Hockey: A game for 10-year-olds who never grow up
MITCH BLATT
Remember when you were 10 years old how fun it was to get in fights at school?
NHL players get into fights every game, sucker punching each other with intent to assault, getting into six fights in two minutes and intentionally breaking each others’ jaws.
Hockey is essentially legalized assault. Crime on ice. In a minor league hockey match, which included the six fights in the first two minutes, one player is actually being charged with assault:
The Jacks confirmed that they have pressed charges against Macmillian and that more charges could be filed against others involved in the incident.
This is the same thing that happens in every hockey game just to a worse degree. Hockey is allegedly a sport about getting a puck into a goal, but they have basically legalized and promoted assault and battery in the games. There are penalties for some of the fights, but the league doesn’t do anything to discourage fighting, because they want players to fight.
In the NBA or NFL, when players fight, there’s a big controversy on ESPN, and players get suspended and denounced as thugs. In hockey, the point of the game is to be a thug. Shall we say there is a racial question sticking its head here, or is it just because no one ever sees any fights in hockey–no one watches–that they don’t talk about it? As Scott Jacobs wrote at JSB, hockey begins another season under relative obscurity.
I wonder, do hockey players think they are being tough by fighting? They’re playing a sport for freaks sake, so if they are actually any good at that sport, they should just score a goal rather than fighting. Fighting is the providence of 10-year-olds who get into a lame argument about what down it is in recess football.
Fighting in hockey, I guess, is for losers who can’t outplay their opponents on the ice. Indeed, Wikipedia says, “Fighting is usually performed by one or more enforcers, or “goons” — players who are typically better at fighting than hockey.”
Also according to Wikipedia, “Fighting is governed by a complex system of unwritten rules that players, coaches, officials, and the media refer to as “the code”.” Yes, hitting people from behind and unprovoked is part of a great ethical code…
If football is war, with two teams engaging on the gridiron battlefield, hockey is terrorism. Football players follow the Geneva Convention, so to speak, but hockey players ignore all rules of war and fight with terrorist tactics and war crimes.
Wikipedia says that fighting is “a considerable draw for the sport” and that “some fans attend games primarily to see fights.” True, the sport of hockey is itself very boring, but fighting over the results of such a boring sport is only pointless and ignorant.
Apparently fighting is supposed to “intimidate” players. That means that football is a more manly game. Football players don’t have to fight to intimidate each other. They just lay into their opponents with a devastating hit, consistent with the rules of the game. If hockey players were able to check very hard, also consistent with the on-paper rules of the game, they could maybe intimidate each other that way.
So people who want to watch sports will continue to not watch the non-sport of hockey. People who want to watch fighting would be better off watching MMA. And hockey will continue to get no ratings for their thug league.
Popularity: 3% [?]
dude you are an idiot!!!!!!! hockey a “non-sport”??? fights have been a tradition in hockey since it started and because you probably are some basketball loving bitch where in that sport you can hit your wife and commit felonies and still be able to play, you think it’s a sport full of overgrown kids…. your logic that hockey players don’t deliver game changing checks is also retarded have you ever watched a full game?? or are you just a retard? they say that anyone can express their opinion on anything but you should never be allowed to for the rest of your life because not only is this article poorly written it’s also the dumbest article ever posted!!!!!
Hmm. So what you’re saying is that your years of flag football has left you in a state of weakness that makes you want to complain about actually physical sports? Pull your tampon out, hockey is the greatest sport ever created.
Ahh. Another incompitent thinking he knows why players fight. How high of a level did you play hockey again? Probably barely went to open skate.
Here’s a tought concept for you to understand, seeing as you cheerlead football as being a ’sport’ I’m going to try and keep it simple.
Fighting in hockey is used to boost morale and effect the crowd. Too complex still? You’re at an away game, the crowd is really into the game and you need to shut them up to stop giving that home ice advantage to their opponents. What can you do? Score a goal, land a huge hit, beat the crap out of one of their enforcers.
All three boost your teams morale and can shut up the crowd. However the last one gives another advantage. You take down someone who physically shuts down your team enabling them to do the first one. Score a goal.
I’m sorry hockey works on different layers. People like you just can’t seem to grasp it. I’m sorry hockey is complex in a variety of ways. With its interactions between teamates, opposing players and the crowd. I’m sorry its not like football where you spend 3 minutes watching a game and see 7 seconds worth of action. Nor is it baseball where you can spend an hour of the three plus watching the pitcher look around.
We have action in our games, and some people just aren’t wired to handle near constant action. As a tip – avoid soccer and rugby as well. Those too have near constant action. Well soccer has more dives than a swim team competition, however play generally does go on for a while.
But hey, you want to rage on hockey. We’re used to it. You’ll have to excuse that sound, its all hockey fans and players… laughing at you. You might get used to it, or you might turn into a football player and overract to every small accomplishment
Play a real sport, bitches and racists. If you can’t put the puck in the goal (the professionals can only do so once a game), then get off the ice.
Three people telling me I’m wrong in the comments is about as many who watch hockey in the first place.