The Need to Enact Violence Vicariously

I can explain the title in one word: hockey.

I think there's only one sport that's notoriously (possibly) more bloody, and that would be soccer (although, I'm not very knowledgeable in rugby so maybe that beats hockey out too). But, at least with soccer, it's more a product of the fans behaving badly than the actual players being out for blood (everyone who actually watches soccer/football, please feel free to correct me now).

Anyway, what's the point to this rambling nonsense of a post?

I went to a hockey game tonight! I'm not really a big fan of hockey. It seems to me like a silly game that involves a lot of wasted time skating up and down a small icy, COLD piece of (well, umm) ice. But I got suckered into attending a local hockey game with my mom last year, and it was alright. And my oldest sister (who's home for Thanksgiving) suckered me into attending tonight (by "promising" to behave for the rest of the weekend). But, since I didn't sit next to my mom and get beaten every time we scored, it wasn't too bad.

See, the thing about the local hockey teams is that while they're not always the most talented, these are the guys who play because they love the sport not because they get paid really well. Because, well, to tell the truth, they DON'T get paid well. They have so much passion so much love for the game that it's hard not to get excited for them.

And tonight was kind of fun because it was pretty much a grudge match from the beginning. Before they'd even played thirty seconds, the game had to stop. We found out later that one of the players on the rooster got "kicked out" because his name hadn't been spelled correctly and the opposing team (hereby known as the "bad guys") called our team on it. So he couldn't play. Isn't that stupid? Yeah, I thought so too.

About five minutes after that, a fight broke out (are we surprised?). Well, I kind of was actually. See that guy over there? *points to the right* That's DJ. Even though I have only been to two games, I know his name very well. Mom and Dad are season ticket holders, and they made friends with the couple that sits in front of them. The male counterpart in the couple is a proud member of (DJ) King's Court. So I'm used to hearing/asking about DJ. He's "THE ENFORCER" for the team.

I figured a fight would be right up DJ's alley.

But, to my surprise, DJ was standing back calmly in the circle that surrounded the two combatants. Instead, it was one of the two oldest members of the team! *points below and to the right*

He stood in the middle of the ice, gloves off, helmet tossed aside, his fists raised as he and a member of the "bad guys" circled each other for position. They finally dived and ducked it out for a while before they were both sent to the penalty box. It was simultaneously amusing and silly. I was a little surprised that the refs just stood off to the side and watched. But, then again, I guess when two guys are determined to beat the crap out of each other, it's best to wait until they're finished. Although, as my sister said, because of the ice and padding, their fight kind of looked like a sissy fight.

Still, it satisfied any need I might have felt for violence. And it sure got the crowd riled up.

After that, surprise surprise, it was a fairly physical game. There were a surprisingly few number of penalties called (and sadly, they were mostly randomly called), and I suppose it could be called a blood match. One of the last plays must have involved one of the bad guys somehow getting his head someplace it didn't belong because all of a sudden everyone realized they were missing a player, and he was on the bench bleeding!

But, our team won the game, my sister at least has to pretend that she's behaving, and I got to giggle my head off. So it was a pretty good evening.