Canada and Hockey
We finally bought the South Park video, so I have the song "Blame Canada" fresh on my mind:
All that hockey hullaballoo
And that bitch Anne Murray too.
We are once more in the midst of a hockey hullaballoo. Is the sport too lenient toward violence and fighting during games? Should they crack down harder on these activities which are arguably distractions from "real" hockey?
Don Cherry, Canada's biggest TV star, is in the middle of this. He appears for about five minutes during "Hockey Night in Canada" on Saturday nights. He prefers guys who are tough and masculine, whose names are easy to pronounce. He has a habit of belittling Europeans and "French guys."
He often makes the perfectly sensible point that if you don't allow violence to have an outlet in one way, it will come out in another. For one example, if you heavily penalize the use of fists in a fight, you will encourage the players who take shots with their sticks--since there will be less retribution. These are dirtier players, and they can inflict just as much injury--but it is often difficult to see what they are doing.
In fact there is a place for the "enforcers," who mete out rough justice for their team without relying on the referees to call penalties.
Cherry also argues that safety equipment such as visors may make players feel invincible, and this may lead to more serious injuries. This is surely a case that can be made.
Cherry has said the right things about the Bertuzzi episode--this was something like aggravated assault, and should be punished accordingly. He also implies, as I think many will, that there were ways for Moore's coach, and even Moore himself, to dispel the building pressure, with Bertuzzi getting more and more frustrated as he pulled at Moore's sweater.
As for what "real" hockey is: I'm not really a fan, but it seems clear that barely controlled violence is very much a part of the game. Big, strong athletes skate hard in what is really quite a small area. They are constantly speeding up and slowing down. They play short, intense shifts. They can't avoid constantly banging into each other, and checking is very much a part of the game. Fans like it when a fight breaks out--it is a release of pressure for everyone in the arena.
It's great to see a talented player who isn't a tough guy--such as Wayne Gretzky--succeed, but Gretzky has never had any illusions about the place of violence, and the need for enforcement. I think he likes the game the way it is.
Watching or reading about "old-time" hockey is amazing. I just saw a few minutes about Terry Sawchuk in goal. He barely wore any equipment at all--certainly not a helmet, and his padding was a joke by today's standards. In one playoff series, he distinguished himself by stopping slap shots from Bobby Hull. Sawchuk's body became covered with colourful bruises as the series went on.
I remember reading about the end of the playing career of Scotty Bowman, who I believe has the most victories of any coach. Bowman was hit over the head by another player--a two-handed shot with the stick that put him in hospital with serious injuries. The article said Bowman has never said a word of complaint about the other player--who went on to have more of a career as a player than Bowman did.
Part of hockey as it has actually been played is like boxing--a real test of toughness or heart. Regardless of your skills, you won't succeed without that.
Colby Cosh is all over this.
As for Canadians teaching American kids to have potty mouths, does anyone else remember MacLean and MacLean?
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