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Why I love hockey - one day at a time |
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For many of us here, it’s been a lifetime since we were addicted to this sport. There are so many paths to fandom, but to decide to follow this sport with a life’s passion, you find yourself sharing the games with an immensely diverse crew and unlikely friendships are forged. At its height, Red Wings fever would take over parts of downtown Detroit. You had slick CEOs in jackets and punk style kids with hair spikes, wallets on chains and combat boots. Everything in between, and it was all good. A sea of jerseys and high fives for every goal. It was insane. Tickets would sell at 2x or 3x face value online. (Some season ticket holders basically sold all regular season games and just caught the playoffs. And made a profit).
It’s changed. A brand new arena, a team in rebuild, and a fan base that is in rebuild too. It can still be fun, but the magic is gone. If not gone, than it is also in rebuild. So many Redwing greats are working in the league. Heroes that seemed unphased by the hand of time have passed on. The love of the game has to be strong enough to support a team that is so drastically different than what the “hockey town” culture was built on. So, what drives us to persevere and try to be a part of a league that, year to year, seems to move further and further away from “the glory days” of Detroit?
Everything about hockey is hard. If you weren’t lucky enough to learn to play as a kid, it is downright cruel to try and pick it up. Learning to skate and use your edges is itself a tall order. Add to that stick handling, passing, good Lord keep your head up. Learn to shave the ice instead of gouging out trenches. Learn to transition, and try not to pass out if you stay on the ice too long. Unless you live in the frozen tundra, the environment hockey is played in isn’t easily acquired. We played football, baseball, soccer and cricket in different fields. We played basketball in driveways. All we needed was a ball and sometimes, a bat. Hockey needs ice, skates, sticks, pucks, some sort of net. Helmets, gloves, and if you want to play in a league, pants and pads. You can easily shell out $300 just to get on the ice.
You realize that everything that goes into this sport has a cost. Maintaining ice in Arizona isn’t going to come cheap. Michigan even breaks 100 degrees. All these realizations bring in swarms of volunteers on the local levels. We become stewards of the game. It has to be protected and preserved, promoted and passed on. There are very few places where hockey can exist without a monumental effort to keep it there. And, the longer you are part of it, the more sacred that trust seems to be. You try to show up to the games where no one is at. Try to encourage the kids that are falling in love with the game. You watch prospects in the ECHL, the OHL, the QMJL. College hockey needs more support than ever as some programs have completely been suspended.
Each person that comes to this blog has made an investment in hockey. You have to have a subscription to watch most of the games. NFL fans have 16 games per season, and for the most part it doesn’t mess with the work week. Old school Detroit fans watched a lot of West Coast hockey and lost a lot of sleep. There’s a feeling of responsibility to invest that time and make the sacrifices. Sometimes, it’s exhausting.
I honestly don’t know what the NHL and all other leagues are going to look like a year from now. Until we know how much money the playoffs did (or didn’t) make, we won’t know what the landscape will bring. Remember, the original SIX weren’t the only teams around. 14 teams existed, and the depression whittled down and eliminated more than half. The NHL has been expanding, but some clubs may have to close their doors. If not here, than the AHL, ECHL, collegiate ranks and others. Our sport can’t survive without the gate. The stress and tensions are through the roof, and chat rooms have turned into war rooms. If we can’t find a way to support each other, even if we’re on opposite sides of issues, the sport itself will be in jeopardy.
The NFL can live on TV deals. The NBA is in reasonably good shape with those sponsorships as well. The NHL has always needed fans. TV revenues won’t keep this ship afloat. I don’t want to see something that has brought a lot of joy be destroyed. The fate is literally in the hands of the fans. If we can’t come together and support our teams and each other, it may never recover. At this point, let’s take it a day at a time and see if we can make it work.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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