There is something about Hockey, something fundamental about it, something that damn near runs in my blood it seems. It's like a true passion.. yet for many years it is a passion that I ignored.
When I was young... say between the ages of 6-11 I was in love with the sport of hockey. I still vividly remember sitting in my parents dining room (which was actually both a dining room and a fancy sitting room) watching NHL hockey on a small TV. I taped practically every game that was on TV and would re watch good matches over and over.
When my parents got ESPN2 the amount of hockey games I could watch almost doubled. I still remember my mom telling me about it and my excitement literally exploding. In the beginning there wasn't a certain team that I liked. I was torn between the Blackhawks or the Red Wings. The Blackhawks were the first obvious choice because most of my immediate family were from Chicago and die hard bulls. However it wasn't long before I fell in love with the Detroit Red Wings. I don't exactly know what it was.. but there was something almost magical in my young mind about the 90's Red Wings. So they became my team. I remembering reading the newspaper TV schedule every time it came out, eagerly hoping to see Detroit Vs ______.
At that age I lived and breathed hockey. I remembering begging me parents whenever possible to take me to our local pharmacy which rather ironically sold some of the coolest hockey trading cards so that I could persuade them to buy me a pack or two.
But of course as young kids do, you also play the sports you love with the unabashed enthusiasm that some day you too will be a star. I believed In my naive little mind that someday I would feel the lights of an NHL stadium beaming down at me while everyone cheered my name.
So I would practice everyday on the porch.. smacking a hockey ball into the brick wall so that it would come flying back at me and I could practice my "saves." Eventually I used the stairs as well but that resulted in a number of broken windows much to my parents intense displeasure.
Sadly though as time went on and I grew up, my interests changed and hockey was abandoned for the other pleasures and displeasure's of teenage life.
Last Spring though, everything I loved about the game came roaring back. The 09 NHL playoffs had began and had heard from a friend that it was going to be a wide open event, with several teams competing for a real chance at the cup.
One of those teams was the Chicago Blackhawks. They immediately drew my attention, because back when I followed hockey in my younger years the Hawks were never very good which as a little kid made them tough to root for. Yet now they had all the promise in the world. Their young stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were incredibly fun to watch and it didn't take long before I had jumped the bangwagon and began rooting for them.
Of course, changing allegiance to a team in sports is a big no no, because then you're a "bandwagon" fan. Honestly though I didn't care. After all, I hadn't followed hockey in years and the Red Wings were only my team as a kid because they won all the time and I was able to follow them on television with regularity. Now it just seemed different. The game had changed quite a bit, new rules (including a salary cap) and the Red Wings just didn't seem like my team anymore. Most of the players I loved as a kid had retired or gone to other teams as well. Plus the big bonus of the hawks is that all their games are televised (Most on CSN-CH which is a basic channel for most providers)
So here I'm, just about as addicted to hockey now as I was when I was 7 years old. So in honor of my newly reborn love for the sport I will present a list of 5 things that I love about hockey. On a side note the idea for this is stolen from Puck Daddy. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy which often features a "5 Reasons so-and-so loves hockey.
5 Things I love about Hockey
1. Fighting- Hockey might just be the only sport that features fighting and Hitting (Checking)as a viable part of the game. Some people think that Hockey fights detract from the game itself but I tend to disagree. Fighting is often an important part of the game. Fighting is a way to protect players from dirty play as well as a possible way to swing momentum. And of course hockey fights are just fun to watch.
2. The Stanley Cup Playoffs- The quest for Lord Stanley's cup is one of the most epic sport battles. In my opinion the intensity of just about any Stanley Cup series is more interesting than any Superbowl. What I like the most about hockey playoffs is the fact that each series requires a team to win the best of 7 games. With that system the best team always wins because there is enough of a chance to prove it. Plus with each won series the intensity amps up.
3. Hockey Jerseys- Hockey Jerseys are simply the best sports uniform out there in my opinion. They all are brilliantly colored and feature bold and memorable logo's. Football, baseball, and basketball Jersey's all look plain compared to the old hockey sweater.
4. The Shootout- This was a recent addition to the game that (in my opinion) makes the regular season a lot more interesting. If the game reaches overtime they teams play 4v4 for 5mins, and if that fails to produce a goal the games goes to a shootout. Yeah it's kind of gimmicky but it's really fun to watch and gets rid of the problem of having "ties". Come on.. Nobody likes a tie.
5. Accessibility- I remember back when accessing scores and highlights meant tuning into sports center on ESPN hoping for a glimpse at a goal or a highlight. Now with the advent the internet, everything one could want to know is available at the click of a mouse. In fact fans can even watch live games online for the same price as a subscription to NHL Center Ice. (which is fantastic if you can afford it) Plus with twitter and facebook it's so easy to connect with other fans in real time. I love having a twitter stream going during a game. It's really fun to see everyone talking about a game in real time. Plus watching hockey is easier than ever as most cable or satellite packages feature at least one regional sports network such as "Comcast Sports Net" or "Fox Sports Net" that broadcasts a significant number of hockey games.
