I Freaking LOVE hockey

[pavyaz19 1]

In the midst of all the positives, all the negatives, all the goalie bashing, all the name-calling... I just wanted to say, I FREAKING LOVE HOCKEY.

You could combine all the other existing sports, but together, they still wouldn't bring the joy that hockey brings to me.

In the middle of the intense game we saw tonight, I had to pause it and just soak in what had happened. The play that caused this was when Hannan took that shot off his foot. He went down hard. This extreme amount of pain would have made a basketball player squeal and beg for his mama, would have made a baseball player miss a season, would have made a football player call for the Gator to come pick him up so he could rest until the playoffs. But what did Hannan do? He took it, he picked up his limp body and did all he could to get off the ice. Even the ref came over and helped him. All this, mind you, without stopping the play - without whistle. That is a hockey player my friend. And make no mistake, I hate everything about the Avs, but above all else I love hockey. And Hannan made me proud. (I think of the Captain Morgan slogan when I say this... "he had a little Stevie Y in him.")

There are so many reasons behind it, but think hard and pick the number one reason why you love the game. To me, it's broad yet deep and only a word a true hockey fan can fully understand... one word...

Passion.

So here's to all of you, friend or foe, Wing or Av, Hockey forever.

[miller76 463]

Good post btw. I grow tired of all the same topics and nervous energy day in day out. I freaking love hockey too. I absolutely love the Detroit Red Wings and the great state of Michigan. Though I grew up mainly in southern California listening to the great Bob Miller broadcast the Kings games as a child. The Kings were the only team in the area and were quite popular now that Gretzky came to town. The Ducks weren't even thought of yet. Travelling back to the Detroit/Utica area I would visit my grandparents, and my grandfather would take me to the Joe, which was very clean and very modern at the time. It was also very empty because plain and simple the Wings were not good. My grandfather would tease me, that he was going to stop bringing me to the games, because everytime I went, they lost. I guess vivid memories of being an innocent child and the love of the game passed down through family. I guess now I just enjoy the exploding hits, the speed, the talent, and all the little things that go into every game. Now I pass it on to my children.

(Some of you have seen this pic, but some haven't. How cool is it to have a son who loves what you love just as much) I love this freakin game!

Edited April 25, 2008 by miller76

[FireCaptain 563]

As I tell the Pred fan that jack with me at the Sommet, "I've loved hockey longer than your team has been in existence."

Seriously, fast and most hardcore game there is.

I LOVE HOCKEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wings_Dynasty 267]

Tension and speed. In basketball, you know they are going to score everytime they go down the court. In baseball, you are waiting for things to happen that might not, and the players are usually just standing there while you wait. In football only half the team is playing at a time.

Hockey is fast, unpredictable, all players must be working and together, and goals MEAN something.

[DaKineMaui 8]

Hockey is fast, unpredictable, all players must be working and together, and goals MEAN something.

^^^ Your WORST line can light it up on any given night. The crappiest player on your team has a shot at the GWG. You GOTTA GOTTA GOTTA watch. shhhh.

Also - yes:

NFL? Lions lose? pffft.....snicker....whatever. Another sold out game.

MLB? Tigers lose.....errrr win? I dunno. 162,000 game season.

NBA? 7' tall guy with a 5' reach jumped? to jam that ball through the hoop? Give him a bonus!

::::::yawn:::::::

[Firehawk 305]

I love, THIS KIND of hockey. The brand we saw against a crap team like the Preds, that type of hockey sucks.

The league needs to bring back this type of hockey more often.

[NKYWingsFan 4]

This picture pretty well sums up the sport for me, and my love of it.

And, of course,

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[Nev 1,085]

You know what's sad? I;m watching that clip and I'm thinking "isn't it nice that I don't have to listen to Pierre McGuire sucking off the Blues?"

Sorry for bringing him into this thread.

Why do I love hockey? Flow. Speed. A well executed rush up ice with all the passing and movement is truly a thing of beauty. Its why I love 4on4 OT so much.

[seeinred 1,488]

To say just one reason is tough, because there are easily dozens of reasons I could name.

But if I must, I'll kind of go with the passion angle:

The fact that grown men care so much, that they want something so bad that they're willing to literally fight for it. That players will sacrifice any part of their body to stop the other team from scoring. I just love when players show that nothing else in the world matters except winning.

I can't understand why everyone in the world wouldn't watch just because of that.

[discohadestwo 0]

And, of course,

I've always loved hockey. I've played since I was three. My dad was my coach in I-League. He played & all of my uncles played for U of M. Hockey's a family thing & it's always been a part of me.

But this was when I decided to make it my life. Jerseys. Collectibles. Stickers & flags on the car. If I didn't have to work, I'd watch every game & do my best to listen to or be updated on the scores if I couldn't get a friend to tape it for me. & playing hockey during the off season just so I don't feel lost during the summer.

I love it. & I need it.

[betterREDthandead 58]

I love hockey cause I've always loved hockey. Why I loved hockey when I was six, I don't even know, I guess I just always thought it was the most natural thing in the world to root for the home team. I can think of a zillion things I love about hockey (the feeling in my stomach and the pounding of my heart when I watch that clip even though it's 12 years old and I know exactly what's gonna happen is one of them. Actually it's like six of them.) Fact is though, I love watching hockey just because I always have. Trying to picture giving up the Wings is like trying to imagine a new color that nobody's ever seen.

[Lovin Jiri Fischer 147]

The entire game counts, unlike basketball where only the last two minutes matter.

Any team can score at any time, unlike football where if they are all the way down the field, you know they aren't gonna score for about 20 minutes. And usually it's only one team at a time that gets a chance to score. And also, it takes more than one game to win a playoff round.

There's major contact, unlike baseball.

The only sport where sticking up for your players and fighting makes sense, and is a huge part of the game.

And unlike all these sports, players ARE SKATING, not running. I can't imagine football player trying to play hockey.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

Its hard to pick one, so i have two.

First off is how hockey inspires Unity and brings people together. Some of the best relationships i have are grwon stronger and stronger infront of the Tv watching the wings. My father, my brother, and me dont always have the best ways of showing that we love eachother well because we are guys and guys dont have the most productive way of showing it. But when those wings come on, we are all in front of the big screen screaming and yelling, slapping hands, it just brings us all closer together, and i love that. Also the relationship i have with my girlfriend has grown so much stronger for our combined love of the sport. We got together over 3 years ago, and it was around the lockout year, so we didnt really talk about hockey that much so neither of us knew of the love of the sport that we both had. But we soon figured it out, and we have been in love ever since haha. The sport just unites people and brings everyone closer together!

Secondly, i love a sport where an average joe somebody can turn into a god/legend. Its a sport where you can take a boy that is 5'10 160 lbs soaking wet, no rippling muscles, scrawny, cant grow facial hair, and not the strongest skater, and as soon as he touches NHL ice for the first time, destiny seems to step in and transform this boy into something unhuman, something godlike.....Theres something about this godlike creature that happens season after season that makes him seem even more inhuman whether it be a knee injury that would end the career of an average man, but only keeps him out for half a season, or perhaps a hockey puck to the eye that would blind a simple man....but the most amazing thing that this creature did was he took the weight of his entire team, hell, an entire State.....and put it up on his shoulders. He carried this weight for almost 13 seasons before he restored not only the team but the whole State of Michigan to glory. I know everyone knows of whom i speak, but just so there is no confusion i am speaking of the boy, no, the man, no the LEGEND, no the GOD Steve Yzerman! He apitamizes what hockey means to me and why i love it so! There will never be another like him.....

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

Good post btw. I grow tired of all the same topics and nervous energy day in day out. I freaking love hockey too. I absolutely love the Detroit Red Wings and the great state of Michigan. Though I grew up mainly in southern California listening to the great Bob Miller broadcast the Kings games as a child. The Kings were the only team in the area and were quite popular now that Gretzky came to town. The Ducks weren't even thought of yet. Travelling back to the Detroit/Utica area I would visit my grandparents, and my grandfather would take me to the Joe, which was very clean and very modern at the time. It was also very empty because plain and simple the Wings were not good. My grandfather would tease me, that he was going to stop bringing me to the games, because everytime I went, they lost. I guess vivid memories of being an innocent child and the love of the game passed down through family. I guess now I just enjoy the exploding hits, the speed, the talent, and all the little things that go into every game. Now I pass it on to my children.

(Some of you have seen this pic, but some haven't. How cool is it to have a son who loves what you love just as much) I love this freakin game!

I dont want to scare you or anything.....but what is your adress because i am going to steal that little boy! haha. That is the cutest thing i have ever seen. Thats how im going to raise my boys! They are going to know what a red wing is at birth. And Steve Yzerman will be the first thing out of their mouths.....I love that pic!

[rbochan 15]

I am not a sports fan, in general. I am a hockey fan.

You never know what's going to happen in a hockey game... never.

[kylee 727]

this is such a cool thread of you to start. and ironic to me at least, i was literally JUST thinking about how much i love hockey the other day, and got all excited at school to come home and watch some later that night.

i love hockey because it is the fastest, most entertaining sport in the world.

i love the swarming offensive pressure any team can bring,

i love the excitement and "OH!" you almost invariably hear when a shot rings off the post - nothing can match that in any sport.

i love the blending phyiscality and finese. when i was younger i loved learning about different strategies of the game. the play in general is extremely exciting and even more so in person. hockey is great because every minute really does count, hockey is the best because one team can be on all out offense, and there can be a huge save by the defending goalie and an odd man rush the other way in a matter of seconds.

end to end hockey is 2nd to none, but i really do love every aspect of the game.

GO WINGS!

[irishtemper14+25 11]

I love hockey because I grew up with it, my parents were huge wings fans and my dad was a habs fan too, I just loved playing and watching hockey

[miller76 463]

I dont want to scare you or anything.....but what is your adress because i am going to steal that little boy! haha. That is the cutest thing i have ever seen. Thats how im going to raise my boys! They are going to know what a red wing is at birth. And Steve Yzerman will be the first thing out of their mouths.....I love that pic!

ha ha, you cannot have my little hockey buddy. I might let you have my other kids though! j/k! I have a total of 4 boys, and he is my youngest. My 2nd oldest plays locally in a league, and is turning out to be quite the forechecker. But thanks for the comment.

[Lovin Jiri Fischer 147]

Its hard to pick one, so i have two.

First off is how hockey inspires Unity and brings people together. Some of the best relationships i have are grwon stronger and stronger infront of the Tv watching the wings. My father, my brother, and me dont always have the best ways of showing that we love eachother well because we are guys and guys dont have the most productive way of showing it. But when those wings come on, we are all in front of the big screen screaming and yelling, slapping hands, it just brings us all closer together, and i love that. Also the relationship i have with my girlfriend has grown so much stronger for our combined love of the sport. We got together over 3 years ago, and it was around the lockout year, so we didnt really talk about hockey that much so neither of us knew of the love of the sport that we both had. But we soon figured it out, and we have been in love ever since haha. The sport just unites people and brings everyone closer together!

I definately know what you mean. My dad and doesn't really say "I love you" to anyone because he's a guy and because he's really more quiet and reserved. But we always watch the wings together when I'm home from school, and it's our way of bonding because we don't spend that much time together. And when I'm at school and call home once in a while, I'll talk to him and it will be so awkward and have a lot of pauses because my dad doesn't really do phone calls. But then he will ask me "So did you watch the Wings last night?" and then we just start talking and talking and talking. I think it's great that hockey gives us one thing in common.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

I definately know what you mean. My dad and doesn't really say "I love you" to anyone because he's a guy and because he's really more quiet and reserved. But we always watch the wings together when I'm home from school, and it's our way of bonding because we don't spend that much time together. And when I'm at school and call home once in a while, I'll talk to him and it will be so awkward and have a lot of pauses because my dad doesn't really do phone calls. But then he will ask me "So did you watch the Wings last night?" and then we just start talking and talking and talking. I think it's great that hockey gives us one thing in common.

Exactly how it is with me and my dad. The only two things we can talk about without the akward pausing are the Red Wings and the Tigers. But im glad we have it, i know some familes that dont have ANYTHING to talk about. Plus father and son relationships are weird once the kid tunrs 18 or so, you have to work harder at it to show that you love eachother since saying it is not manly haha. But to be honest, i wouldnt have it any other way. Sharing something that i love with someone that i love is 20 times better than just saying i love you to him.

[Spinner 6]

In the midst of all the positives, all the negatives, all the goalie bashing, all the name-calling... I just wanted to say, I FREAKING LOVE HOCKEY.

You could combine all the other existing sports, but together, they still wouldn't bring the joy that hockey brings to me.

In the middle of the intense game we saw tonight, I had to pause it and just soak in what had happened. The play that caused this was when Hannan took that shot off his foot. He went down hard. This extreme amount of pain would have made a basketball player squeal and beg for his mama, would have made a baseball player miss a season, would have made a football player call for the Gator to come pick him up so he could rest until the playoffs. But what did Hannan do? He took it, he picked up his limp body and did all he could to get off the ice. Even the ref came over and helped him. All this, mind you, without stopping the play - without whistle. That is a hockey player my friend. And make no mistake, I hate everything about the Avs, but above all else I love hockey. And Hannan made me proud. (I think of the Captain Morgan slogan when I say this... "he had a little Stevie Y in him.")

There are so many reasons behind it, but think hard and pick the number one reason why you love the game. To me, it's broad yet deep and only a word a true hockey fan can fully understand... one word...

Passion.

So here's to all of you, friend or foe, Wing or Av, Hockey forever.

ditto, Great post. I have to add that hockey requires so much skill, agility, coordination among others, not by just one star player as a quarterback or pitcher, but by all the players. Any one player can miscue and change the whole game. I love hockey so much I watch other teams play when the Wings aren't on. You'll rarely catch me watching any other sport when a Detroit team isn't playing. But hockey....it's all good no matter who's playing. Go Wings woo hoo

[VM1138 1,921]

There is so much to love about hockey.

It's so fast and quick to develop.

But I agree with everyone else on here, it's the passion. Grown men doing anything to win. These players aren't the ego-driven bastards of the NBA and NFL, they cheer just as loudly when anyone on the team scores. I love the impromptu yet ritual pile-ons when someone scores the game winning goal, I love the tension of sudden death overtime. I love that playoffs are more than one game, giving the beaten team a chance to respond, making a series long war. I love the Steve Yzerman's who are broken and hurting and STILL go out and play, using a stick as a crutch. I love that moment of pure joy that is shared among the team and 20,000 screaming fans when a split second decision leads to an offensive rush or an amazing save by a forward forced to play in front of his own net. Because the sport is so fast-moving, the memorable moments are NATURAL. Unlike in other sports where some moments seem fabricated or forced, hockey is full of split-second responses.

And I love going to a game and hearing the "OH!" when a shot hits the post, or when someone makes a huge hit, and the chanting of the goalie's name in support, and the fact that you are living in a time vacuum with thousands of other fans to live and die with your team, which actually plays like a TEAM.

[Bender 0]

The edge-of-your-seat intensity of an ice hockey game and the uninhibited passion displayed by both players & fans at every level of play --- from the house league at your local rink, all the way to the heights of the rafters at the Joe, hockey is the greatest game on Earth.

Hockey is speed

Hockey is skill

Hockey is teamwork

Hockey is finesse

Hockey is grit

Hockey is grace under fire

Hockey is perseverance

Hockey is pure competition

Hockey is totally unpredictable

Hockey is the greatest trophy in all of sports

Now THAT is how the cup changes everything

[redwings56 1]

What does divealanche mean?

[Dano33 41]

I was only nine, but when McCarty scored that goal against the flyers word cannot even describe my feelings. Its something i will never forget. There is nothing better than the chills you get from watching that. In my eyes, that was the greatest goal of all time. I mean, McCarty of all people, in the biggest moment in his life, pulled off probably the best move of his life and just went absolutely crazy afterword. It was amazing.