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I have previously spoken about football, and specifically
the 49ers, but let me tell you about San Jose Sharks, the NHL Hockey team that
I support, and support far more than the 49ers.
When Vera and first got together, I was heavily into
Football, which she did not care for, whereas she was into Basketball, which I
did not care for. Trying to find a sport we both could agree to took little
effort because choices were limited: We both hated baseball (sorry baseball
fans), but did not know much about hockey. Mostly on a whim, we went to see a
Sharks game, and were blown away.
Hockey is so much better than any sport I have watched
before. It is kinetic and frenetic. Constant attack and defend leaves you as a
fan with pumping hearts and sweaty palms. It is exhilarating to watch, and if
you blink, you might miss something. It took a few games but we even finally
understood what ‘icing’ is as a penalty. We purchased Jerseys, t-shirts,
sweaters, and other merchandise with the SJ Sharks logo on it. Something
neither of us had done for other teams we support. We even got signed Jerseys
by none-other-than Joe Thornton himself!
“I like ice hockey, but it's a frustrating game to watch. It's hard to keep your eyes on both the puck and the players and too much time passes between scoring in hockey. There are usually more fights than there are points.” - Andy Rooney
Look, I know the knock against hockey is that it is low
scoring (soccer on ice) and it is mostly about fights (boxing on ice), but let
me set you straight: It is low scoring, which makes every goal count, but low
scores do not make for boring games. Every goal is hard-fought with constant
action, where gaining leverage, exploiting every mistake, overwhelming force,
and precision gain you the edge to win in hotly contested games. Every victory
a triumph, and every loss a disaster. As to fighting? Yes, it happens, and
actually plays a very small part of the game itself, but despite the
physicality of it, is actually about psychologically intimidating the other
team. Where players are literal battering rams against other players, a team
with a known fighter on their side keeps an edge that may cause hesitation in
the other in a game played at full speed.
Give hockey a chance, because chances are you will like it.
If you can keep your eye on the puck.
-Brent
“We can make fun of hockey fans, but someone who enjoys Homer is indulging the same kind of vicarious bloodlust.” - Steven Pinker
