# Hockey Haters' thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 11, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939 "2008-04-11T20:11:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Brandon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f08c70/32.png) [@Brandon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/21 "2008-04-12T02:55:04Z")
Hockey is a more pure team sport than any of the other major sports. It’s truly amazing to see how many people “hate” hockey, without ever giving it an actual shot. In that sense, it is a lot like soccer. Like **Bryan Ekers** , even people who dislike hockey will attest to how action filled it is. Hockey epitomizes athletic competition, for my money there are no better overall athletes. It is filled with passion (most passionate sport IMO), dedication, camaraderie, loyalty, respect, tradition and desire. The rivalries and the storied histories of the players are legendary, the toughness, grit, and will that consume the game has no comparison. If you gave it an honest shot you could probably come to respect and appreciate the game, if not actually like it. Frankly, most people won’t give it an honest shot because they don’t have the resources (time, energy, patience, willingness, access) to gain an eye for the game. It is not a very easy sport for casual viewers to learn or understand. Plus, there is the whole goaltender aspect; which is probably the most alien position in all of sports to the average person. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/22 "2008-04-12T03:35:52Z")
I really hate hockey, too. To make matters worse, could the fucking season be any longer? Sheesh, I swear, if the damned local team happens to make it to the finals, there’s like a month or two between the end of one season and the next next one starting up, and I have to hear about it almost endlessly. I don’t like most sports, but I really don’t like hockey the most. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/23 "2008-04-12T03:51:05Z")
Do you have the same problems with the NBA and MLB seasons? Both are about only 20 days shorter than the NHL season. And if you’re not watching sports channels since you don’t like sports, why would you have to hear about hockey? ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/24 "2008-04-12T04:08:13Z")
[QUOTE=Hockey Monkey] Go to a live game. It is the only sport I prefer live to TV. It takes a little while to learn how to anticipate the play. A whole lot of the action takes place behind the play or away from the puck. I spend a lot of time watching the bench to see who’s coming in and out. I know I’m not going to change anyone’s mind if they are dead set against liking the game, just like no one is going to convince me to love baseball. 😛 [/QUOTE] Man, I came in here to warn the OP that you and **SnakeCatsLady** were eventually going to come in here and rip him a new one. Way to be all civil-like, Hockey. ---
**Author:** ![Melkor28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Melkor28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melkor28)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/25 "2008-04-12T10:15:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Origanlly Posted by **Bryan Ekers** > > Even the fights in hockey are boring. Usually it’s just one guy from one team and one guy from the other team going at it. Fights in baseball, basketball, and football are more fun to watch because they usually involve more people and they’re less common, making each one something to savor. Also, people criticize soccer for being too low-scoring, but hockey is the same way. At least soccer has the Spanish-speaking announcers who keep the game exciting to watch. Hocky Fights boring? Your kidding right!!! Baseball players fight like girls, Hockey fights are sheer punch in the face contests; and hockey has it’s bench clearing brawles too. Just go to YouTube, search “Hockey Fight”, or better “Hockey Golie Fights”, and see if you are bored. two of my favorites [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6YQpWTUnESk/hqdefault.jpg "Hockey Goalie FIGHTS!!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YQpWTUnESk) Wach the whole vidio. They edited some footage, after Cloutier beats the crap out of Salo (while he is covering up face down on the ice), Cloutier scates to the Islander benceh san challanges the whole team. Tey put the challange at the end of the vid, I don’t know why. [//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z52wnFAVNBI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z52wnFAVNBI) ---
**Author:** ![Melkor28](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Melkor28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melkor28)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/26 "2008-04-12T10:21:48Z")
Second link [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z52wnFAVNBI) ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/27 "2008-04-12T11:44:30Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8] Even the fights in hockey are boring. Usually it’s just one guy from one team and one guy from the other team going at it. [/quote] Well, the league found that this was less of a drag on team unity than two guys from the same team fighting each other. > [@](#): > > Fights in baseball, basketball, and football are more fun to watch because they usually involve more people and they’re less common, making each one something to savor. Actually, multi-player fights in hockey are just as uncommon and probably more enjoyable. It just says something about the passion for the game when the two goalies skate from opposite ends of the ice to go at it. > [@](#): > > Also, people criticize soccer for being too low-scoring, but hockey is the same way. Hockey isn’t just about the score. It’s about the skill and sometimes luck it takes to get that goal, or the skill it takes to make that save. It’s about the sheer nerve it takes for a player who isn’t the goalie to drop or skate in front of that 100 mph slap shot to block it. > [@](#): > > At least soccer has the Spanish-speaking announcers who keep the game exciting to watch. What? Canadiens aren’t exciting enough for you. I’ll put Ken Kal’s high pitched “goal” versus some yelling spaniard any day. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/28 "2008-04-12T11:58:41Z")
[QUOTE=Melkor28] > [@by Bryan Ekers](#): > > Even the fights in hockey are boring. Usually it’s just one guy from one team and one guy from the other team going at it. Fights in baseball, basketball, and football are more fun to watch because they usually involve more people and they’re less common, making each one something to savor. Also, people criticize soccer for being too low-scoring, but hockey is the same way. At least soccer has the Spanish-speaking announcers who keep the game exciting to watch. Hocky Fights boring? Your kidding right!!! Baseball players fight like girls, Hockey fights are sheer punch in the face contests; and hockey has it’s bench clearing brawles too. Just go to YouTube, search “Hockey Fight”, or better “Hockey Golie Fights”, and see if you are bored. [/quote] Whoa, easy there. The quoted portion you attribute to me was actually written by Ponch8, and as you point out, he’s way off. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/29 "2008-04-12T12:01:26Z")
[QUOTE=Harborwolf] Actually, multi-player fights in hockey are just as uncommon and probably more enjoyable. [/QUOTE] The third-man-in rule had the effect of reducing all-out brawls, to the benefit of the game in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/30 "2008-04-12T13:28:32Z")
Hockey is one sport which really benefits from HD. It is far easier to follow on a big screen in HD. ---
**Author:** ![Brandon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f08c70/32.png) [@Brandon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/31 "2008-04-14T19:08:01Z")
[QUOTE=Harborwolf] It’s about the sheer nerve it takes for a player who isn’t the goalie to drop or skate in front of that 100 mph slap shot to block it. [/QUOTE] So in your opinion, it doesn’t take nerves for the goaltender to get in front of the puck? [QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] The third-man-in rule had the effect of reducing all-out brawls, to the benefit of the game in my opinion. [/QUOTE] I agree with you to an extent; however, I think that rule occasionally has a negative effect on the game. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/32 "2008-04-14T19:16:04Z")
When’s the last time a goalie broke something blocking a shot? The goalies are much better protected from the puck then a player is. ---
**Author:** ![Brandon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f08c70/32.png) [@Brandon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/33 "2008-04-14T19:33:35Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] When’s the last time a goalie broke something blocking a shot? The goalies are much better protected from the puck then a player is. [/QUOTE] I’ve personally had bones broken from a puck (amongst other dangerous injuries). I’ve also seen it happen. The padding is there to keep you alive, not to stop you from getting hurt. There is also the issue of taking collisions, where concussions often happen due to the design of the most commonly used goalie masks. For the record, I have also skated out and gone down to block countless shots, and the worst I ever got out of that was a nasty bruise that took up my whole thigh (I wonder if I still have that picture somewhere). I have often thought of starting an ask the goalie thread, but frankly I don’t foresee there being enough interest to rationalize making one. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/34 "2008-04-14T19:40:16Z")
Hockey players are tough. After the Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999, I think it was 4 players had surgeries for things like torn ligaments and muscles. Of course there is the legend of Bobby Baun who scored a Cup winning goal playing on a broken leg. IIRC, there was a story that someone on the Dope related about a baseball player who missed a game because of an eyelash issue. Also, there is no better trophy in sports than the Stanley Cup- nothing even comes close. It just boggles my mind how someone can say that hockey is boring and in the same sentence profess a love for baseball (a true sleeping aid). ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/35 "2008-04-14T20:28:00Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] Hockey players are tough. After the Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999, I think it was 4 players had surgeries for things like torn ligaments and muscles. Of course there is the legend of Bobby Baun who scored a Cup winning goal playing on a broken leg. IIRC, there was a story that someone on the Dope related about a baseball player who missed a game because of an eyelash issue. Also, there is no better trophy in sports than the Stanley Cup- nothing even comes close. It just boggles my mind how someone can say that hockey is boring and in the same sentence profess a love for baseball (a true sleeping aid). [/QUOTE] So you’re saying that no baseball player has ever played in pain? And no hockey player has ever missed a game because of a sore toe or the like? :dubious: Another reason I hate hockey is that it’s played almost all year round. Who the hell in Tampa Bay or Raleigh is thinking about hockey in the middle of May? It boggles the mind that a sport that requires ice is played into the early summer. Next time anybody tries to defend the popularity of hockey, just remember the TV ratings for the last couple of Stanley Bowl\* finals. The ratings barely surpassed those of the CW network. \*A term coined by Harry Caray ---
**Author:** ![Brandon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f08c70/32.png) [@Brandon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/36 "2008-04-14T20:37:10Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] Hockey players are tough. After the Stars won the Stanley Cup in 1999, I think it was 4 players had surgeries for things like torn ligaments and muscles. Of course there is the legend of Bobby Baun who scored a Cup winning goal playing on a broken leg. [/QUOTE] Not only did he score it on a broken leg (ankle to be exact), he had broken it during that very game and he still returned to score. This is an essential part of why hockey is a great sport. I remember watching basketball a few years back and the announcers went on forever about how tough one of the centers was for playing with an ingrown toenail. If you pay me that kind of money per game, I wouldn’t care if I had just lost a finger I’d be out there playing. In fact I have played or continued games many a time with injuries, and I knew countless other players who did as well; and we weren’t paid to play by any means. One game I was coughing and throwing up blood before it started, and I went on to play one of my best games. It’s the loyalty that hockey players have to their team that really sets the sport apart. Some call it bravery, some call it stupidity, but that is hockey. There are so many stories of players forging through injuries in hockey that playing hurt (especially during the playoffs) is not the exception, it is the rule. Doug Smith once played a few days after surgery for Gynecomastia during which an infection occurred, and before the game he tore out the tubes from his chest (leaking blood and puss in the process) and then went on to fight the other team’s enforcer. Then there’s the time Jeremy Roenick broke his jaw and skated to the bench where he tried to yank his teeth out. Rather than have his jaw wired, he had his bottom teeth pulled out and rubberbands put in his mouth so he wouldn’t have to go on a liquid diet (which would have ended his season). He returned 8 games later to play for his team during the playoffs. These types of stories are really only scraping the surface, and there are probably even more stories that are not well known due to hockey player’s reluctance to let opponents know of any weaknesses. It is a unwritten code that if you can make it to the bench, you do so regardless of what happened. This is done for two reasons. You don’t want the other team to get a psychological boost from putting a hurting on your team, and due to the nature of hockey if one man is out of the play your team is in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/37 "2008-04-14T20:38:39Z")
Hockey has the same problem for me as soccer does. It’s really, really hard to see any type of strategy going on when the damn puck/ball is turned over every 2-1/2 seconds. I’ve been conditioned by basketball to see a team drive the ball down the court, control it, pass it between players, set up a play, make piks, and make a shot against the defense. It gets almost frustrating to watch when nobody can control the damn puck/ball without someone taking it away from them. If a basketball court had walls and the players played like hockey players do, everytime a defensive player picked the ball away on his end of the court instead of dribbling it to the other end or passing it to another teammate he’d simply heave it overhand to the other end of the court. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/38 "2008-04-14T20:46:09Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] Also, there is no better trophy in sports than the Stanley Cup- nothing even comes close. [/quote] Seconded. I was taken aback in that Indiana Jones movie when Lord Stanley’s Chalice was not the correct cup to drink from, as it is truly the Holy Grail. > [@adam yax](#): > > It just boggles my mind how someone can say that hockey is boring and in the same sentence profess a love for baseball (a true sleeping aid). Baseball has a play stoppage after every pitch. Football has a play stoppage after every play. Yet in hockey, you frequently go 3-5 minutes of non-stop action, and the longest stretch I’ve ever seen was 11 minutes of no-whistle hockey (and fortunately, it wasn’t the NJ Devils neutral zone trap style of hockey). Both football and hockey have 60 minutes of regulation. In football, 30 seconds of clock time might equal 1 5 second run, unless you are in a two minute drill with the teams purposefully stopping the clock. In hockey, 30 seconds of play time are 30 seconds of play time, not the team huddled up for 20 seconds of it. One hour of clock time means one hour of play time. What’s not to like? P.S. I also like to watch football and baseball, but can’t fathom how hockey can be considered boring alongside those sports. ---
**Author:** ![Brandon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f08c70/32.png) [@Brandon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandon)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/39 "2008-04-14T20:52:21Z")
[QUOTE=Ponch8] So you’re saying that no baseball player has ever played in pain? And no hockey player has ever missed a game because of a sore toe or the like? :dubious: [/QUOTE] I don’t mean to speak for **adam yax** , and perhaps my reading comprehension is out of whack, but I don’t see him even remotely insinuating that. Perhaps you can help me out by showing where you drew that conclusion from? > [@Ponch8](#): > > Another reason I hate hockey is that it’s played almost all year round. Who the hell in Tampa Bay or Raleigh is thinking about hockey in the middle of May? It boggles the mind that a sport that requires ice is played into the early summer. Do you believe things like artificial turf or arena domes are exempt from this weather policy? > [@Ponch8](#): > > Next time anybody tries to defend the popularity of hockey, just remember the TV ratings for the last couple of Stanley Bowl\* finals. The ratings barely surpassed those of the CW network. Damn my faulty reading comprehension, I’m having trouble seeing where anyone is claiming hockey is popular. Maybe you could help me out here too? It is my experience that nearly all hockey fans accept that hockey is not too popular, and in fact, could be dying out. [QUOTE=Hampshire] I’ve been conditioned by basketball to see a team drive the ball down the court, control it, pass it between players, set up a play, make piks, and make a shot against the defense. [/QUOTE] This is what I was alluding to when I made my casual viewer comment above. There is little room in American professional sports for hockey, most sports fans already have an established fan routine and they are firmly entrenched in that. They are not conditioned to appreciate (or even really understand) the game. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939/40 "2008-04-14T21:09:27Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] Baseball has a play stoppage after every pitch. Football has a play stoppage after every play. Yet in hockey, you frequently go 3-5 minutes of non-stop action, and the longest stretch I’ve ever seen was 11 minutes of no-whistle hockey (and fortunately, it wasn’t the NJ Devils neutral zone trap style of hockey). Both football and hockey have 60 minutes of regulation. In football, 30 seconds of clock time might equal 1 5 second run, unless you are in a two minute drill with the teams purposefully stopping the clock. In hockey, 30 seconds of play time are 30 seconds of play time, not the team huddled up for 20 seconds of it. One hour of clock time means one hour of play time. What’s not to like? [/QUOTE] Well… _that_, actually. I mean, you have to understand, to a baseball fan, this question is like saying: why would anyone prefer _Silence of the Lambs_ to _Saw_? _Saw_ is practically nonstop action, and half of _Silence of the Lambs_ is just people staring at each other through plexiglass and mumuring softly. I don’t _enjoy_ the frenetic pace of hockey (and, to a lesser extent, basketball, which is just like hockey until the last two minutes, and then it’s just like dental surgery). I don’t enjoy the rapid substitutions, the constant changes-of-possession, the infrequent stoppages of play. Baseball exists outside of time. There’s no rush. The game will be over when it’s over. In between pitches, you can talk about, or think about, what’s gone before and what’s likely to come next. I can still remember going to Shea Stadium as a kid, watching Doc Gooden throw. He’d get to two strikes on some hapless Cub or Cardinal, and the minute the second strike hits Gary Carter’s glove everybody starts screaming. Everybody’s anticipating the strikeout; it’s coming and you know it. There’s nothing to do but wait for it to come. Some people stand. Some people cheer. Some people trade stories about the best Gooden game they’ve ever seen. A really unsuperstitious fan writes a “K” in his scorecard. Batter steps out. Place gets louder, because you can tell he’s psyched out, he’s not hitting Doc today, the _Cardinals_ aren’t hitting Doc today. And then, in the bottom of the inning, when Hernandez walks with men on first and third and Strawberry comes to the plate… shit, man, that’s why I’m a baseball fan. All that stuff happens while there’s, theoretically, nothing happening on the field. But for a baseball fan, the breaks in the action, and what fills those breaks, is part of the fun. There’s not really an equivalent in hockey. There are different kinds of thrills, but they’re boring to me, compared to baseball. * * * Oh, and the penalty and playoff systems. Making a team play shorthanded as a penalty is perfectly reasonable, but I hate it. It’s visceral. And really, I can’t enjoy a regular season hockey or basketball game because so many teams make the playoffs. No fun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-haters-thread/444939.md?page=3)