Fight, Fight, Fight
Posted in Random on October 3rd, 2009 by andrew mackay – Be the first to comment
Okay, here’s a confession: My favorite team in the National Hockey League (if you have to ask… well, it’s the Maple Leafs… and you haven’t been here long, have you? Allow me to introduce myself… I’m Andrew Mackay. I write things here. Welcome. Glad to have you.) has undergone some changes in the off-season.
In particular, we’ve loaded up on scrappers. That means that every game that I watch this year featuring my favorite team is likely to feature more fighting than any three games in previous years.
I think I alluded to this last week, but let me say it full out: I do not see the point of fights in hockey. I understand all the various arguments — particularly the one that says that if the other team pulls a dirty play on your star player, you need a scrapper to go remind him not to do it again.
But, as far as I can tell, if we got serious about dirty plays, we wouldn’t have any need for fighting. And, we have rules against dirty play already on the books… so why not get serious?
Now, I’ll admit, I’ve watched a hockey game turn on a fight. It definitely causes a momentum shift. But, it’s kind of like a horse going down in a horse race. Does it shift the momentum? Sure. Is it a good thing? Probably not.
So, Brian Burke, if you could, can we get rid of some of the scrappers and bring in some guys with talent moving the puck? We could start a revolution right here.
Nah, he doesn’t care what I think. Well… bring on the fights.
