Hockey, why bother?

[EverFresh]

I have been coerced into watching a hockey game with some friends tonight, and frankly I'd rather eat broken glass while having my fingernails pulled out, slowly

What is the draw? Reminds me of soccer, only less scoring. I don't get the bizarre rules and why do they have to wear short pants?

Can anyone explain to me why this "sport" has any kind of following at all?

 

[wilheim]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I don't get the bizarre rules and why do they have to wear short pants? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This late in the season you might be better off not knowing. With any luck you might get to watch a good fight or two while you are being tortured.

Have fun, wil.

 

[DarrylParsons]

EF,

Hockey, like any team sport, is a metaphor for war. You have to identify with one of the teams and equate scoring with killing the enemy. Imagine it as Canada vs. the U.S., conservatives vs. liberals or something like that. If you can get into that mindset you will enjoy it.

 

[LENBO]

Not a big fan of the regular season but the playoffs are great to watch.

 

[DarrylParsons]

The main rules:

Offside: The puck has to go past the other team's blue line (ie. into their "zone") before any of your players. This ensures that you don't have a guy just waiting for a pass in front of the goal.

Icing: If you clear the puck all the way to the other end from your side it gets whistled down and brought back to your end. This ensures more puck carrying and playmaking thus making the game more interesting.

Penalties: You can't use your stick to trip the other guy or otherwise obstruct him although, like fouls in basketball, they still do it and it's up to the refs what they call. This part sucks a bit just like in hoops.

Short pants: Long pants would impede their movement and no pants would fail to cover their jockstraps.

Thems the basics. Enjoy!

 

[lander]

I used to be a hockey fanatic, but the constant New England pass-coverage-style obstruction is a real turn off. What's even worse are the frequest cheap shots and melees (especially in front of the crease). I like watching a Probert vs Ray square off as much as the next guy, but watch shitheads like Bertuzzi (amongst hundreds of other incedents) just ruins the game.

If you don't know what I'm talking about then just watch a Leafs games and tell me if you'd want some kid playing against your son with the dirty tactics that are rampant in hockey.

Moving towards a standard Olympic sized rink, dropping the red line & calling EVERY obstruction and cheap shoot would do wonders for hockey.

They've got bigger problems that collective bargainings.

 

[postaldoug]

I hate to watch hockey, but used to clean-up betting parlays on it, (puckline to total ), reg season. That's all I can say, holding out hope for next season, if any book still allows it.

Doug

 

[chach]

I think the Flyers were the last team to wear the long pants, back in the mid-80's. The Toronto Marlies Juniors wore them too. They stopped wearing them because when a player fell and slid toward the boards they didn't slow down as much as they would wearing socks. Dangerous. Looked awful too, although not as bad as the Sabres' old socks.

 

[soccerbob]

lander- Well said. The constant clutching and grabbing and the stick interference has ruined a great game. A player can't skate ten feet without someone grabbing onto him or wrapping a stick around him. There is no flow to the game. I like your other ideas as well.