The Game Night Revue was basically an underground hockey program that was sold outside every St. Louis Blues home game in various spots around the Kiel Center Savvis Center Scottrade Center, which is located at the corner of 14th and Clark in downtown St. Louis, Missouri from January, 1995 through October, 2005. The idea was hatched by a local computer programmer and major hockey geek named Jeff "Jeffio" Collins, as well as his long time friend and car insurance salesman Rob Stamp, back in 1994. However, because that hockey season was shortened by a lock out, the first issue did not appear until early 1995.
Based on a now-defunct paper sold outside Chicago Blackhawks home games called the Blueliner, the paper was a program for the die-hard hockey fans who wanted stats, uncensored and unbiased opinions on their team or opposing teams, and humorous content. Fans who just wanted an expensive souvenir magazine with pretty pictures (like the ones sold inside the Savvis ScottTowel Center) needed not bother with the Game Night. Not only did the GNR provide stats on all the players, home and opposing teams, but it even provided stats on the referees. It even covered stats on the fisticuffs for those hockey fans who still feel that the fights are an important part of the game.
The paper evolved a lot since its inception. It had been be a lot shorter and included a lot less staff than it did at its conclusion. The quality of the overall paper, with added features, better writers, and the advent of the "Comedy Committee" (an email list of folks who contribute to the comedy bits), had gone up a lot. The first issue was free. Then Jeffio charged a dollar. It soon went up to two dollars. In 1999 it went up to three dollars. In 2002 it went up to four dollars. Later that season, to encourage more sales, Jeffio dropped the price back down to three dollars. That did not, however, garner more readers, just cost him a lot of money. So it went back up to four at the start of the 03-04 season, the final full season of the mag. Citing a lack of financial motivation and a lack of passion for the magazine after the 2004-2005 season was wiped out because of another NHL lockout, Jeffio decided to quit doing the paper in September, 2005. He was urged by many folks, including his cartoonist, to do one more final issue, so he did, and it was sold the first two Blues home games of the 2005-2006 season.
Regular features of the GNR included: Jeffio's Editor column (where the photo of Jeffio is rarely actually of him; he'd used photos of everybody from Paris Hilton and Bill Cosby to illustrations of turkies and Janet Jackson's Super Bowl boob), comprehensive columns focusing on the opponent that night (last penned by Sean Gallagher), Goal Postage (Rob Stamp's insightful columns), Hockey Doc's Rubber Room (a lambasting, cynical but oft-hilarious column by Lloyd Darlow, a hockey fan who also happens to be a doctor), Top 11 lists, the Trivia Quiz (which is usually geared toward whatever the team the Blues are playing that night), How The Teams Were Built (an intriguing look at how every member of the teams got to be a member and when), great cartoons by artists Jeremy Pratte (Tales From The Crease - www.talesfromthecrease.com) and "Tuck!," and stats, stats, and more stats!
Did I mention it had stats?
Jeffio has threatened to quit doing the paper many times before he finally actually did. Even though he made a good pile of cash from it, given the amount of work he had put into it, it sometimes doesn't seem worth it. Things like the Comedy Committee and more help from guys like Stamp and Darlow afforded him the luxury to keep doing it the last couple of seasons and have a life otherwise (which includes lots and lots of partying with friends at bars!).
Sean Gallagher picked up where Jeffio had left off with the St. Louis Gametime in late-fall 2005 with some of the same staff and features including Tales from the Crease. The paper is very similar and has worked as a good substitute for fans disappointed with the death of the GNR.
You can visit the GNR on the web at www.jeffio.com.
Source: My own knowledge! I was out there every game night freezing my ass off selling those damn things!