I cried because I had no skates
But then I met a woman who had no feet...
Poor Amanda commented that she has never seen a hockey game. What a shame! Hockey is a fast and dynamic game that requires technical skills, physical ability and very close teamwork. Needless to say I can't play it. As a spectator the speed makes for exciting viewing. The down side is that the puck is often hard to see (especially when compared to a basketball) and the speed of play can be disorienting to new viewers. I'm also not crazy about the brutal checks and the fights, but that's more about culture than sport...
I sometimes say that soccer is a game that ends with a score of 1 - 0 (or even better 0 - 0) while basketball is a game that ends with a score of 98 - 97. Hockey sits in the sweet spot with scores like 5 - 2. Hard to get points, but not too hard.
My son's team won their Saturday night hockey game by the way. "We" scored twice, they scored twice, then "we" scored twice. The kids are starting to get some ice sense and are completing most of their passes. C played well enough, and someone even passed the puck to him (he missed it). I have to say he's best in the corners, where he can dig for the puck and the other player's skating skills are neutralised. My son the grinder!
I also forgot to mention that at the previous week's hockey skills practice I had an amusing experience. My ex had called Sunday morning at 7:00 AM to tell me that she wasn't going to take C to his 9:00 AM practice. I drove over to pick him up. I'd only got about three hours sleep, so after sitting groggily on the spectator's bench for a while in the notoriously cold U.C.C. rink I decided to warm up and doze off back in the changing room. Ah, the warmth, ah the smells... I feel asleep for about 20 minutes. When I woke up, the change room was pitch black! I had to navigate the hockey bags and piles of boots in complete darkness to find my way out. The lights clicked back on when I got close to the door. Turns out they are controlled by motion sensors and I had been, well, motionless.
By the way: Amanda has feet, and I'm sure that they're lovely ones.
Listening to: Porcelain by Moby from Play.
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Basketball is, so far, my favorite sport to watch live. I've never been to a hockey game, though I hear they are quiet action-packed.
ReplyDeleteGweny
My mom used to take me and my brother to games all the time. The Portland minor league team, can't remember the name. My son really liked the Coyotes, he had a birthday party at their practice rink a couple years ago. Umm. Yeah, so when is the NHL going to get it together?
ReplyDeleteCongrats on C's game!
Gweny: Cute dogs... I've seen the Raptors several times from my company's box. It's a lot of fun, but the suspense is will they miss not will they score. There a lots of play stoppages too (commercial breaks?), which surprised me. C mainly loves the endless supply of chips and chocolate-covered almonds.
ReplyDeleteMary: I miss the NHL games too. Great family fun, either at the rink or on TV. I don't think the owners are in a rush to reach an agreement because they're determined to cut salaries, but it's their offers that drove salaries up. The owners have lots of room to maneuver because the American audience seems to be indifferent to the dispute. Maybe the owners will "win" by next season but find reduced ticket sales and three or four teams folding because their fans have left for other sports... The capped salaries could end up being a bigger proportion of the reduced revenues! That would look dumb in hindsight, wouldn't it?
Susan: Damn those timers! I hope you didn't have shampoo in your hair still. And those campground showers are pretty grotty anyway. You want to be able to pick your path through them pretty carefully... This is why you should never leave home. It's only there that you know how everything works. Everywhere else is just a disaster waiting to happen! I'm going to lock the front door and throw away the key. :-)
it just so happens that I do in fact have lovely feet.
ReplyDeleteMy husband says there is ice hockey here in England. So! I MUST check it out! I have been wanting to for years..
I'll let you know how it goes!
Mmmmm... choc covered almonds. Yumm!
ReplyDeleteGweny