So I just got home from the neighbourhood rink, played 2 hours of hockey. With kids, boys and girls from five to adult. All different skill levels and yet they all got along. It was the same for the adults, I am by no means a good hockey player, I wasn't the worst there but far from the best. We all played together people joked around, poked fun at bad plays and cheered good plays. Even for the other team. Not kidding it felt like a Timmy Hoes commercial and I realized why hockey is the best sport ever and why it is so important to Canada. Here are some of the lessons I learned. I am gonna be honest though, I am not gonna say some poor handicapped kid stopped by we let him play and he scored a game winner. Then died a day later but happy. I hate those heart warming, tear jerking fake stories. I am just saying what I really saw.
Fair play and encouragement is fundamental hockey. Shiny first off you don't hit. Sure in the big league we love a good hit, but thats not what hockey is about. I was lined up a few times and coulda been a grease stain but players let it go cause its about fun, second the encouragement. I have a great deal of (misguided) faith i could stop a 10 year old boy but I didn't. Shiny demands you let them get the thrill of deking through people. As kids get a little older and more skilled, yes people try a bit harder but every kid deserves that break out chance. Sure all bets are off when I try but for the kids this is a huge deal... Why don't they ever let me break out!
Civil behaviour. I mean I slowed down my motor mouth. I love the words Cunt, Fuck, ball sack, anal beads, your moms hairy twat!!! But I didn't say it. Well maybe once but a friend punched me in the back and pointed toward kids. I have made an ass of myself on golf course, restaurants, movie theatres, city fucking streets but on the rink nope. A censor jumped right into my mouth and not in a gay way! Also I love drinking, I am a champ at it. Not for shiny though, yes we had a beer before we went but didn't bring any. We brought water bottles, drinking and being a dumbass if frown HEAVILY upon.
Doing shit! Seriously people getting out and being active is great these days. I play a ton of vids, I spend days on the couch eating junk and watching movies. Moving around, getting the blood flowing is good not only for the soul but for the heart. Not a metaphor! Also you might just meet your neighbours, ya those people who live next door. Sometimes you say or shovel the walk a bit. Maybe they are pretty decent people who you might like and get along with like happened in the past. Not the ones you occasionally smile at and then lock your doors.
Last point, even though I could make many more and it doesn't have to do with shiny but with Hockey and with Canada. We love it, we live it. The 72 summit series? Who hasn't heard about that? The Crosby goal that won gold! People jumped on tables when he beat the Americans, at least in the pub I was in. World Juniors, some of our favourite heroes became heroes there. It seems across the biggest nation in the world, with a million different races, religions, politics we almost all seem to get behind our hockey icons and that really is a big deal.
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