Is it just me? If I watch any more TV that is not hockey, I think my eyes are gonna start bleeding. What’s the matter with the NHL/NHLPA? Don’t they know what they’re doing to me? They’re ruining a critical part of my life. And, yes, I’m taking it personally!
With all due respect to our neighbors in Canada, somehow, watching OHL games just ain’t the same. I want the playoffs! I want the excitement! I want to hear “Chelsea Dagger!” Coming from the northeast; I do reserve the right to want to hear Kate Smith once in a while too. I want the cup back! Gee, it’s been so long, I’m trying to remember who has the cup now. Oh yeah. Some team out west. (grin)
In this world full of unknowns, I always took great comfort in knowing I at least had hockey night. Okay, maybe there was that little glitch back in ’04, but that’s history now. When a game is on (particularly the playoffs), I know it’s time to unwind.
Hockey night has always been a terrific source of decadence and relaxation for me.
It’s the night I shut the world out. Computer off. Phone off. Doorbell disconnected. It’s the night I get to eat pizza, have a few drinks, get into my frumpy old (but oh-so-comfortable) sweat pants, let my stomach out, not worry about washing my hair, swear at the TV, pass wind if I want to, and fantasize about calling Toronto to tell them why they’re wrong. Ah, yes. Sublime. But it’s gone. They’ve robbed me.
I feel sorry for the kids coming up in the minors. I feel sorry for their families who made sacrifices so their kids could acquire the training and gear they needed to chase those dreams. I feel sorry for the sports bars that have surely lost a significant amount of seasonal business. I feel sorry for the pizza joints that likely made a gazillion deliveries on hockey night. I feel sorry for the small businesses that depend on sales of shirts and hats and all things hockey. And I feel sorry for me. What’s a girl to do? (…sigh)
Sure, I could turn the computers, phones, and doorbell back on. I could eat salad, drink water, wear uncomfortably nice clothes, suck my stomach in, wash my hair, watch my language, and have gas pains, but what kind of a life is that? There should be a support group called Friends of Stanley.
(As a post-preamble – for those who aren’t big hockey fans – NHL is National Hockey League, NHLPA is National Hockey League Players Association, OHL is Ontario Hockey League (from Canada),the little glitch in ’04 was the last time the NHL had a lockout/strike, “Chelsea Dagger” is the song you hear when the Blackhawks score a goal, a video of Kate Smith singing God Bless America is played before the Philadelphia Flyers’ games at home, the team out west is the L.A. Kings who currently are in proud possession of the cup, the cup, of course, is the Stanley Cup – hockey’s treasure.)
