Why I Prefer Hockey Over Football: An Opinion Column

As I sit here in my home watching the Giants and the Eagles thug it out, like they do every time these two teams get together (myself being a Giants fan because I'm not a horrible person), I have found myself thinking, "wow, I wish I could be watching hockey right now". At the time I am writing this, the game is currently 10-3 at halftime, and I am losing all interest. I've stopped watching, not because of the Giants losing, but because it has become a chore at this point. There are a cornucopia of issues I have with this game, and with watching football in general that tip me on my side whenever I watch a game of football. As compared to when I watch a hockey game, the two sports are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum as far as my excitement goes. This is solely my opinion, so don't go getting your panties in a bunch if you don't agree with me.

Now before I go into my tirade, I'd like to point out that I am a multi-sport man. I enjoy all four of the major sports on American television, I could watch a soccer game if it's exciting, I watch UFC, and I've followed the Olympics when the come around. I like all the sports for their own features. Basketball has the drama and the momentum swings that keep me watching the games. Baseball, while being sometimes very difficult to watch because of its longevity, I played baseball as a kid and have a connection to it, especially when it gets down toward the end of a season. Finally, I enjoy football too, because I understand the strategy that goes into the game. I like the excitement of the big plays, and the determination of a team that is down, but not out driving down a field. Competition in general excites me, but nothing like the way the sport of hockey does.



I grew up playing hockey as a kid. I played from age five all the way up until I was about in 7th grade. I was never very good, but I had a lot fun playing it. When I stopped playing it, my attention turned to watching it. Fast-forward to now when I'm 19-years-old, hockey is now my most viewed program on television. I don't watch anything other than hockey (excluding Jersey Shore.... problem?), and when I do watch hockey, it is a sight to see. My usual game watching routine is sitting in my personal recliner parked a good five feet from the TV, hunched over, hands cupped over my mouth analyzing everything I see unfolding in front of me, and then breaks to do homework at intermissions in an attempt to sway karma to the Rangers' side for being concerned for my academics. Obsessive? Borderline, probably.

Nothing is more emotional than a hockey game to me. The pain of defeat is gut-wrenching because of how difficult of a game it actually is, and the joy of victory is that much sweeter because of the difficulty. It's not like football where your objective for some positions is "be big and make sure no one runs past you". It's not like baseball where some of the positions, like a pitching rotation or closer, you don't even play a game some days. It's also not like basketball, where sometimes it turns into a one-man show. Hockey is grueling, it's difficult, and it cannot be slowed down unless it's Philly against Tampa. It is a skilled mans game.

Now, the things I enjoy that hockey does not have that I have to put up with in other sports are plenty. First of all, I do enjoy celebrations. I can understand why a player is tempted to celebrate because sports are emotional, and celebrations are the fruit of your labor. What irks me about other sports is, like in football, there is a choreographed celebrations for every single thing. A linesman makes a stop on a running-back that had a three yard gain: linesman gets up and goes shuffling. LeBron James' teammate makes a three followed by a timeout, LeBron is flexing his muscles and acting like he did it. While I do not encourage the limiting of a players personality, hockey gets it's celebrations right: when your team scores, and when your team wins. You will never see Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley do the Soulja-Boi after Dany Heatley throws a nice body check. You won't see Carey Price dusting off his shoulders after the puck leaves his zone after he made a routine blocker save. Celebrations are the fruit of a players' labor, but they should be done when you have done something remarkable, and not on every play.

Another thing I like about hockey is the way it keeps a vast majority of its interest on the ice. When I say that, I mean there is not a lot of off-ice issues in the NHL, at least that get major attention. What was the last time anyone can think of an off-ice issue that made an impact of an NHL game? Mine would be Sean Averys "sloppy seconds" comment. In baseball, there is always the question of whether a player is on steroids, and I could probably Google the last basketball/football player to be arrested and fined for his off-the-field antics. Since hockey is the least-focused-on major sport in America, there isn't as much of an issue of crazed players running rampant off the ice, and causing trouble that gets a lot of media attention, because it rarely happens. The usual drama in the NHL is something derived from the game, like a blown call like the Ryan Miller/Milan Lucic hit, or a suspension that gets handled very quickly at the hands of Suspension Czar Brendan Shanahan. Hockey does a good job of focusing on hockey, and not involving itself in TMZ garbage the other sports medias have to deal with, and I like it.

Hockey is a game of focus, and the focus is on playing. There isn't a player who tries to steal the spotlight from his team, on or off the ice, because hockey players know they would be nothing without their teammates. There are superstars, but they are gracious and know their position in this sport can change at any given time. The tiny catalysts of a season mean everything to a hockey team, and they cannot afford to be overshadowed by anything other than what a player does on the ice.