The Written Word: Rafe Mair March 29th

Thursday, March 29, 2007 03:44 AM

So the President of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman’ not only condones fighting in hockey but encourages it as being “part of the game”. Well, then, if fighting is good in hockey, why not other sports? Like soccer and basketball, for example, where the action is furious and there is lots of body contact?

One sport, of course, is dedicated to fights and that is boxing. Why do we put up with this terrible so-called sport; “the manly art of self defense”. The object of both sports is to concuss the opponent.

Now if hockey players started breaking each other’s legs or arms there would be a huge outcry. But the fact remains that concussion is far worse than a fracture. The entire idea of boxing, of course, is to cause a concussion sufficient to cause unconsciousness. Enough concussions and you turn out like Mohammed Ali and all the punch drunk fighters before him. As long as I can remember, boxers have ended up basket cases yet we seem to love it.

I used to love the fights, whether in hockey or boxing. One day many years ago I saw Eddie Shack, whose IQ matched his shoe size, sitting on top of Henri Richard, grabbing his hair and bashing Richard’s head on the ice. It was a terrible scene even though the colour guys in the broadcast booth thought is was all great fun.

Hitting people on the head is for the purpose of knocking them out, i.e. causing concussion is uncivilized. The Vancouver Province recently played a game to find the best all time hockey fighter; there’s responsible journalism for you. Somehow I find sports that encourage that sort of stuff repulsive.

Canadians across the land despair at the violence and loss of life in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially the latter where our own troops are stationed. Yet when violence involves sports where participants deliberately and with official approval trying to scramble an opponent’s brain, we think it’s peachy.

If you can’t have peace at home, why do we think there may be peace in foreign lands?

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Posted on Thursday, March 29, 2007 03:44 AM in Views by Rafe Mair

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Comments

Posted by: Gofaster on March 29 2007 4:26 PM

And this is just why i don't go to hockey games anymore....
If I want to watch a fight, I will go to a fight..
if you want to see blood and guts go to a car accident!

Posted by: Chadermando on March 29 2007 5:08 PM

If you don't like hockey, than don't watch it.

Fighting is a part of hockey for many very good reasons, and no-one has ever been seriously hurt in a hockey fight mostly because its pretty hard to hurt someone when both are off balance from the ice (not so in soccer or basketball). Also soccer and basketball do not involve the speed of hockey nor the fact that each player wields a weapon that COULD seriously hurt another player. Fighting is the equalizer that allows the game to police itself and keep the sticks out of the equation. Hockey without sticks is not hockey.

IMO hockey is an honourable sport where a fight is one-on-one with usually one of the combatants answering for some kind of dirty knee-on-knee or stick wielding incident. This is in contrast to the kind of fighting you see in basketball and soccer where they gang up and have no honour when they do fight.

The honour in fighting has set a great example around the world on how to fight fair where team mates stand back and ensure a fair fight, if the fight is abused by a third party then at that time everyone on both sides calls it down for what it is. The Afghani�s and Iraqi�s could learn a lot about civilized behaviour from the game of hockey.

Look at the 1972 series between the evil empire USSR and Canada. Canada would have lost if we wanted to compete with them for a figure skating version of hockey. The Canadian passion shocked the Soviets in a good way and showed them how a fighting spirit for what is right can be done with honour. There is nothing more Canadian than the honor and fighting spirit as displayed in hockey, like it or not. The 72' series I believe changed the USSR in a small way contributing to their outlook on the world. I'm sure Rafe would not advocate Russia going back to its old USSR ways.

I lose interest in any kind of hockey that is not played with a passion or honour among men. I think Gary Bettman gets that.

I support removal of the instigator rule in the NHL.

Posted by: Chadermando on March 29 2007 5:13 PM

I was watching figure skating the other day and this girl got the skate to the head when her partner was doing the spin with her. Damn near could have killed her. I don't support figure skaters spinning around on that dangerous ice with those nasty blades that cut up their faces. We should ban all forms of figure skating that involve spinning on the ice.

Posted by: Mcfly on March 30 2007 10:15 AM

Quoted from Chadermando

"Fighting is a part of hockey for many very good reasons, and no-one has ever been seriously hurt in a hockey fight "

Have you ever seen a hockey game?
Heard what that loser bertuzi did?
Seen a hockey players face with all the scars and missing teeth?

Or do you close your eyes to the reality, and just see what you wish to see?

If these guys think they are really tough then join the UFC or boxing or something.

A hockey game, should be just that, a hockey game IMO..... I would like to be the rule maker for the NHL.
For every player in the NHL they would have a file kept for the entire length of time they play.
First time they pick a fight, a 5 game suspension.
Second time, a 10 game suspension and 1 million dollar fine.
Third time, 25 game suspension and 10 million dollar fine.
Fourth time life time ban.........

All fin moneys go to charities like shelters for abused people, and kids with disabilities etc.

Posted by: caranmacil on March 30 2007 6:04 PM

I cant agree with the arguement that fighting in hockey should be banned because of the possibility of concussions. The extension of such an arguement would be to ban all sports in which head injuries are likely to occur. Besides, I doubt very much whether there is a long list of over concussed ex hockey players out there.
HOWEVER, i do not agree with the whimsical glorification of hockey fights and violent hockey players themselves. Hockey players DO use their sticks on each other and it isnt the threat of being in a goon fest fight that prevents the widespread use of the stick. Thats what penalties are for. If fighters are there to keep everyone honest then who keeps the toughest guys honest? This is wild west BS, plain and simple. No other sport uses such logic. Also, who says that these fights are one on one? I saw the picture in the paper a while back and it show 3 people in that fight, as in many others i have seen. The idea that that is what bench clearing is for is illogical. I am glad not all of society runs this way.
Hockey is a sport and should be played by the rules. If you break the rules you get a penalty. Fighting is a penalty which has been enshrined as some sort of holy ritual. It doesnt make sense to me but then again i am free to turn off the set if i want. Perhaps falling NHL revenues mean people already are. Just dont tell me there is a lot of honour in having an ape (like many of the goons of old) beat the crap out of someone just because he is a better player. They didnt let Shack out of his cage just to repay dirty play.

Posted by: Chadermando on April 1 2007 2:12 AM

I just don't think you build a boiler with out a steam valve. It makes no sense.