Fighting and I don’t get along too well. I’ll make that very clear from the jump. I think it slows the game down for no reason, but I understand why it still happens and I don’t fault (most) people for enjoying it. Yes, I’m in the minority, but lying to yourself about why you enjoy it is no better. It’ll work its way out of the game eventually as more skilled players rise through the ranks, but that won’t be for a while. I will ask, however, that we stop pretending we only like fighting because it’s the player’s code or an unwritten rule. Fans cheer for fights because they’re turned on by the violence, it’s their release and symbolizes their dominance over whatever fanbase they’re rooting against.
Why Now?
I’ve felt this way for a while, I’ve been vocal about it on social media and in these articles. Before you start typing your comment, I did play the game, I do love hockey, and no, I don’t want to take hitting out of hockey either. So, you can save those for the next guy whose opinion slightly differs from yours. I’m bringing this up again because of what we saw last night in the AHL.
We’ve learned that Kessy is recovering fine, and is stable. That is welcome news. The insanity in the whole thing is the number of people who congratulated him on “earning a living” by busting his head open on the ice after receiving a knockout blow.
I’m sorry, but what the fuck are we doing here? If anyone outside our hockey bubble saw this, they’d be wondering what the league is going to do to prevent it from happening again. I know that’s not going to be the outcome here, and as I said, I’m not asking for rules against fighting. We just need to acknowledge that the only thing that came from this fight is a few seconds of entertainment and a reason for people to “respect a guy who can take a punch.”
Don’t Lie to Yourself
You like fighting because you can’t fight at your job. Just admit it. It’s part of the game and some people find it amusing, but if we’re branding this as a way to earn your keep, we have no idea what direction the game is headed. And please, PLEASE stop saying fighting is about respect, and no one is trying to hurt anyone. That might be the dumbest take that stems from all this and it’s wildly common to hear after a fight that ends like the one in Hershey last night. You win a fight by hurting the other guy more than he hurt you, that’s the way it goes.
I know there are those of you that watch hockey because of the fights. I think that’s a strange stance, but the sport needs fans. You can keep on telling me to go watch soccer, and that I don’t know hockey, that’s fine. Just don’t parade around telling people it makes the game better. It’s just what you like to see.
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