Oh for the love of hockey!

I'm not sure I have the words to describe how wonderful the game of ice hockey is. Sure, part of the game plan is hitting the other guy as hard as you can to take him out of play for a few seconds, and it's really expensive so it's primarily upper-middle and upper class white guys out there playing (though women are moving up, so there is that), and the players' bench after a game is a revolting cess pool of spit and snot rockets. All that said, it's still brilliant.

My favorite team, as many of you may know, is the Detroit Red Wings. I love them. One of the things on my lifetime to-do list is to see them play at the Joe in Detroit, that would be awesome. If for some odd reason I end up rich and/or well-connected, we'll make that a playoff game at the Joe. Like any relationship, we have our ups an downs. They've had a hard time since 2002, the last time they won the Stanley Cup. "The winningest coach in history," Scotty Bowman, retired after that season so I think that's why. They had a good season this year, but fell in the first round of the playoffs, that made me sad. I'm happy to say that the Carolina Hurricanes have lifted my spirits since that first round depression. They lost to Detroit in the 2002 finals, it was a really good series and I've liked the Canes as a team since. They've also acquired two new faces since then that make them that much more enjoyable. Commodore who got traded from Calgary is just pretty damn cool, and cutie-pie playmaker Eric Staal, Staal, he's so hot right now, Staal (Zoolander? anyone?), is candy for the eyes (see above), as well as a damn good player. Carolina is currently battling Buffalo for the Eastern Conference title, and the series is tied 2-2. They creamed Buffalo last night, 4-0, it was great.

As I said above, I'm not sure I'm enough of a poet to describe just how great the game is, but watching the playoffs, I've managed to come up with my top ten reasons why hockey is so great, especially come playoff time.

10. During the playoffs, there is a game on TV just about every day, what a wonderful excuse for not getting things done.
9. The player interviews. A large percentage of the NHL is Canadian and listening to them talk aboot the game of hockey is so much fun, eh.
8. The road to the Cup is about endurance and who wants it the most. What's better than watching a team up by three still fighting for every face off and winning the battles along the boards? Not a lot my friend, trust me.
7. Another point on endurance, how great is it when a playoff game goes to five periods and the players are practically falling over they're so tired, but it's still a great game cuz they all want it? Good times.
6. Hockey is a FAST sport. There's no watching out of the corner of your eye while you do something else. It's an all or nothing sport, for the players and the fans. Sweet.
5. Game 3 of a playoff series. If you follow hockey, you know that this is THE game, the turning point where the intensity heats up, the players start to push each others' buttons, and the game becomes ten times better and more exciting than it already was.
4. The new rule changes this year. They did good. My personal favorite is the shoot-out at the end of a tie game. Why didn't anyone think of this sooner?
3. Those three back-to-back-to-back shots that the goalie miraculously saves. How did he do that? It's almost superhuman. Almost.
2. Na-nananana-na, HEY!, na-nana-na (Do other sports have this cheer? I don't know, but it's a fun one, at least when you're team is winning.) Hockey fans are pretty cool (for proof, see previous post.....er.....I mean, ignore previous post!).
1. During the playoffs, most games have that pivotal 10 minutes of frantic skating, huge hits, the quickest line changes you've ever seen, and shots on goal from every angle and out of nowhere. This 10 minutes explains why your quads hurt the next day cuz you leaped up and out of your seat so much, it was like doing squats.

So there it is, some of my favorite things about the game of hockey. If you are already a fan, I hope I filled you with that warm glow, and if you're not, I hope you at least got a little excited by my description of playoff hockey.