The other night Jill asked who CAR was. They were playing Montreal in the Stanley Cup playoffs (which drag on until June!).
I honestly didn’t know. The wrong answer was Calgary. They would be CGY or CAL
We both thought further. The name Hurricanes came up.
“It’s not Kansas, Toto!”
We figured out it was Carolina.
Back in the six team days we knew all the names and didn’t use three letter anagrams. We may even have grown up with some of the players. Now we have artificial ice plants that make Florida water freeze. And Mighty Ducks (granted, name changes can happen) along with devils and other creatures.
So, why haven’t I been a hockey watcher?
I played in a church hockey league. I love the thrill of a perfectly executed rush, from one end of the rink to the other. And the slap of a stick on the ice is a beautiful thing.
I guess I’m trying to work out the question of sports as purely entertainment. Somehow it used to be that hockey was a question of picking a side and staying with the team that I perceived were out to win, or at least that wanted my support. Now I feel like it’s all entertainment – just like wrestling (one of my favourite high school sports) has now become the most theatrically choreographed event held in a small square ring in the center of a colossal stadium of rabid ticket holders.
OK, that sounds cynical. Am I the only one who is a little jaded?