Hockey

I love the sport of hockey!

For anyone that knows me well, that should not be a statement of surprise. I played hockey for 9 years and some days I wish I would have played longer. The reality of course is that I wasn't that great of a player, but I probably would have been good enough to play on my high school team had I kept playing. I miss the sport, I admit that.

I vicariously live through the various teams that I cheer for and on occasion I even live vicariously through EA Sports hockey on my computer. Yes, I even created a player with my name and of course "top skills" for the game so that I could dominate the ice! Hey, why not live the dream?

I've been watching the Stanley Cup Finals this last week and I love it. I love the competitive nature of the sport, I love the physicality of it, I love the finesse of the sport. It's the best of all worlds. It is, in my opinion, the best sport in the world!

I have to admit that everyone I talk to says you have to have a particular team to cheer for, and I guess when it comes to the NHL my team is the Nashville Predators, but now that they are out of the playoffs, I find myself cheering for other teams. In some cases I cheer for the "best of the two" teams playing and sometimes I cheer for teams that others are cheering for (hey, I was all for the Rangers winning since that's my Father-In-Law's team, and subsequently my wife's team if she ever has to pick a team). Some people will say that if you cheer for a particular team that you have to cheer against certain other teams.

As a Predators fan I am supposed to be completely against the Detroit Red Wings, but I have to admit that I've been cheering for them to beat the Ducks. Maybe it's because the Ducks beat the Predators, but I think I've had a think for the Red Wings ever since the North Stars left Minnesota (thank Norm Green).

I admit, in some ways I am a fair-weather fan. I guess it's because I grew-up cheering for the North Stars, but when they got "sold" to Dallas, I had no team and found myself only ever cheering for the University of Minnesota Gophers. After all, the Gophers were on the television of my parent's home every Friday and Saturday night, and I could probably tell you any player that played there from the mid 80's through the early 90's.

When I went to college at Bemidji State University it was a no-brainer for the Beavers to become my team. After all, they were winning National Championships at the Division II level, and I had the privilege to be the play-by-play announcers for all of their games in the 1996-97 season! It was the coolest when I lived in Nashville that I could drive down to Huntsville, Alabama every year to watch "my" Beavers play ... and often watch them win against the Huntsville Chargers.

I often wonder if the Beavers played the Gophers who I would end up cheering for. I guess I would probably just hope for a good game and be happy no matter what the outcome. But if I had to cheer for one, it would be the Beavers, that's where I got my B.S. degree after all.

Back to the NHL ... I keep thinking about this year's Stanley Cup finals. I have been cheering for the Red Wings, I know I shouldn't, but something deep within me says I want them to win. I've grown up watching guys like Hasek and Chelios play and I would like to see them win one more Cup before they retire. I also have been cheering for the Ottawa Senators. Back in 1992 when they came into the NHL I bought their jersey figuring no one else would have one (that was back before "everyone" had their team's jersey). Part of me feels compelled to cheer for them.

For now, I can cheer for both of "my" teams. We'll see how this round turns out. Maybe I'll have a clear team to cheer for, but it looks like my "teams" might go up against each other. I guess then I can just be happy with the outcome and totally enjoy the Finals!