Hockey players are the greatest

[Nevermind 363]

I know we all know this. But it can't be said enough. Hockey players are generally far-and-away superior to all other athletes. Hockey players are better.

Right after the Wings game last night, as I was still in my blissful excitedly frantic state, I came back and saw my friend watching a baseball game. I just caught a glimpse and saw two players from different teams sharing a cordial story or two and some laughs during the game. I joked that you would NEVER see that during a hockey game. In my all years watching hockey, I have never seen that happen (save for All-star games). And, of course, never anything remotely close to such a thing in the playoffs.

But, I've seen similar things happen in the Superbowl and NBA playoffs. And my reactions were exactly the same. Hockey players are better. They care more.

My friend didn't understand my point, so I tried to explain to him--something not so easy to do in words. It's more of a feeling/emotional thing really. But, I pretty much said that if you're so emotionally engaged in the game and truly care, two players from different teams just don't act nice to one another. It doesn't make sense. It just doesn't seem right.

He argued back that you 'don't have to hate the other players' and that baseball players/other athletes care just as much as hockey players, etc. It was a lost cause anyways, so I let it go. Bear in mind that he's similarly disagreed with me before when I claimed that hockey players are more humble and hard-working. Something I think even other athletes can acknowledge.

But, in thinking about hockey, I don't know any other sport where a home crowd can jolt the players so much. That just shows how emotional a game it is. Come playoff time, it's all about will, grit, determination and emotion. The rewards of hard work are immediately and readily apparent. When you look in Pavel or Nick's or Hank's eyes, you see a fiery spirit there. A will that won't give up. Just from their body language, you can tell they genuinely care. I simply don't get that same feeling from a lot of the players of the other 3 majors sports during their grandest stages. It's like win or lose, it's just a game to them and they still get their paychecks (or paycheques, for my Canadian friends.)

More so than any other sport during the playoffs, hockey players sacrifice anything and everything for the team. Not their stats or egos. They have to in order to win come playoff time. You just don't see that kind of cohesion within a team in other sports. Maybe it's why hockey players hug after scoring a goal. There's a powerful camaraderie between hockey players that's absent in other sports.

Regardless of what happens Thursday, I'm happy that my beloved Wings proved once again that they care just as much as the most die-hard of fans. Even further, there's no doubt in my mind that our star players simply care more than San Jose's. Could you imagine cheering for a team when you feel like you care more than some of the players? In my opinion, whether they realize it or not, I think most people do just that when watching other sports.

Hockey players are just better.

Everything I said has been said before. But if you agree with me, I thought it might be worthwhile to pause and appreciate how lucky we are to be fans of the greatest sport in the world.

Hockey is just better.

[HankthaTank 1,100]

Somewhat unrelated, but it goes to show with how the Stanley Cup Playoffs are as well. The hardest and most revered trophy in sport is Lord Stanley's Cup for that very reason. The 16 wins it takes to get it done cannot be even close to rivaled by any other playoffs. Intensity at its overall finest.

[Nevermind 363]

Somewhat unrelated, but it goes to show with how the Stanley Cup Playoffs are as well. The hardest and most revered trophy in sport is Lord Stanley's Cup for that very reason. The 16 wins it takes to get it done cannot be even close to rivaled by any other playoffs. Intensity at its overall finest.

No, that's totally related.

I should steal it and add it to my original post.

[weGotTheCup89 41]

Respectfully, you have obviously never been to an important and closely played college basketball or football game if you think the crowd can't jolt the players like that.

That's quite a statement to say that hockey players are overall superior to all other athletes because you don't see them being buddy-buddy like in the NBA and MLB... I'd say European soccer teams and fans are just as passionate.

Also, what would you rather see in baseball? While in hockey we have players going as hard as they can for 30 second shifts, you have a guy standing on first base for 5 minutes. I think the argument you're trying to make is that hockey >> other sports.

Edited May 11, 2011 by weGotTheCup89

[VM1138 1,921]

Respectfully, you have obviously never been to an important and closely played college basketball or football game if you think the crowd can't jolt the players like that.

That's quite a statement to say that hockey players are overall superior to all other athletes because you don't see them being buddy-buddy like in the NBA and MLB... I'd say European soccer teams and fans are just as passionate.

Also, what would you rather see in baseball? While in hockey we have players going as hard as they can for 30 second shifts, you have a guy standing on first base for 5 minutes. I think the argument you're trying to make is that hockey >> other sports.

Really, it's the intensity. Hockey players occasionally fraternize, but the game is too intense to do it on the ice. Once in a while you'll see someone make a comment (unheard of course) that makes an opposing player laugh, but it's usually not in the playoffs. And if we're discussing baseball, the players were probably just trying to stay awake.