Before the Politics
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Posted by toner
 | During my trip home for Easter (yes, my team is already knocked out of the playoffs :() I found some old hockey videos, not just "Rockem’ Sockem’ One" (a beauty if there ever was one), but also some old home videos from tyke and novice games that really brought me back. Coming from a year in junior where the focus was anywhere but on the ice, where politics and money brought a team that was ranked twelfth nationally to cellar, the video reminded me how beautifully simple things were back then. Everything was for the pure love of playing hockey.... |
Back in the day you’d run around skating your ass off for an hour, get off the ice with just as much energy as you came on with, that big smile on your face, and not a scratch on you to boot! Of course the protection came from that sweet mixture of garage sale and hand-me-down gear, none of which had as much plastic as the huge pads today. The days where the secret weapon wasn’t some new $350 stick made of space-age materials, it was the flick shot that could beat that damn goalie who figured out that he could just lay across the ice and have a better save percentage than Luongo.
Just sit and remember the first few tourneys where you got to stay in a hotel, playing mini-sticks in the hallways with your friends until the hotel staff booted you for making too much noise. Think about the first time you threw your gloves up in the air and became part of that huge pileup on top of the poor goalie who just helped you win a tournament, and how you can still name almost every player off that team (and probably also give the number they wore also).
Remember all those great times you’ve had over the years, and how much your life is what it is because of chasing around a piece of rubber every winter. You may someday become “too busy†to play regularly, but you know because of back then and your years now that you will always be a hockey player at heart. Even if you become a beer league-retiree, you will always feel the instant comradeship of meeting a stranger who plays the game.
I just want to prompt everyone who didn’t have the best season this year because of politics and off-ice stuff to remember purer times and think about how much you love the game. Chances are you lads are done playoffs, so start getting pumped for next year. August isn’t too far off!
Remember all those great times you’ve had over the years, and how much your life is what it is because of chasing around a piece of rubber every winter. You may someday become “too busy†to play regularly, but you know because of back then and your years now that you will always be a hockey player at heart. Even if you become a beer league-retiree, you will always feel the instant comradeship of meeting a stranger who plays the game.
I just want to prompt everyone who didn’t have the best season this year because of politics and off-ice stuff to remember purer times and think about how much you love the game. Chances are you lads are done playoffs, so start getting pumped for next year. August isn’t too far off!