I thought I'd get in on the recent sports commentary theme. :-)

I'm Canadian, and as such, I am attuned to the pulse of ice hockey whether I like it or not.  It really sucks not having any NHL hockey to watch on television, and it looks like we're going to go for quite some time without it.  The players and owners are not even meeting to negotiate, and if they don't resolve the dispute by January, it is likely that the entire season will be lost. 

For a Canadian, watching hockey is sort of like breathing.  You don't really realize that you do it until you can't.  I realized this a few years ago when I was sitting at home with my wife watching television.  We were doing the usual channel flipping (I had the remote), and I happened to stop on an old documentary about Darryl Sittler.  It was describing his record breaking 10-point game when he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  What amazed me was that we both sat there engrossed for about an hour.  If you have ever seen a Canadian Film Board documentary you will realize that they are dry beyond belief.  At that moment, I truly realized how engrained hockey is on the Canadian psyche, male of female.

Filling the NHL void, my wife and I have acquired season tickets to our local junior hockey team (the Everett SilverTips).  Don't laugh too hard at the name (I too envisioned them being called the "SilverTits" for quite a while as an expansion team).  The brand of hockey they play is very entertaining and I have found that getting to know the players has made the games even more fun to watch.  These are all young kids (16-19 years old with the odd 20 year old) that play hard and make all the mistakes typical of youth.  The coaching staff has really instilled discipline in the team and as such they had a record breaking year in the Western Hockey League in their inaugural season, last year.

Although the fans have done a great job of supporting their team in their turnout to games, they have some interesting traits.  The fans in general, have a limited knowledge of the game.  They don't seem to understand the rules and calls that the officials make.  I can understand that, and since they are coming out to the games, I'm sure they will learn that over time.  They also seem to be a little blood thirsty and encourage the players to fight every chance they get.  I guess I can understand that too.  I used to get caught up in this sometimes when I was younger. 

The behavior of the fans during the playing of the national anthems, however, I don't understand.  When we (the SilverTips) play a Canadian team, both anthems are played before the game.  My wife and I stand and sing both anthems.  It disappoints me at the lack of respect shown by a significant portion of the fans during the Canadian anthem.  I defend Americans to my Canadian friends whenever I get the chance, but behavior like this is hard to defend. 

On a lighter note, the fans also boo the officials before every period.  This one has me baffled.  It can't be a tradition, since the team and facility are brand new.  I have also never heard of such a tradition anywhere else.  It can't be that the fans have history with the particular official since they don't know them yet.  I can only conclude that the fans like to boo and this seems like a good time to indulge.

All-in-all, the SilverTips have been a very good thing for the community of Everett and the surrounding area, and we have enjoyed their brand of hockey immensely.  In fact, I might even say that we enjoy it more than the NHL.  Maybe the NHL should consider that a small town hockey team can offer as good a brand of entertainment as they can, for a lot less money.  Maybe that would put a new perspective on their negotiations...

eHowitzer

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