Follow the little black disc
It’s a frequent conversation here in West Virginia. “I’d watch hockey if I could follow the puck… now, back when they had that red dot over it, I loved it…” This is most frequently said by people who love me and know that I probably hated the red dot. But, occasionally, I hear it from random people.
For those of you who are blissfully unaware, when Fox had part of the NHL rights deal, they decided to embed a microchip in the puck that would then allow them to digitally put a red dot over the puck to make it more obvious for television watchers (pronounced “Americans”). It was an attempt to make watching hockey easier, I guess. Thankfully, no real hockey fan thought it was a good idea, so when Fox dropped out of the hockey broadcasting business, the system dropped out with them.
However, it does raise an interesting issue. If you haven’t been watching hockey for very long, apparently it can be tough to track the puck. I won’t pretend like I know what that feels like — I don’t remember a time in my life when I couldn’t track the puck for the most part. Of course, hockey’s been on in my house (and the winter game of choice) since I was born. But, in an effort to help, I’ll tell you how I watch the game.
1. Follow the little black disc. Yeah, self explanatory. If you can obviously see the puck, you probably should just stick to that.
2. Flow of game. Check what color the goalie is wearing. Look in the direction he’s looking for a guy who is not wearing the same color as him. You’ve found the puck.
3. Beware the dump and chase. Frequently, teams will “dump” the puck into the opposing team’s zone, and then chase it in hopes of setting up an offensive opportunity. Dump and chase takes place around the boards, the hope being that a good body check will get the defense off the puck and provide that opportunity. If there are guys skating hard and you can’t see the puck, check around the boards.
Hopefully those tips help. For the record, my Toronto Maple Leafs are still winless. They play tonight… maybe they can get out of this streak.
If they don’t win I think we should really push your Marlie’s idea :O)
Have a great weekend. I’m just glad the little black disc lost it’s fascination in this household.
Love
Dobidob
“Follow the little back disc………follow the little black disc” Okay I see it now. Thanks Son.
I understand hockey purists’ disdain for the “techno-puck”, but it helped me. It is an most excellent game.
The lack of a red dot is the same reason I don’t watch Soccer.
I’m going to go ahead and say I hope the Leafs don’t break their streak. This is only because they’re playing my Canucks tonight.