Hockey and I have a strange relationship. I was absolutely mad for it growing up--starting even before grade school--and I continued to follow my beloved Flyers after I moved out of Philly for graduate school and then down to DC. It was tough to do, though, as articles and news stories weren't all that common in the local and even national media (barring the internet, which became my lifeline). Hockey certainly doesn't receive the sort of media attention of other major sports... nor does it really deserve it anymore, except as a case study of how to run a major league sport into the ground sideways and on fire. Long story there, but suffice it to say that, between my being out of the loop and the league's slow implosion, hockey and I thus began to drift apart.
And it's no surprise. The NHL was crashing and burning with poor television contracts and equally crappy print media coverage (just try being an NHL fan in Washington--it ain't pretty), until the bottom fell out with the lockout of 2004-2005. Even before the lockout, I knew things were spiraling downward when I chose to sit through the remaining innings of a Phillies game in May rather than walk back with my mother to watch the Flyers on tv in a playoff game that afternoon. Hockey and I had reached the nadir of our relationship that day. Some day I'll sit you down around the fire and tell you the tale of the Evil Gary Bettman Monster and His Wanton Destruction of the Sport I Love. But that's for another time.
This is a way too long introduction to the following link, a link that illustrates beautifully what it is about hockey that has me coming back, hat in hand, hoping it'll forgive me as I'm slowing starting to forgive it. It's not just the beauty and intensity of the sport that so attracts me; it's also the unintentional comedy. I could try to articulate what it is, but I don't need to, because Bill Simmons from ESPN has done so for us. I know this link is of no interest to anyone reading this but HB, but that's cool. Enjoy, HB!
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LOL!!! You called it, I clicked! That was a fun read. It is a, truly, fun sport that was always rougher and less glamorous than the likes of football, baseball, or basketball. Until the '90s, when we saw a huge shift toward money and treating it as purely business. Teams left Canada (fact: Minnesotans believe they are both Canadian and American when it comes to hockey) due to better financial benefits south of the border and the fun started to shrink in the hot sun of the southwestern US. Even Minneapolis and Hartford couldn't compete with the larger, newer markets. I took three personal hits almost simultaneously, having grown up with the North Stars, Jets and Nordiques. To see them all pack up for the worst reasons, then, several years later with the lock-out, get smacked in the face with the reality that it was not improving (and, remember how little of a deal it was when Lemieux returned?! That should have been a frigging party, but it was, practically, forgotten after the game)....I just don't know when I'll return. I guess when I find a team? Because, reading that article, it really is such a fun, unpredictable, crazy, honest, interactive, hometown-like game, with so much history, it's a shame to let corporate America succeed in their coup.
But 'Slap Shot' will always be one of the most entertaining films of all-time, no matter what! Anyone who isn't interested in the game, but wants to get a better feel for the draw, go rent it. Then, I will show you my autographed photo of "The Hansons".
Hehehe-was that long enough? ;-D
'Twas a great read, Miss PSK!
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