Thread: Any Hockey Fans Out There????

I'll give you an," amen brother" on that. I love hockey but I am aware that it is only a game and I spend what time and money I have available for it. Here in "Gator country" you see a lot of priorities WAY out of whack. The one that kills me are these people that live 350 to 400 miles away that have $400,000 -$500,000 RVs that they use exclusively to drive to Gainesville to sit in a parking lot to watch the game on television. That is beyond my comprehension.
Don't get me wrong. I like hockey as much as the next guy but there comes a point in time when you have to say to yourself, "This is a little out of whack. "

I sure used to be a hockey fan. Grew up in Winnipeg in the 70s, so I was able to be a Habs fan in the NHL and a Jets fan in the WHA. Then, when the Jets joined the NHL, I became a die-hard fan. I knew all the players, went to a bunch of games, and absolutely loved it. Morris Lukowich was my hero, then later Hawerchuk, then of course Teemu - still one of the classiest guys to play the game. For a couple of years my hockey coach was the president of the Jets' booster club, so he got us in to tons of games for free in return for handing out things at the door and doing other small jobs. I got to know the old Winnipeg Arena inside and out. It was a dump, but it was *our* dump, you know? So yeah, I can honestly say I *was* a hockey fan.

Then our crook of an owner sold the Jets to Phoenix of all places (no offence to anyone in AZ here. It just doesn't make sense that Winnipeg and Quebec didn't have teams while Phoenix did!). So I developed a hatred of the NHL and the bastard who ran (and still runs) it. And although a new Jets team has arrived back in my hometown, I just can't get behind the league any more. People back home lost their minds when they got a team again, jumped straight on the bandwagon, and didn't give a thought to the Atlanta fans who felt just as screwed over as we had not too long earlier. I went to a couple of games in Ottawa when the Jets came to town but just couldn't get back into it. Way too expensive, the arena is in a gawdawful location, far too many TV time outs... etc., and so on.

So unfortunately I have absolutely no faith in the NHL, no interest in watching it, and no real skin in the game. I guess I'd be happy if the Habs won the cup again, and I have plenty of friends who would be delighted if the Jets managed to win it some day. But sadly I really couldn't care less.

I do enjoy Junior and Olympic hockey and will watch it if it's on. But that's about it.

Well, that turned out a bit more curmudgeonly that I had originally intended.

Wow! That was a lot to process. I hear these things from people about a lot of sports. I guess I get it too because I used to watch boxing but the last fight I watched was the one where Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear off. Somehow it just wasn't the same anymore. I watched the thriller in Manila, I watched the fight between Boom Boom Mancini and Duk ku Kim but I could see a change in it over time which I didn't really like. Maybe I'm fortunate that I didn't experience that with hockey. Hell I just love to watch the game. It is beautiful to me and graceful in a very masculine kind of way. It's actually two sports in one. The hockey part is hard enough but the way those guys skate is just so amazing. I'd give anything to be able to skate like that. Some of you may remember my last venture onto the ice where I split my head open and got five staples. Maybe I'm lucky that I haven't been a fan since I was a kid. I don't know.

I always thought that Olympic hockey was a better game to watch. It seems smoother, faster and has less of the unnecessary body contact the NHL has allowed more of over the years.

Bob

Another huge hockey fan here. Played it (JV) in college, where I listened on the radio to hear the Flyers win the Stanley Cup. Took my kids to Flyers and minor league and college (Princeton) games (historic Hobey Baker arena), but my best times were playing pickup games with my youngest son at our town rink. He was a goalie and I loved to suit up with him and his friends and skate around and shoot some pucks.

Originally Posted by Portsecurity

Another huge hockey fan here. Played it (JV) in college, where I listened on the radio to hear the Flyers win the Stanley Cup. Took my kids to Flyers and minor league and college (Princeton) games (historic Hobey Baker arena), but my best times were playing pickup games with my youngest son at our town rink. He was a goalie and I loved to suit up with him and his friends and skate around and shoot some pucks.

Awesome memories! So I see you live in New Jersey now. Are you a Devils fan? I know you mentioned Flyers but I've always wondered about that. Having lived in Florida most of my life and really not having been a hockey fan for very long If I were to move to let's say, Arizona would I become a Coyotes fan even though I've been a Lightning fan all along? I mean, you have to support the local team don't you? Isn't it... unpatriotic not to support the local team? I can't imagine not being a Lightning fan but I'm conflicted about that.
I guess maybe it's not as complicated as that because I already like other teams. The Florida Panthers for instance I support... Except when they're playing the Lightning of course.

Bruins fan here....been a fan since 1971...Yah know ,when hockey was hockey....no helmets,Donny Brooks, .....Bobby Orr ,Phil Esposito...the Big Bad Bruins....those were the days !

Originally Posted by nessmuck

Bruins fan here....been a fan since 1971...Yah know ,when hockey was hockey....no helmets,Donny Brooks, .....Bobby Orr ,Phil Esposito...the Big Bad Bruins....those were the days !

The NHL has had a lot of mega stars, but Mr. Orr, in my opinion, was the brightest. He could dominate a game the way nobody else had in the past or has since and that was obvious from the moment he stepped on the ice as a young boy.

Gretzky was the great one, but Bobby has never been equaled. A defenceman who won the scoring title and the Art Ross and ...

He was also an incredible ambassador for the sport.

Too bad he didn’t have access to the kind of knee rehab and surgery available to today’s athletes.

Don't forget Gordie Howe in the list of NHL greats.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

Don't forget Gordie Howe in the list of NHL greats.

Bob

Absolutely!!

I think I mentioned this in a post last year, but the actual last Maple Leaf game I attended was in the Gardens. The Stanley Cup champion Leafs (guess the date) were playing the NHL All Stars. The All Star starting forward line was Hull, Howe and Beliveau and I had seats right beside the goal judge at the Leaf end of the rink. A Hull slapshot hit the glass right in front of me and I was stunned for the rest of the first period.

My only disappointment was that Johnny Bower wasn’t in goal for the Leafs that night. I did get to see Carl Brewer use his palm-less gloves to grab a few sweaters and Bobby Baun line up a few hits. Eddie Shack scored twice - one off his head and another off his rear end. Even though I was just a teen and it was quite a long time ago, I can still picture those scenes. Part of the evolution of a long suffering Maple Leaf fan.