| A couple of nights ago, my roommate and I were | | | | How much more action could you possibly want? |
| doing a little bit of late-night channel surfing....the real | | | | Or, could it be that we don't think hockey players are |
| world? no....after-hours music videos? no....the cooking | | | | athletic enough to pull of the spectacular plays to |
| channel? definitely not....NHL hockey? Yeah, sure. Why | | | | which we have become accustomed watching |
| not? But as I was thinking a little hockey was in order | | | | basketball and football. Maybe. But if you watch |
| before bedtime, my roommate gave a resounding 'not | | | | hockey closely, you'll see that hockey is without a |
| a chance.' So, we watched something else, probably | | | | doubt one of the most action packed displays around. |
| something on ESPN. But that got me to thinking - why | | | | With 10 players flying around the rink in excess of |
| does hockey get such a bad rap? How has hockey | | | | 35-40 mph, the stick work and passing is exhilirating, |
| become a virtual non-existent in the minds of sports | | | | while the hits are utterly bone shattering and |
| fans in this country? Remember the days during the | | | | sometimes near fatal. As a result, a fair assessment is |
| hockey strike? No? Neither do most other Americans. | | | | that spectators definitely get their money's worth. |
| But why? What is it about hockey that turns us off? | | | | So, what is the deal? Why can't a sport that has the |
| Americans are generally impatient people. We want | | | | high-paced action of basketball and the hard hitting of |
| what we want and we want it now!! That is the basic | | | | football seem to gain a wide enough audience base? I |
| mentality here in the USA, is it not? So, one could | | | | really can't put my finger on it. I for one am a huge fan |
| argue that hockey may not be exciting enough for us; | | | | of hockey. Yes, most other fans sport outdated |
| that it doesn't fulfill our incessant need for instant | | | | mullets, are missing some of their teeth and say things |
| gratification. But, if you look at the typical scoring line | | | | like 'hoser' and 'eh' all day long. But, the sport is exciting |
| for hockey games, you'll see that there is plenty of | | | | just the same. Maybe we Americans don't prefer |
| action. Most games have anywhere between 5 and 10 | | | | hockey because of its foreign origins and the lack of a |
| goals, sometimes more. And seeing as how the game | | | | basic understanding of the rules. Whatever it may be, I |
| is only 60 minutes long, goals are being scored every | | | | think that hockey deserves more respect and credit |
| few minutes. Furthermore, if a game ends in a tie, they | | | | than the sports gives it. |
| have a sudden death shootout to decide the winner. | | | | |