To the NHL! We Hardly Knew Ya!

As your typical male sports junkie, I sat with a sad heart yesterday as they officially closed the doors on the 04-05 NHL season. I couldn't believe it. I knew that this was a possibility, but figured that a bunch of millionaires fighting over more money would be able to find some common ground and get the ball rolling. Instead, from what I've seen, is a bunch of spoiled brats who cannot manage to play nice in the sand box. It's funny because I've been a huge hockey fan since I was a kid (what Canadian kid isn't really) and thought what would I do without hockey? The answer I came up with was...find more sports to watch. I think what the players and owners are sadly going to realize is that the world of sports does not revolve around hockey and the fans will get their fix some where else. I know I have. I haven't been keeping close tabs on the whole deal, so I can't really give an educated opinion on who's right or wrong, but I say screw them. I'm tired of listening to them squabble over money when there's tons of others out there playing fantastic hockey for free. We've been watching University hockey lately and the level of play is amazing and you don't have to sell your car to pay for tickets either. But, as I watched the official announcement, I thought about all the things we would be missing this Spring because the kids couldn't get along.

No more will we see a teams last ditch effort while making a run for the play-offs. No more will we see our favorite winger speeding down the rink, cutting in after crossing the blue, performing the "Savardian Spinn-o-rama" and netting the puck in the top shelf. No more will we see bone crunching hits in the corners. No more will I have to suffer through yet another disappointing Bruins play-off run. No more will we see a goalie go above and beyond what one player should in order to keep his team from being eliminated. No more will we look to the stands and get lost in a sea of white towels. No more will we see the ice covered in octapuss after the Wings have scored. No more will we have to wait for that game winning goal in triple over time. No more will we see Lord Stanley hoisted high above victorious heads in all his glory. When put like this, I don't know how they couldn't put a price tag on the game. Well, I'm off to watch some figure skating. Oh, I was wrong. The world of sports does revolve around hockey.
-Troy-