One and done

I wish the Bruins well and I’m fond of some of the players in a detached sort of way but I’ll say this:  Unless Kyle Snyder decides on an athletic change of career that involves wearing skates and carrying a stick, I’m fairly certain I’ve seen my last professional hockey game in person.

The seats were fabulous.  FABULOUS.  Six rows off the glass on one of the goals.  So the action was coming toward us and going away from us instead of whipping past us from left to right and back again.  Right there was a win.  Visually, it was entertaining.  The white ice with the players in black uniforms flying over them…it was a feast for the eyes.  I’ve been to many hockey games (albeit long ago) and my memories of those games are similar to my memory of last night’s game.  Not much about the game, more about individual players and what was going on AROUND the game.  Visually it is stunning but I really never have gotten into the specifics of the game.  I felt sorry for Tim Thomas losing and I was annoyed that the fans booed at the end of the game (not knowing hockey fan etiquette, is this something the fans always do?  Are they booing the team that won, not their own team?) and those who stayed with two minutes to go and then suddenly decided the comeback was impossible so they bolted.

For me, the thing I can’t get past, is not only the acceptance but the encouragement of violence.  Before each period of the game, the video board showed footage of the team along with the heart-pounding music, to get the fans into it.   (That alone struck me odd…we already did that before the game began…it was like celebrating three mini-games instead of one full game.)  Every other clip (and in some instances, EVERY clip) was of a fight or a really hard hit.  The fans, of course, were going crazy and it was obvious that the mission of the videos was clear:  Get as angry and worked up about this as possible.  I have a hard time getting excited at the prospect of guys taking the ice in anticipation of fighting.  It’s something I can’t wrap my mind around.  I know many hockey fans will tell me either I’m too soft or I don’t get that fighting is a huge part of hockey.  Maybe so.  But the violent images being flashed on a giant screen all night only served to make me uncomfortable with the people around me screaming for blood.

As Red Sox fans we can point to the ARod/Tek fight from 2004 as being a bit inspirational for the team and for what happened that year.  But Jason Varitek has spent years separating himself from that, insisting he was wrong to get into it and refusing to sign photos of it.  The fights are few and far between in baseball (and most of them not really fights anyway) and last night made me grateful for that.

My parents have always been Boston-based sports fans.  Along with trips to Fenway, my father courted my mother by taking her to Bruins and Celtics games as well.  I remember many nights when I was very young, sneaking into my parents room while my mother slept and my father watched the Bruins on his small black and white television and just adoring Brad Park.  Hell, I watched every game the US Hockey team played in 1980, not just the “miracle” game.  So even last night I had some nostalgia for those days and I could see myself becoming attached to players if I truly followed the games.  But I don’t ever see myself becoming attached to the game itself like I was when I was younger.

That isn’t to say I wasn’t happy for the experience.  Great seats, great company and a fun night out.  The Garden is visually stunning (although I have to admit I feel no connection to it the way I did with the “old” Garden), a beautiful place to see an event.  I’ll just stick to the Celtics being my sporting event of choice there.

You haven’t lost me Red Sox.  Certainly not to hockey!