I just bought my 4 year old nephew a Boston Bruins jersey. He looks adorable in this jersey, but after what I have witnessed this past week, when watching the Boston Bruins and the Washington Captials in the Stanley Cup playoffs, I am regretting my purchase. Hockey is one of the top 4 sports in the US, alongside baseball, american football and basketball. Soccer comes in at number 5 (if you count college sports as being the same as their professional counterparts). Yet if the actions that occur on a nightly basis on a hockey rink were to take place in any other sporting arena, then fines, suspensions and legal ramifications would be a regular news story on Sports Center. I am of course talking about the fighting, but more specifically the apparent "cheap shots" that are becoming very common.
Tim Thomas is one of the best goal tenders in the NHL, and was a key reason that the Bruins were able to win the Stanley Cup in 2011, however during game 2 of the Bruins Capitals game, Thomas, whilst defending his goal in the 3rd period of a 1 - 1 tie game, dropped his stick with the sole intention to punch Nicklas Backstrom in the head. Having watching this incident over and over again, there is simply no other plausible explanation that I can come up with, other than Thomas wanted to punch this guy in the head. If you have another explanation, I would love to hear it in the comments section. The video can be seen below:
Somehow, fighting has a place in hockey, and I personally find this to be disgraceful. A large percentage of youths today look up to athletes as their role models, and the message that the NHL sends to the youth of today is nothing short of irresponsible. Athletes might not ask to be role models, but the fact of the matter is that when you are being watched by thousands of people every time you skate, you are a role model, whether you like it or not.
There is no psychological edge to be had from winning a fight against another player, and in this case, Backstrom was able to score the game winning goal, in double overtime on Tim Thomas! As a Bruins fan, I was actually pleased for Backstrom. Tim Thomas let his team down, not by conceding a goal, but by forgetting who he is, and that is a TEAM member.
I know that fights occur in sports, be it from a late hit in football, or a struck batter in baseball, but these happen a handful of times in a season. Fights in the NHL have become part of the every day game. Take this example from a New York Rangers New Jersey Devils game, where 3 fights took place as soon as the puck was dropped.
I just don't get it. If you want to see a fight, go and watch the UFC. I prefer to see scores settled by a demonstration of which athlete or team has the most skill. Set the example to those who aspire to be doing what you do by showing them that to be successful in life you need to be as good as possible at it.
I know that in one of my previous blogs I used the saying "For that that believe no explanation is required, and for those that don't believe, no explanation will do", and I stand by this, as it related to professional wrestling, however I am laying down a challenge to all hockey fans to justify how fighting has a legitimate place in ice Hockey. I know that sports are mental, but this might be a little too mental for my tastes.
I feel as a hockey fan and a co-blogger I could respond to this. With regard to the Thomas punch, there are many things you do not see unless you are really paying attention or know what to look for. When a goalie covers the puck you should as the player let up. However, if you notice Backstrom came in pretty hard. Knowing how playoffs are, it is about 1000% more intense than regular season. I didn't watch the game but I am going to guess they were crashing in on Thomas all game and he finally had enough. If the goalie doesn't do something another Bruins player would have because in the culture of hockey its disrespectful to crash that hard.
ReplyDeleteNow with that being said, fighting in hockey has always been. There was a guy way back names Gordie Howe who had a hat trick (normally 3 goals in one game) names after him. A Gordie Howe hat trick was a goal assist and a fight. Its the nature of the game and the way its always been. A fight can be made for a player taking a cheap shot at your star player or even to regain momentum.
I do believe that sometimes it does go to far, if you reference Todd Bertuzzi's hit on Steve Moore a while back. I believe they do a good job of hading out fines and suspensions for cheap actions. They have also been working on cleaning the game up.
Fighting in hockey probably began because of the fast pace and being able to check each other. With that comes the hits that piss the players off and lead to fights and actions like Thomas. Its part of the game and people who are fans know this. Even the little kids who play and watch learn very quickly that its part of the game and culture and I don't believe is all that bad of an influence. If you remove fighting from hockey you would have to remove checking and that takes away from the game. Fighting is a reason that many people do not like or understand hockey and that is understandable. Its something you either accept or don't and either enjoy the game or not.
I hope all this made sense and completely understand if you still have a gripe with the game, but I think thats the way its always been. Also if you though the Thomas thing was bad, you should go watch footage of the Penguins vs. Fliers game. I believe there were 173 penalty minutes and a ton of ejections. On a good note there have been a few players to be suspended for their actions this post-season.
*********UPDATE***********
ReplyDeleteSince I wrote the response there have multiple suspensions because of inappropriate actions on the ice. The NHL is attempting to control the severe violence. Backstrom was one of the players suspended for an action against another Bruin, not Thomas, but I am going to guess since he did something else unsportsmanlike, he probably deserved the punch Thomas game him, we just missed it.
The NHL is at least taking these matters more seriously with the appointment of Shanahan.
ReplyDeleteThe Backstrom suspension was not related to the above incident.