I will not be watching my Maple Leafs play an NHL hockey game tonight and neither will anyone else. Yes, I will acknowledge that some of you have strange and inexplicable loyalties to other teams, but you will be as much in the dark tonight as anyone. This is because of the standoff between National Hockey League owners and players, resulting in a stillborn season.
Of course each of the sides blames the other and fans who assume that this is about entertainment rather than business are bewildered. The owners have already publicly pouted that they lost 100 million dollars in the preseason. Well, why don't they figure this out? And why were a gang of players signed to obscenely large contracts just before his fiasco began? Meanwhile, the formerly highly paid players have hightailed it off to Europe to bump the poor schmos who toil over there and will now be out of jobs.
A recent episode of The Current on CBC radio featured a piece called Hockey-ness is Next to Godly-ness (why did they mispell godliness?) which just about says it all. Was it Tim Horton's which had the sappy ad last year about arenas as our shrines? And the Prime Minister happily described hockey as another religion during the Olympics. If so, it is a false religion which is letting us down once again. As someone has said, this a squabble between billionaires and millionaires and it difficult for the average person to care. I am be at the end of my tether as a fan (remember this is short for fanatic) but we'll see.
Any comments about the hockey dispute? Do you think you will rev it up as a fan once this is over. Any opinions about hockey as idolatry?
Although a Habs fan, I am not really missing hockey too much. Besides, I am going to give more attention to the Oshawa Generals now. It's great hockey and only $20 to attend a game. You would have to add another zero to that for a Leaf game(and in my opinion, a lower quality game!!).
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm fine with the strike....I prefer football anyway.
I'm with Roger.
ReplyDeleteGo Bears!