Baffling Differences

[Slytovhand]

I don't "get" field hockey. Not nearly as action packed.

Well, of course not - there's lines and ice! Ice makes it go faster, no lines means it can't go out to stop the play.... Now, if the game was kept as 'clean' as field hockey (which, yes, is the 'official' name of the game!), I'd probably appreciate it more. (but, when the most advertised aspect of it - and other contact games - are the fights, I get turned off!) I follow real football, and when they show it, you see stacks and stacks of skill all the time (and the lack of ), but you don't see any advertising involving fights.. it's a disruption to the game - not an incentive to see it!

But Protege - why do the people stand for it??? Just play the damn game!

[Greenday]

Fights can play a huge part of a hockey game. If you're team is losing then one of your players kicks the crap out of an opposing play, that's a huge morale boost for your team and your fans. Things like that can turn a game around and change losing a game into a win.

[Slytovhand]

Fights can play a huge part of a hockey game. If you're team is losing then one of your players kicks the crap out of an opposing play, that's a huge morale boost for your team and your fans. Things like that can turn a game around and change losing a game into a win.

Now you see, GD, I just see that as extremely bad sportsmanship....

[jackfaire]

Now you see, GD, I just see that as extremely bad sportsmanship....

What would be bad sportsmanship in Boxing?

[Fryk]

I don't get football, either. It's probably better to actually be at the game than trying to watch on TV...but meh. I just could never get into it. Toooooo sloooow!

I think that's true of almost EVERY sport. I hate watching them on TV, but I love going to a game live.

And Jackfaire, poor sportsmanship in boxing would be a kick to the happy sack, of course :: ).

[RecoveringKinkoid]

What would be bad sportsmanship in Boxing?

I'm guessing biting someone's ear off.

But hey, I don't know much about boxing, so that might actually be GOOD sportsmanship. I dunno.

[DesignFox]

Fights can play a huge part of a hockey game. If you're team is losing then one of your players kicks the crap out of an opposing play, that's a huge morale boost for your team and your fans. Things like that can turn a game around and change losing a game into a win.

Now you see, GD, I just see that as extremely bad sportsmanship....

Yes and No Slyt.

Generally speaking a fight in the last 5 mins of play is just that...and there are heavy penalties if you fight in the last 5 mins of play.

Usually, fighting is for a reason other than just to kick the crap out of the other guy. I'll try my best....

Basically, fights are on on-ice justice system. Officials don't always CATCH the dirty hits. OR even if they do, your team doesn't want to let the other team get away with hitting someone in a way that they could get hurt. For some teams, if one of their skill players gets injured- they're in trouble.

Contrary to what it seems, there are rules with regards to the hits. So, if someone comes out and hurts your teammate or does something underhanded to TRY to hurt them...you get your enforcer out to start a fight. Its the team's way of saying, "Don't hurt my partner, asshole." The enforcer is the guy that's on the team primarily because he can fight...it doesn't matter if he takes penalty minutes...that's what he's there for.

And yea. like Greenday said, a good fight can really change the momentum of a game. Sometimes, the two opposing teams enforcers will go out there and agree to fight just to get the crowd going...they aren't being bad sports. It's what they do. It's part of the game.

Of course, there ARE always bad sports, or moments when guys get frustrated and just start throwing punches...but that's not really the "norm." In many cases, you don't want to take penalty mins you don't have to...

That's most of my understanding of it. My SO can explain it much better.

[Nyoibo]

Basically Ice Hockey boils down to schoolyard rules in a sports event.

[Boozy]

Fights in hockey are terrible for the game, in my opinion. The Europeans play this beautiful finesse game. It's fast moving and wonderful to watch. Canadian players don't develop these skills as much as they could, because size and toughness are considered too important.

Canadian kids are raised to think that fighting is "part of the game", but it's not. It's just fighting. It stops the game cold, encourages bad sportsmanship, and gives a spot on most NHL rosters to some brute who can't otherwise play.

If you think that fighting is good for the game, think again: The number of fights in the NHL post-season drops dramatically. When the games matter the most, the coaches don't let their players fight. They take the "enforcers" off the ice and put guys out there who can skate, puck-handle, pass, and score.

[DesignFox]

Fights in hockey are terrible for the game, in my opinion. <snip>

Canadian kids are raised to think that fighting is "part of the game", but it's not. It's just fighting. It stops the game cold, encourages bad sportsmanship, and gives a spot on most NHL rosters to some brute who can't otherwise play.

If you think that fighting is good for the game, think again: The number of fights in the NHL post-season drops dramatically. When the games matter the most, the coaches don't let their players fight. They take the "enforcers" off the ice and put guys out there who can skate, puck-handle, pass, and score.

*shrug* Things have also changed in the past 30 years or so from what I am told. I've only started watching the sport last year. A few decades ago, that may have been true. "I went to the fight and a hockey game broke out" didn't become a joke for no reason...

From what I've seen, depending on the team, fighting isn't the be all end all. I like the team I like because they play a clean game...They will defend themselves when provoked, but generally aren't the ones throwing the dirty hits or starting shit. (Again, at least from the time I've been watching)

It's not like the fighting is openly encouraged by the officials. They jump in before anybody gets seriously hurt, and the penalties are minor unless things get...ugly. You do it too much, you get suspended. It's not like there aren't rules.

There's only one team in the league so far that I outright dislike and it's because they play as you describe Boozy. Bunch of bullies on skates. They throw temper tantrums of toddler like proportions when they lose, and try their best to break everyone in the process. For whatever reason, their fans love them for this, and I gotta agree with you that I don't understand THAT.

The rest of it... A little on ice boxing match here and there doesn't phase me any. These guys know what they're getting into. I'm up cheering for my guy with the rest of the crowd.

Anyway.

In a similar vein, although this may seem weird since I don't mind the occasional hockey fight...

What the hell is up with boxing and those UFC fights? I mean, those sports are literally a couple guys beating the snot out of one another to the point of knocking their opponent out. What's up with that?

I mean, in hockey, we don't want to see guys go down and not get up. We just want our enforcers to establish some boundaries if it becomes necessary. Although, I have to agree with you on that Boozy, if fighting wasn't a part of the game, enforcers wouldn't be necessary...but unless you completely did away with checking and all that, I'm not sure how that might work out...just letting the officials sort it out doesn't always suffice....and part of the fun is when you see a really good, clean Hit...

[Boozy]

I mean, in hockey, we don't want to see guys go down and not get up. We just want our enforcers to establish some boundaries if it becomes necessary. Although, I have to agree with you on that Boozy, if fighting wasn't a part of the game, enforcers wouldn't be necessary...but unless you completely did away with checking and all that, I'm not sure how that might work out...just letting the officials sort it out doesn't always suffice....and part of the fun is when you see a really good, clean Hit...

There's nothing wrong with checking; that's part of the game. The vast majority of checks do not lead to fights, and good, clean hits do not draw penalities.

I understand why fights break out in hockey. It's a full-contact competitive sport played by young men pumped with adrenaline. Fights will happen. But despite popular belief, fights are not part of the game -- they are an interruption in the game, and they should be treated as such.

If I wanted to watch pugilistic sports, I'd watch the UFC. But I don't. Which leads me full circle back to the point of the thread: I don't get the appeal of watching two people beat the crap out of each other. The popularity of UFC is horrifying to me.

[the_std]

Necro'ing this thread because this is something I want to add to it:

The sentiment in this thread is something that seems pretty foreign to me. I live in a province in Canada where winter can be, and usually is, a seven or eight month ordeal. We gets lots of snow, it sticks around cause it's generally always cold out, and therefore we have to deal with shoveling walks quite frequently. I know people who don't like doing it, but I've never once heard someone say, "Well, I won't do it, just cause I don't want to. Oh, it's the law? Now I especially won't do it." And, while there might be a law in our books about it, I have never heard anyone reference it before.

It kind of ties into this whole American mentality I notice permeating a lot of the little things. People are generally good and will do these nice, helpful things out of the goodness of their hearts, but as soon as someone asks them outright, or heaven forbid, makes a law about it, it's suddenly nearly patriotic to do everything you can to go against this law. Whereas, where I live, for the most part you either do it, or you don't.

It seems so... Well, wasteful to me. In all the time you spent bitching about whatever it is, you could have had it done and kicked back with a cold beer/hot chocolate by now. It's very confusing.