4 Reasons Why Hockey is Under Rated
by Opie Cunningham on SportsRaid.com
As we approach the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, here are some of the reasons why if you’re not a hockey fan, you should pay attention…and why the game is more special than you might think.
PLAYERS ARE EQUIPPED WITH KNIVES ON THEIR FEET AND CLUBS IN THEIR HANDS
Think about that for a second. In any other walk of life, that equipment will likely get you arrested for possession of a deadly weapon. In hockey, it’s just part of the game. That’s video game cool. Now think about the fact that the players crash into each other at speeds of up to twenty miles per hour while carrying that equipment. They move faster as self-propelled athletes than any other non-motorized sport. Would you want anyone moving that fast to crash into you?
SCORING IS NOT EASY, AND EMOTIONS RISE AND FALL WITH EVERY PLAY
Basketball, football, even baseball — -all of those sports feature a multitude of scoring plays every game. Not hockey. Sometimes sixty minutes of action will result in one score only, and often that’s enough to win the game. Wait, I know what you’re thinking — -sometimes soccer only has one goal in a game and that’s enough to win. Fair point — -but watch a hockey game side by side with a soccer game…you tell me which has more sustained action and excitement.
Oh, and when it comes to overtime, no abbreviated shootouts here to decide championships. The players play — and play, and play and play…often having to play as many as two full games, or more, to decide a winner. And take a look at the faces of the players, and the fans, as these moments progress. You will never see more textbook examples of agony, ecstasy, and everything in between. Fans leave arenas just as spent as the athletes.
HOCKEY PLAYERS ARE TOUGHER THAN THE REST OF US
Look at how injuries are described in every other sport. We know every minute detail of every athlete’s every malady. Every hangnail, turf toe, muscle strain, and dandruff flake. How are injuries described in hockey? Upper body or lower body — that’s it. No description, no specifics. Just deal with it, and play. We’ve all seen hockey players take stitches and come back to play. Want more proof — look at this tweet:
AV reveals that Ryan McDonagh was playing with broken foot “for a couple of games” #NYR
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) May 30, 2015
Rangers’ defenseman Ryan McDonagh played several games in the playoffs with a broken foot? Ever tried to put on a shoe with a broken foot? Imagine trying to put on a skate. And skating. If you broke your foot, how many days of work would you miss? I bet a lot more than McDonagh did.
HOCKEY HAS THE COOLEST TROPHY
They don’t make a separate Cup every year. They trot out the same one, year after year. That makes it mean that much more. It has all the names of all prior champions engraved on it. And get this — -every player on the winning team gets the Cup to himself for a 24 hour period. It’s been all over the world and in every situation. Horses have eaten out of it. Babies have sat in it. It’s been to barbeques and black tie dinners. Think Tom Brady can just take the Lombardi Trophy home to Giselle for a night just because? — nope.
Oh, one more thing. If you ever get a chance to meet a hockey player, you’ll quickly learn — they are the nicest of all the athletes. They’ll say hi, and how are you, and genuinely be glad to see you. Try that with any other major sport athlete. I wish you luck.
So give hockey another look. You’ll be glad you did.
IMAGES: By Elliot [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Uploaded on flickr.com by user “Uncleweed” on February 13, 2006 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/uncleweed/99333325/) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
