173. The previous record was 77,803 spectators in the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen , set up during the opening game of the 2010 men's ice hockey world championship between the German and US national teams.

The game was broadcast nationally in the United States on the Big Ten Network and regionally on Fox Sports Detroit and the Fox offshoot in Alaska . The game was also shown in the Canadian province of Ontario on Leafs TV and worldwide via live broadcast on the Internet. As a supporting program, fireworks were set off before and after the game, as well as after every goal scored . In addition, Northrop B-2 long-range bombers flew over the stadium prior to the start of the game while The Star-Spangled Banner was playing .