Playground Justice

You really want to know what I think?? (if you don't...well...you probably shouldn't visit my blog then, eh?).  I think those "marginal" fans of hockey who complain about the NHL and make comparisons to the Olympic Games, where there is no fighting or goons, are the type of people who don't really "get" hockey.  And I don't know if I would be willing to bend over backwards to win them over as fans, anyway.

Let's face this fact, please: Hockey is a regional sport that has it's own small niche (unless you are in Canada, where 50% of the public PASSIONATELY follows the game -- you know what the most passionate fan base in the United States is???  NFL Football at 30% = no comparison).

So, the long and the short of it is that I think fighting has its place in the sport.  I love some of the thoughts and sentiments that John Buccigross has had about fighting in the NHL:

"For some, this sanctioned pugilism gives a Wild, Wild West, Darwinism, Green Day mosh pit, uncivilized, circus vibe to the NHL. Well, duh ... that's what some of us like about it. That's the charm and uniqueness of hockey. No sport powered by humans is more dangerous. Sticks, boards, pucks, ice, razor-sharp blades and fists make hockey the most dangerous and unpredictable game. That's what makes for an excellent spectator sport. Hockey is best when it is played by crazy, fast and unpredictable young men trying to prove something."

And Bucci's 'safety' wrap up this way:

"I would still watch NHL games if fighting was "banned," and I certainly understand someone could actually get killed in an NHL fight; but I also get that people have died slipping in their own bathrooms, and they still haven't banned showers."

Here's the "Playground Justice":


And a bit more for good measure:



Watching hockey fights doesn't make a person violent.  I am sure some psychologist out there would disagree, but I don't feel any urge to rip the heads off doves, go punch my neighbor, or drive on the freeway with road rage.  I just like the intensity, the battles, the beauty followed by 'knuckle-dragging' neanderthal-ism of the game.  "It's a Great Day for Hockey".