I turned on Sportscenter early last Thursday morning and a very tiny segment really irked me. It was about how the Auburn Tigers were beginning spring practice in defense of their national championship. Most would look at that very segment and not think anything of it, but I was so annoyed. Football is not even being played, can we please focus on something else! It is constantly being shoved down our throats and it seems to lead some people to believe that it is the only sport that even exists. That is so far from the truth.
Many sports are played in the months that football is in the off-season, one of them being hockey. The National Hockey League has so much to offer to the new, causal, or die-hard sports fan, and I'll give you some reasons why thats the case.
1. First off, it is way more aggresive and physcial than football, guaranteed.
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| Yes, that one guy is totally bleeding. |
I probably just got some people to click the "X" button on the top right of the screen. Football is one of the most aggresive sports I have seen, but it doesn't compare to a professional hockey game. First off, boards can be used to wipe out your opponent. For people not familar with the sport, that means you can pretty much body check the other teams' player into a wall.
Another thing that puts hockey on another level is fighting. Now some will argue that the fights reflect bad on the sport and that goonism belongs no where near the game. I tend to disagree. Fighting brings out the intensity and anger that all the other sports (besides the NFL) currently lack. The NBA was a lot more fun to watch when the teams got into brawls, and hockey is not even that bad most of the time. This is a controlled competition just like the sport itself and at the end of the fight, the two players sometimes even say "good fight" and shake hands. Although, most of them still want to kill each other. So if you were under the impression that the NHL was full of pansies who perform triple-axles and get flowers thrown at them after the game, it is time to get educated.
2. There are teams in need of support that are very close by!
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| Will someone be my friend? |
Example: the Atlanta Thrashers. This team has been in existance since 1999 and every time I go see them play the Penguins in Atlanta, Pitttsburgh fans always outnumber the Thrashers fans. It is fun for me (because it feels like a home game) but also so sad because this team has little support. The ATL will always get up for Falcons, Hawks, and Braves games, so why not the Thrashers? Atlanta is only two hours away from Birmingham, so everyone could make to a game a year or buy a t-shirt. All games are also televised locally on SportsSouth.
There are also other teams that are close that could use support from some readers just like you. The Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Florida Panthers are just a few teams in the South that could be supported.
It also cannot be argued that some of these teams have not had success. The Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006 and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.
3. With NFL lockout now in effect and NBA lockout looming, this will be one of the few pro sports we will have next season.
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| Yep, Obama is going to miss the Steelers too. |
Now a counter argument to this is that college football and basketball will still happen. That is very true, but the world of sports will get very lonely without two of its powerhouses. People need a sport to entertain them while they are sad.
In the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Jason Segal's character Peter is dumped by his girlfriend and he takes a trip to Hawaii to try ease the pain of her decision. He eventually finds a girl named Rachel (Mila Kunis) and she helps fill the void of the loss and at the end of the movie, they seem to fall in love and all is right in the world. So it is a very simple question folks: Why can't the NHL be Rachel? Something that fills the void but also sticks around and becomes something special? Instead of being such a sports hermit, people should give other things a chance and realize that it might actually be good for them.
I could go into about another 20000 words about how people should give this sport a chance, but I slowly realized that it will not help. Just like anyone who has liked anything ever, it takes an effort. So I ask anyone who is unfamilar with the sport to turn on NBC on Sunday afternoons and watch the playoffs starting on April 13th. You could even email or call me if you are confused on rules or have any questions. People of the South, this sport is definitely worth your time.
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