Hockey and Me

I will never claim to be a hockey expert. I love to talk hockey with anyone at any time, but I don't necessarily know what the hell I'm talking about. ;) If anyone reads this blog, I'm sure it isn't because they think I have incredible knowledge, but I MAY have some insight that is different from what other bloggers write. And the reason for this? I have a very long history of watching the game.

Before I have memories, I 'watched' hockey. My father was a fan, so I am sure he watched his share of games on TV while holding me in his arms. This, of course, was way back in the days of the Original Six. My memories of hockey games come a bit later.

When I was a child, Saturday found us at my aunt and uncles's farm. Saturday was the traditional 'sauna* night,' and as we didn't have one, we went to the farm to partake in the sauna ritual. We would get to the farm early in the evening--as soon after dinner as possible--so that we children could run around with the intention of us getting tired early. As soon as the sauna was warm enough, the exodus began. The younger the children, the earlier they went into the sauna. My cousin and I were usually the second 'group' to go in and bathe, after our younger brothers. Of course, as soon as we were washed, there was no more playing outside, so we would, at some point in time, find ourselves in front of the TV. And that meant we watched hockey.

Living in the northern part of the UP, one of the TV stations that we got was a CBC feed from Thunder Bay. Of course, this meant we watched Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday night. The TV had a tiny 12" screen and had a flickering, black-and-white image that was often 'snowy.' It is surprising that we even had a clue as to what was happening during the game, but watch it we did. This is my first memory of hockey.

As I got older, we spent less and less time at the farm, but I still watched hockey from time to time. We only had the one television in the house and whenever my father was in the living room, he had full control over whatever was on. So, if someone wanted to watch TV, s/he had to watch whatever was on--and that included Westerns, baseball, and hockey. I don't remember anything specific from that time, either, but it still was Original Six hockey.

Time moved on and we fast-forward to my high school days. I didn't pay a lot of attention to any sports--other than our high school basketball--and spent my days as a typical teenager. That is, until I started dating my high school boyfriend. He was a hockey nut, so I became one, also. (When you are young and in love, you do all sorts of things you don't expect to.) And I also began to follow his team and adopted it as my own--the Boston Bruins.

Looking back, if you were young and followed hockey, the Bruins were the team to follow. After all, they had Derek Sanderson--the 'Joe Namath' of the hockey world--and Bobby Orr. I think The Boyfriend followed them simply BECAUSE of Sanderson. Anyway, they became my team and I followed them all through high school and for the years that I continued to follow hockey.

A year+ after graduation, I found myself getting married and moving to that hotbed of hockey activity, Charleston, South Carolina. In those days, you actually COULD find some games on Sundays, so I tried as best as possible to continue following the game, but it was not to be. By the time I was back in the northwoods, my interest had waned and I watched very few games. This was the beginning of my 'lost years,' in terms of my involvement with hockey.

I missed the Red Wing turn around from the Deadwings to Stanley Cup Champions. I missed most of Steve Yzerman's career. (I'm not crying TOO much, because this ALSO means I missed Gretzky's career.) During those years, I was raising two girls, taking care of a household and family, volunteering to within an inch of my life, and being otherwise occupied. I, once again, lived in a house with only one TV. With the kids and husband 'owning' the one set AND my living most of my life in the kitchen, hockey was one of the last things on my mind whenever I had a chance to watch something. I had a slight idea of what was going on in the NHL, but most everything I heard meant nothing to me. I was in no hurry to get back into the game.

Suddenly, a few years ago, everything changed for me. I'm not sure WHAT happened, but I decided to start watching the game again. And it didn't take long before I became even more obsessed than I had been in high school. Summers have become even harder for me to endure since I became a fan again. I count the days till the season begins and I surf the interwebs constantly for news of the Wings. My obsession has become so complete, that I hesitate to tell my doctor how worried I get, at times, over my blood pressure. I'm sure if he knew HOW I watch games, I would be forbidden to watch anymore. So, I will keep my mouth shut and wait for the new season to begin.


*Sauna is pronounced "SOW-na." (Sow, as in a female pig.) It is NOT pronounced "SAW-na." If you EVER meet me in person, remember that. I do NOT tolerate anyone pronouncing it WRONG and will bitch-slap anyone saying it incorrectly. ;)