The Wonderful World Of Hockey

I managed to go a hundred and fifty plus posts without writing about hockey which is rather impressive considering how much time I devout to watching and reading about Canada's sport. Well mind you Canada's national sport is apparently lacrosse for some reason and if you look at the participation numbers a hell of a lot more people play organized soccer then organized hockey. That all being said hockey is always a topic of discussion no matter where you go especially this time of year.

My hockey career never did take off for a couple of reasons and the main one being I can not skate to save my life. Sure I can whip around the boards at full tilt but the only way I know how to stop is to either hit the sides of the rink or run into someone else.

Right now I am supporting two different teams. The Ottawa Senators namely because of the location and supporting the Toronto Maple Leafs is the equivalent to taking a stress test that never ends. The other team is the Detroit Red Wings and there is a little bit of explanation here. I grew up in a NHL city then moved to Ontario when I was sixteen and still supported my hometown team but then it was sold and moved to the USA. So I needed to pick a new team and at this time the Ottawa Senators did not exist. Montreal Canadians is the French equivalent of the Toronto Maple Leafs so they were out and the many playoff battles with teams from Western Canada kept them off the list so the only option left was to go with the Detroit Red Wings as my favorite player played for them Steve Yzerman.

I have been to a number of hockey games at all sorts of different levels and cities. The experiences have ranged from exciting and fun to downright scary at times. Going to games from local teams tends to depend on how well the parents behave themselves more then the game when it comes to how positive the experience was. A lot of parents believe their child is the next superstar and the amount of pressure on the kid can get pretty high at times. It is pretty easy to match the screaming parent to the child on the ice for the kids face tends to go bright red with embarrassment.

One of the main reasons organized soccer has so many more participants then hockey is the sheer cost. With soccer all you need is a pair of shoes and shin pads where the equipment for hockey is long and expensive. There may have been multiple people with the talent of Steve Yzerman or Sidney Crosby but due to the cost of the sport they never had the opportunity to find out. There are now programs that are out there to help people from lower income classes the ability to get new equipment but even that can only go so far. Soccer and Basketball are much easier on the pocketbook. Take care.