Feel free to judge me, but at least I’m honest:
I like hockey fights.
Really. I enjoy them. Hell, sometimes I’ll go on YouTube and see who scrapped the past few weeks.
Much like in daily life, everyone’s a tough guy behind a mask. But strip the mask away and you have to take responsible for your comments and actions.
It’s hockey’s version of an “eye for an eye.”
Hit my guy? I’ll hit you back. Cheap shot? You’ll answer for it. Simple. Quick. Fair.
For baseball fans, it’s like the hit-by pitch. Showboating? Stealing signs? You’ll get hit. Problem solved — they won’t do it anymore.
And just like in hockey, when it’s not handled, you’ll lose respect among your fellow players. If you started chirping and someone challenged you to a quick, fair fight and you backed down, boy… you look like a wimp.
And your teammates would know.
Some fights are rough and dirty. Others, however, are full of sportsmanship — not many other sports will end a fistfight with a quick love-tap, accolades from the refs, and resounding sound of approval from tapping hockey sticks.
I admit they’re dangerous. (It’s not the punches; it’s when the helmet flies off and the player’s head hits the ice.) And in the era of concussion-awareness, there might be a time soon enough when fighting comes to an end in the NHL.
But until then, when those sticks hit the ice, I’m watching.
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