Wednesday, March 10, 2004
Why I hate hockey....
You've all heard the joke about going to a fight and a hockey game broke out. Well, one of those fights nearly cost a player his life. Monday night during a game, Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche was hit from behind by Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks. Moore fell to the ice under the weight of the other player. It didn't stop there. Moore was held to the ice while he bled from deep lacerations to his face. Worst of all, Moore's neck was broken....in two places. The Vancouver crowd cheered initially, then fell silent when it became apparent that a serious injury had taken place. The hit was retaliation for Moore injuring a Canuck a month earlier.
To be honest, I'm surprised something this serious hasn't happened before. Why do we cheer violence in the form of a game? Reward men with millions of dollars for what amounts to legalized assault? The three worst offenders that come to mind in the US are football, hockey and boxing. Especially boxing. What is entertaining about men hitting each other in the face until one is unconscious?? And the harder someone is hit, the louder we cheer. In football, I keep hearing about whether or not someone was knocked to the ground with a "clean hit". Isn't life dangerous and fragile enough without intentionally inducing concussions, broken bones and worse? And when I complain about this to the sports nuts, they always shrug and say, "It's only a game." Sure. A game with millions of dollars at stake, and careers becoming increasingly shortened by injury.
Kids are raised to believe that knocking each other to the ground is more important than learning how to read or write. You can make a lot more money being a bully than you can becoming a mathematical genius. And we wonder why many of these players can't seem to stop being aggressive when they're off the field, away from the ice or out of the ring. They hit their wives or girlfriends, engage in drunken brawls, and some have committed murder or rape. They've been so well rewarded for violence that it carries over into their personal lives. But it's only a game.
I don't hate all sports. I will admit to being a baseball fan, although I believe the players are overpaid there too. Baseball doesn't encourage its players to hit each other in the face with their fists. In fact, doing so is the fastest way to be thrown out of the game. All sports have certain dangers inherent in them. I once saw a baseball player hit in the head with a 90mph fastball, and it was terrifying. He went down so fast, and while he was unconscious, I feared for a moment that he had died. But no one, NO ONE cheered.
Call me a hypocrite, or even a Scrooge. I don't care. There's a 25-year-old man with two fractured vertebrae in his neck who may never indulge in a fight or hockey again. Is it really only a game?
To be honest, I'm surprised something this serious hasn't happened before. Why do we cheer violence in the form of a game? Reward men with millions of dollars for what amounts to legalized assault? The three worst offenders that come to mind in the US are football, hockey and boxing. Especially boxing. What is entertaining about men hitting each other in the face until one is unconscious?? And the harder someone is hit, the louder we cheer. In football, I keep hearing about whether or not someone was knocked to the ground with a "clean hit". Isn't life dangerous and fragile enough without intentionally inducing concussions, broken bones and worse? And when I complain about this to the sports nuts, they always shrug and say, "It's only a game." Sure. A game with millions of dollars at stake, and careers becoming increasingly shortened by injury.
Kids are raised to believe that knocking each other to the ground is more important than learning how to read or write. You can make a lot more money being a bully than you can becoming a mathematical genius. And we wonder why many of these players can't seem to stop being aggressive when they're off the field, away from the ice or out of the ring. They hit their wives or girlfriends, engage in drunken brawls, and some have committed murder or rape. They've been so well rewarded for violence that it carries over into their personal lives. But it's only a game.
I don't hate all sports. I will admit to being a baseball fan, although I believe the players are overpaid there too. Baseball doesn't encourage its players to hit each other in the face with their fists. In fact, doing so is the fastest way to be thrown out of the game. All sports have certain dangers inherent in them. I once saw a baseball player hit in the head with a 90mph fastball, and it was terrifying. He went down so fast, and while he was unconscious, I feared for a moment that he had died. But no one, NO ONE cheered.
Call me a hypocrite, or even a Scrooge. I don't care. There's a 25-year-old man with two fractured vertebrae in his neck who may never indulge in a fight or hockey again. Is it really only a game?
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