"I'd quit watching hockey if they took out fighting."

[jstewismybastardson]

So some players should be allowed to be hit while others should not? That is pretty illogical as well. I don't see Ovechkin, or Tkachuk, or Roenick, or others shying away from physicality.

how is it illogical to want to protect your star player? ... all players have different roles on a hockey team and its always been this way ... As a teammate you want your star player to succeed because his talent can take your team places

i wonder what kind of player OV could have been in a pre instigator era where he wouldnt have to be dodging knees from the likes of Matt Cooke types because they would have been put in there place by guys policing themselves

Tkachuk and Roenick only got to play a few years without the instigator ... what would there careers have been like if they could have focused on their immense talent






btw ... dinnertime so Ill let you have the last word

and eloco ... you can stop pm'ing me lovely messages

 

[TheRobotDevil]

For the most part, an NFL, NBA, or MLB player who lacks respect for his fellow players isn't going to end too many careers. Aside from a pitcher throwing too close to a guy's head, a baseball player probably isn't going to be able to take out another baseball player for months at a time, or end their career, simply based on carelessness and a lack of respect. Same with basketball. Football there is that possibility, of course, but it's mostly limited to helmet-on-helmet hits. Correct me if I'm wrong there, I honestly don't watch a lot of football. But I've played all four sports and I've found that the emotional highs and lows and the intensity levels in hockey far exceed the other three sports. I don't ever remember getting real fired up or crazy in a baseball game, hell, I think it's Joe Rogan who has a hilarious bit about baseball players looking like cops hanging around a crime scene. Basketball you can get some mean elbows and stuff, but usually nothing that's going to change the way a guy plays for the rest of his life. It lacks the danger. Football has a similar amount of danger to hockey, but it's MUCH MUCH slower. You have time to calm down after a big play, and almost everyone on the field is in danger of those big bone crunching collisions, the danger seems more evenly spread.

Hockey is much faster, it's much harder to stop, you've got the danger of a 100 MPH fastball, coupled with razor sharp skates and every player with a dangerous weapon. Fighting provides a relief valve for blowing off steam, and it provides a measured punishment for things the ref either didn't see, or things that need more personalized discipline. If you watch a guy on the other team run your teammate and friend into the boards from behind, you watch his head snap back, and you know damn well he could have just ended up on a stretcher and possibly killed, are you going to be satisfied with a four minute double minor and maybe a one game suspension following? If you let too much of this anger build up on both sides, eventually it's going to explode in a stick swinging free for all. Let two willing combatants duke it out, and usually both sides feel "vindicated" and are able to let bygones be bygones, or at least not have a massive amount of simmering rage boiling in their blood.

Classic example: C. Lemieux does some unwanted dental work on Kris Draper's face, gets a slap on the wrist. The rage on Detroit's bench and in the state of Michigan was ridiculous. The average guy on the street would pass up a chance at shooting Hitler to get his hands on Lemieux. The team was furious, it was insane. So, McCarty jumps Lemieux in a bit of a cheap shot of his own, and you could almost see the veil of anger being lifted from the Detroit bench. The next season, both players went at it straight on, and today they are shaking hands on OTR together. If you take fighting out of the equation, I'm willing to bet that instead of brawls and fights when those teams met, it would be tit for tat borderline street thug violence; you crush in Draper's face? Ok, we're going to spear Aaron Miller's kidney until it bleeds. And so on and so on.

I suppose you could argue that we need to increase the suspensions and penalties, but at some point you're going to be handing out so many game misconducts and 10-20 game suspensions for stuff that might be extremely dangerous, but close to inadvertent that the guys get gun shy and the game play suffers.

I hope this wasn't too rambling and nonsensical, I just kind of shot from the hip on this rant and banged it out without proof reading it, but my fingers are tired and I want to go crank my shaft.

That's actually the point I was going to make.the pace and battling that go on in hockey are on a completely different plain than other sports.factor that in with the size and speed difference from college and junior players that are not completely developed its a completely different level.I don't always agree with on ice officials but I can see how hard it is for them to see everything.I don't really care about how they play the game over seas its quite clear they don't have the same level of competition the nhl has.

 

[JustAsking]

I like the fighting in the NHL... I would be disappointed if fighting is taken out of the sport.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

how is it illogical to want to protect your star player? ... all players have different roles on a hockey team and its always been this way ... As a teammate you want your star player to succeed because his talent can take your team places

i wonder what kind of player OV could have been in a pre instigator era where he wouldnt have to be dodging knees from the likes of Matt Cooke types because they would have been put in there place by guys policing themselves

Tkachuk and Roenick only got to play a few years without the instigator ... what would there careers have been like if they could have focused on their immense talent






btw ... dinnertime so Ill let you have the last word

and eloco ... you can stop pm'ing me lovely messages

I guess this is unique to hockey. In football, for example, where size differences are much more heightened, you do not see an offensive linemen throw off his helmet and all out box with a linebacker after his star player (quarterback) get's hit from the blindside. I get that it is unique to hockey and somewhat entrenched in it's fabric, but when you step aside and really look at it for a second, it seems pretty damn barbaric.

 

[puckhead]

I guess this is unique to hockey. In football, for example, where size differences are much more heightened, you do not see an offensive linemen throw off his helmet and all out box with a linebacker after his star player (quarterback) get's hit from the blindside. I get that it is unique to hockey and somewhat entrenched in it's fabric, but when you step aside and really look at it for a second, it seems pretty damn barbaric.

no, but if a football player takes a number on an opponent who he thinks took a cheapshot on his star player, how does e get back at him?
takes his knees out? worse? I'd rather have to fight (on skates), thanks.

 

[TheRobotDevil]

Football has a slower pace than hockey they pause between plays.The flow of the game and format alone make it easier for officials to police the game.Aside from the speed and pace football players also don't have sticks.Having played both myself its two completely different environments.Theirs also a lot more respect shown in a legitimate hockey fight than a rare football fight.Also kind of funny how these barbaric hockey fighters are usually out supporting their communities with charities while other athletes are out getting arrested for violence talk about role models.It speaks volumes for the respect and character of a lot of these guys and their intentions.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

no, but if a football player takes a number on an opponent who he thinks took a cheapshot on his star player, how does e get back at him?
takes his knees out? worse? I'd rather have to fight (on skates), thanks.

How often does this happen??? Normally, you just try and jack them the next time you face them.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Football has a slower pace than hockey they pause between plays.The flow of the game and format alone make it easier for officials to police the game.Aside from the speed and pace football players also don't have sticks.Having played both myself its two completely different environments.Theirs also a lot more respect shown in a legitimate hockey fight than a rare football fight.Also kind of funny how these barbaric hockey fighters are usually out supporting their communities with charities while other athletes are out getting arrested for violence talk about role models.It speaks volumes for the respect and character of a lot of these guys and their intentions.

This has nothing to do with the "fighters" themselves. Nobody is calling them barbaric. I am calling the act in itself, as a form of vigilante justice, barbaric.

I have played both sports as well, and while their is a slower flow to football, there are twice as many players on a much larger field. What positions did you play. It is a literal mob scene within 5-7 yards of either side of the liene of scrimmage.

 

[JustAsking]

Why all the comparisons to other sports... it makes no sense. What happens in one sport has no bearing on how another sport should be played...

 

[TheRobotDevil]

This has nothing to do with the "fighters" themselves. Nobody is calling them barbaric. I am calling the act in itself, as a form of vigilante justice, barbaric.

I have played both sports as well, and while their is a slower flow to football, there are twice as many players on a much larger field. What positions did you play. It is a literal mob scene within 5-7 yards of either side of the liene of scrimmage.

Strong safety. Goalie have also played LW.I find a lot of honor in the act of fighting when its done the right way.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I played Whip and Mike in football and defenseman in hockey. I even, as stated before have played in leagues where it happened and been a part of it. As I got older and moved into the health field and really started to understand the devastating effects of multiple head injuries, I guess my perspective changed. It is no big deal..We all can agree to disagree on this. I think all of us bring legit points to the table. I am actually heading out, so you can have the last word, but it has been fun!

 

[JustAsking]

Serious question... has there ever been a hockey player that said fighting does not belong on their sport? I normally only hear journalist and fans talking about it, but never from the people whose opinion matter most on the subject... just because I never heard any player say it, does not mean no one has.. therefore I'm justasking... (see what I did there?)

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Serious question... has there ever been a hockey player that said fighting does not belong on their sport? I normally only hear journalist and fans talking about it, but never from the people whose opinion matter most on the subject... just because I never heard any player say it, does not mean no one has.. therefore I'm justasking... (see what I did there?)

An NHL player?? I don't know but I doubt if they are really the experts on brain trauma that should be making the objective decision. I am sure none of them wanted helmets at some point. I mean, I am justanswerin!

 

[UTVolCountry]

I wouldn't stop watching hockey if they took fighting out. It doesn't mean that much to me.

 

[JustAsking]

An NHL player?? I don't know but I doubt if they are really the experts on brain trauma that should be making the objective decision. I am sure none of them wanted helmets at some point. I mean, I am justanswerin!

It's their sport... if the players are OK with the potential damage they do.. butt out. It's none of your business.

EDIT: the plural 'you'.. us as fans.. need to butt out. None of our business.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

It's their sport... if the players are OK with the potential damage they do.. butt out. It's none of your business.

When they turn into drooling zombies later in life and either pull a Chris Benoit, drive into a family of four or have to be supported by the state for ten years because they forget to eat it does.

Should we not regulate sports at all?

What is this, Rome?

 

[puckhead]

This has nothing to do with the "fighters" themselves. Nobody is calling them barbaric. I am calling the act in itself, as a form of vigilante justice, barbaric.

I have played both sports as well, and while their is a slower flow to football, there are twice as many players on a much larger field. What positions did you play. It is a literal mob scene within 5-7 yards of either side of the liene of scrimmage.

i don't know, the way i was raised, fighting was simply part of the game. Does that mean that the referees aren't doing enough to control the game? maybe so. quite often, it is worth the 2 minutes in the box to really, really make some son of a bitch feel some pain.

however, in its own little way, it does teach respect of the sport. Knowing that if someone crosses the line, then they will have immediate physical retribution teaches you where that line is. I would much rather have that as an outlet than the eye gouges and fishhooks that go on in the pile.

anywho, it seems to be a cultural thing. It's part of the game as I know it, love it, and as i was raised on it.
I can see how you would view it as vigilante justice.... but it's effective.

 

[JustAsking]

When they turn into drooling zombies later in life and either pull a Chris Benoit, drive into a family of four or have to be supported by the state for ten years because they forget to eat it does.

Should we not regulate sports at all?

What is this, Rome?

......um, OK. Great points.

So, anyone else, does anyone know if any NHL player spoke out about fighting?

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

......um, OK. Great points.

So, anyone else, does anyone know if any NHL player spoke out about fighting?

Long term health effects that lead to deadly car accidents, homicides and dependency on the state for health care are real issues. SOrry if I stepped out of the realm of sports for a second there.

 

[puckhead]

Serious question... has there ever been a hockey player that said fighting does not belong on their sport? I normally only hear journalist and fans talking about it, but never from the people whose opinion matter most on the subject... just because I never heard any player say it, does not mean no one has.. therefore I'm justasking... (see what I did there?)

in the player polls done recently (released around the allstar break, I think), there was like 1% of respondents that wanted fighting removed. It was anonymous, though.