I went to Deadspin, got angry, came back to Oppo.

"Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif" (lumpy44)
03/02/2014 at 23:19 • Filed to: Off Topics

It always amazes me how fast people jump all over hockey as soon as someone gets hurt in a fight.

If a guy doesn't get knocked down or KO'ed no one seems to care, but as soon as someone gets laid out there is a pile of people who say its archaic. They have no idea whats going on in the game or who these guys who fight are. Another front page facepalm. Sorry, Oppo rant over.

DISCUSSION (23)

jy15btx > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:22

Just be like me. Don acknowledge hockey as a sport.

I kid I kid. I dont understand it nor do I care to. The fights are what makes hockey hockey for people like me.

For the record I do watch it in the Olympics, but that just mainly cause I like to the US beat other countries lol

YSI-what can brown do for you > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:24

Can someone explain to me the fighting in hockey? I think it is all kind of random.

E30Joe drives a Subaru > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:25

E30Joe drives a Subaru > YSI-what can brown do for you
03/02/2014 at 23:25

It's just part of the sport.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > jy15btx
03/02/2014 at 23:25

I feel hockey players are some of the best athletes in the world.

I have played hockey, fought playing hockey, and more or less lived hockey for 20 years. It scares me that people who know nothing about a sport feel they should have the power to change it.

Stupidru > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:30

In hockey, it's part of the game. You have your enforcers who are there to regulate the mood of the game. These guys don't just fight for the hell of it. It's cheap shots against the guys who score the goals that start the fights, or low emotions on the bench that start fights. Take a swing at my goal scorer, and I'll throw down. My team is down by 3 goals and we need something to pick us back up; I'll throw down.

Seriously, people who don't understand hockey make me upset whenever they talk about it.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > YSI-what can brown do for you
03/02/2014 at 23:30

In a physical game with a large amount of contact people are bound to get mad. Star players never would of been able to skate around without someone taking shots at them without someone who can keep that from happening. Hockey players are brothers that do not let things happen to their teammates without some sort of retribution.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:31

Fair enough, is there any reason why fighting isn't banned in the sport?

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Stupidru
03/02/2014 at 23:34

Fully agree, I can see players who do little other than fight not always being part of the game but fighting will always be part of it. But players who will do anything for their team (Wendel Clark, Jerome Iginla) as well as score goals will always be the best hockey players.

M54B30 > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:36

That's why I don't comment on deadspin much. And their only "constructive" comments are a lame pun with 150 stars.

PS: go Canes

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > YSI-what can brown do for you
03/02/2014 at 23:37

It has always been part of it I feel. The thought of how teams will deal with cheap shots is a question that I don't think we will want to find out. The fact that it is entertaining I'm sure helps too.

Stupidru > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:38

I never liked Bertuzzi after his cheap shot, but he was one of those guys that always stood up for his team and could put it in the net every once in a while

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > M54B30
03/02/2014 at 23:39

I do laugh at some of the jokes made, but it does get repetitive after a while.

PS: Go Flames!

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > Stupidru
03/02/2014 at 23:40

Bert was a great player when he played with Naslund. I know what happened to Steve Moore is terrible but if Moore had of turned around and fought Bert the first 3 times he was asked that likely wouldn't of happened.

jy15btx > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:40

I have no doubt they are. I remember going to Iguana(CHL) and Rampage(AHL) as kid when I lived in San Antonio. Ive yet to go to a Rhinos game, no clue what league. To me they're good cheap entertainment.

People get a lot of money and feel like they are important sometimes. Others just assume they know better about everything.

M54B30 > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:41

They are funny, but there's rarely an in-depth discussion.

Good luck with your flames, my canes are on a losing streak (agaaaaaain) and look to be in a race to the golf course

samssun > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/02/2014 at 23:49

"It scares me that people who know nothing about a sport feel they should have the power to change it."

It scares me that "progressive" control freaks who know nothing about sports, cars, any number of other products, industries, or economics as a whole feel they should have power over all those things. Hockey is just one example; some people get up in the morning looking for new ways to impose their will on others.

area man > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/03/2014 at 00:00

But to play devil's advocate, the conditions you just described are similar to other sports (football, soccer, baseball) where fighting is banned and results in severe out-of-game penalties when it occurs. I personally don't have an opinion either way, but I understand why people criticize it.

Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif > area man
03/03/2014 at 00:09

I understand why people criticizes it but they likely have never put on skates. In football players often do punch and fight each other and just get penalties and some fines. Baseball has fights often that normally just lead to fines. If things go too far then suspensions do occur. Its not like fighting is required in hockey, I have been to dozens of games with no fights.

AntMic > M54B30
03/03/2014 at 00:23

I always read Jalopnik and Oppo comments on articles that I like because I learn alot (I don't know much) and/or they're funny, but I rarely ever even glimpse at them on Deadspin because every comment in 6 words long.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/03/2014 at 00:57

Deadspin commenters hurt my head. Their $0.02 shows they either a) don't watch hockey or b) have watched 1 or 2 games and use that as their justification to hate on the sport.

If the NHL took fighting out of the sport, you will have a lot of scared people out on the ice. They have no backbone to punish people who target big names, so why not let justice be served on the ice?

P.S.—Go Blues!

E.T's Bicycle > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/03/2014 at 08:51

I think you may be over generalizing when you say fights "often" happen in football and baseball. In the 100+ games I have been to I have seen one baseball bench clearer than never resulted in a punch, and no fights in basketball or football. But maybe half the hockey games have fights were punches are thrown.

But as for hockey, players don't get hurt more often in international play than in the NHL, so I think the argument that fights keep star players safe is a bit of BS.

Sean Bartlett > Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif
03/03/2014 at 13:35

Couldn't agree with you more. I grew up playing my whole life. and I'll be the first to admit I was never a fighter. What else would you expect out of a 5'8" 180 pounder? I was known for not taking penalties (I was always a short handed specialist) and I broke up more scuffles than I got in.

With that being said I am a huge fan of fighting in hockey. The main reason being the idea of players policing themselves. While the officials are there to keep the game in line, we all know they can only do so much. This is why, when I played, I never got (too) upset with the officiating. If someone took a run at me, or a cheap shot, I would just take care of it myself. And if it wasn't me taking care of my own problems, I knew I had teammates who had my back.

With that being said it is sad to see anyone get hurt playing the great game. However as my Midget Major coach always told us: "Don't drop the gloves unless you're ready to get your shit pushed back in.".