Hockey Love

Thought I would answer a question that is often asked me (during the first intermission of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals); "Why do you like hockey?" I will start with the obvious answer of it found me a kidney. But the hockey love goes deeper so I guess I should continue my answer.

I think my first hockey memory has to be 1980 and the Miracle USA team in the Olympics. I dont think I actually watched the game but I remember watching all of the media coverage of team USA beating the USSR and winning Olympic Gold. About this same time Atlanta lost its Hockey team. I had never been to a hockey game but I still felt a since of loss.

Fast forward a couple of years and I had a friend that had moved to rural Georgia where I lived (well it was rural then but not so now) from upstate NY. He played hockey. He would regularly wear hockey jerseys to school and I always thought they were cool.

High School and I had some AP classes with another hockey player. Although he was an honor student, his favorite part of hockey was the violent hitting and checking. I thought it weird to enjoy being hit but what the heck.

College comes around and I go to my first hockey game. Last weekend I was at my parents' house cleaning up some things in my old bedroom and ran across the ticket stub for this first game. The Birmingham Bulls were minor minor league hockey but I still remember my fascination with the speed and agility that the players had as they traversed the ice. Yes there was a fight or two that night but it didnt leave as much an impression on me as the finesse of the game. I went back a few more times to watch the Bulls.

After graduation I, like most recent college grads, turned to waiting tables while I was looking for a career. Atlanta had a very good minor league hockey team at that time and I would go to games with a group from the restaurant I worked at. We were frequently there. I didnt understand all of the rules but I enjoyed the fast paced excitement. I started thinking I needed to purchase my first jersey. I even thought that I should pick out a pro team to be "my team" but luckily I didnt as Atlanta soon got a pro team of their own. I kept going to games but honestly I didnt pay for many tickets at first. It seems that I had the luck of knowing people that were always giving away seats and most of those were in suites.

When my wife and I were dating I took her to a few games and she enjoyed it. After we got married I looked into buying tickets for a block of games but then I had my kidney problems and the NHL went on strike. The following year we bought tickets and as most of you know that is how I found my donor. This year we bought tickets for more games and watched our first (and the Thrashers' first) playoff hockey game.

The wife and I have had to teach ourselves the rules and we are quick to share our newfound wisdom with others, whether it is friends we take to the game or just people sitting near us that look clueless. Most people in the South can relate to football and if they go to a hockey game they can see a lot of similarities. Hockey is physical but it is also graceful. Watching a play develop into a goal is a beautiful thing to behold.

Anyway, I am sure the game is back underway and so I need to wrap things up here. If you have never been to a hockey game, please let me know. I would love to take you and get you hooked (no pun intended) on one of the best sports.