Let’s See How Self-Important I Can Sound About Fighting
March 10th, 2009, 12:53 pm
Lot’s of talk these days about fighting, what, with the GMs meeting about it right now, and the recent incident involving a Canadian senior league player. The commentariat is also weighing in, with recent articles by Mike Heika and Puck Daddy, and even Scotty Bowman has recently spoken out.
Because I’m clearly on par with those guys, time for me to throw in the two cents. Actually, the one article that really caused me to want to write about fighting was this one, about former Sharks enforcer Brantt Myhres. Myhres has had a pretty tough go of it since his salad days on the Sharks, battling substance and alcohol abuse as well as a roughscrabble life in the low minors.
I hate to jump on a guy while he’s down, but Myhres may not have gotten the life he wanted, but it was the life he chose. To me, it sounds like his story is more of argument to play college hockey rather than juniors. If he had gotten a college degree, maybe he wouldn’t have stayed with the sometimes-glamorous-yet-often-painful job of a hockey enforcer.
Let’s get it right out in the open- I don’t want to see fighting banned for all of these reasons and more. I think it can be a momentum changer, as I think we’ve all seen recently. Agreed, the pomp and circumstance of negotiated fights is somewhat unsightly. The league could be slightly better off if there were no players whose sole job was to run out there and drop the gloves every now and again. But that decision should be trusted to those who make the lineups- the coaches and general managers. If they want to waste use a roster spot on a guy who gets 3 minutes a night and 200 PIMs a year, that’s their prerogative, and I’m not going to be one of those jackasses who pretend to know the game better than those who have dedicated their life to it.
The one thing that really interests me about this debate is how there seem to be more fighting proponents in the U.S., and more fighting detractors in Canada. I wonder why that is, especially given the 2008 Rogers Sportsnet Canadian Athlete of the Year. I believe that’s what one might call irony.
Here’s what it comes down to for me. I want that toughness it takes to fight rewarded and respected. I want there to be a difference between Ryane Clowe and Mike Ribiero other than a 2-carat pink diamond earring. The code is very real, and as long as it exists, fighting belongs in hockey not only because it’s pretty damn entertaining, but because it serves a legitimate purpose.
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Having thought a lot about it, personally I don’t care. I grew up watching European hockey and Olympic tournaments, and I didn’t think hockey was less exciting just because guys couldn’t drop the gloves and go at it. In fact, that’s why I prefer Olympics and SC playoffs to regular season – there is no theater, just pure old fashioned hockey.
It all sounds fun right now, but imagine how we will feel if one day we’ll be in the building and witness Shelley or Clowe or Murray die on the ice. I don’t think I want to be a part of that as it may kill any desire in me to ever watch hockey or even sports again.
But now I watch primarily NHL, and yes, it does gets your blood going when you see a good fight at the right time, and it does get the crowds going so I do love hockey fights.
I’m fine either way.
Now when it comes to hits to the head, this is where NHL should take immediate action and make rules more strict.
great post mike.
i find it hard to explain the charge against fighting among certain members of the canadian media. the only explanation that my lazy brain can come up with is that they’re a bunch of wienies… but i don’t think i’ll get anywhere with that.
oh well.
the proposals i heard that the nhl GMs were considering are all good. stage fights are dumb, and fights resulting from clean hits are dumb. no complaints there!
Yeah I think the people that are against fighting in Canada are a very vocal minority the common person wants to see them in the game but get rid of as listed about a fight breaking out over a clean hit and just parading some goons out when you know thats the only reason they are on the ice. As also listed above I think Headshots need to be delt with. Nice read Mike.
Ivan,
While I do certainly think it’s possible for a player to die because of fighting, I think it’s much more likely for a player to die by running into the boards head first (like Travis Roy) or cut by a skate (like Richard Zednik). Of course when (and it’s when and not if) that day comes it will be a horrible happenstance. Just like when I saw Jeff Fuller of the 49ers break his neck in a football game in 1989. But I have to disagree with you on one point- it will certainly cause me to reflect on the fragility of human life and the risks inherent in it, I can’t imagine it would stop me from loving hockey, and appreciating hockey fights. And while my football interest waned, to be perfectly callous, it wasn’t due to that incident, or the reduced lifespan of football players- it was due to the obvious superiority of hockey as a sport. I bet you can agree with that part :-).
We talk about fighting in the next podcast, look for it on Wednesday.
Mike –
It probably won’t stop me watching hockey either, but witnessing death first hand changes many things in life, especially when it’s someone we love. I wouldn’t want any of the NHL players to die out there playing the game, and I am still trying to come to grips that Cherepanov is no longer with us.
The thing about fighting, it’s dangerous when the guys have their helmets off and can hit the ice head first. So personally I would limit no helmet fighting. If they immediately blow the whistle when goalie’s mask comes off, why stop there?
Truth be told, it’s all part of the NHL show, which is part of the larger American sports entertainment industry. We can say fighting changes the momentum of the game, but nothing changes it the way a goal does (as Wild demonstrated once again tonight). So if they completely ban it, I won’t be too upset (which they won’t until someone does die in front of 20,000 fans and millions watching on TV). If they don’t, fine by me.
I live in the Greater Toronto Area and hear a lot of media coverage about hockey. My husband is Canadian and so are all our friends. The media isn’t against fighting but against the pre arranged fights. The don’t want goons on a team just to fight. A lot of enforcers now have to be able to play hockey as well as be able to fight.
My husband does not want fighting removed from hockey. He thinks that the rule changes have ruined north american hockey and it is becoming more like shinny hockey, where you can’t touch anyone without getting a penalty. I don’t like post lock out hockey as much.
For me fighting is part of the reason why I love hockey, as long as it has a reason to be there, like sticking up for your teammates, none of that pre arranged fighting. I saw a Generals game a few years ago where the two guys dropped their gloves, took off their helmets and wrist guards and then skated around centre ice. The fight was great, it was a lot like a boxing match.
Interesting, I actually enjoy post-lockout hockey much more. Even those Sharks classic games that air every once in a while are so tough to watch because of all the clutching, grabbing, and interference. I see no problem handing the game to the skill players. I mean, whose favorite player is Jody Shelly or Derek Boogard? Even Clowe or Pronger, those guys are not popular because they play physical, but because they are physical and have skills.
As far as fighting goes, I mostly agree with banning the scrums after “clean hits”, though to me, a hit to the head is NEVER a clean hit. Anybody can get the crowd to their feet with one of those, it requires virtually no skill. But a nice hip check? Ooh, that’s the good stuff.
Fighting to me can stay or go. Its popular both here (fighting yay!) and Europe (boo fighting!). The argument that fighting can “shift the momentum” is not, in and of itself, persuasive to me. Injuring the other team’s star can also change the momentum of the game, but no one complaints about intent to injure penalties.
I guess the point is, no sport is exactly the same as it was 10, 20, or 50 years ago. Sports have to adjust to the changing human being, and if fighting has to go because athletes have gotten too big, then so be it. Shoot, enlarging the rink size is already 10 years overdue.
The discussion, to me, is focused in the wrong area. The concern is another death from a fighter hitting his head on the ice – not dying from a punch to the head.
Therefore, the discussion has to be about “how” to fight. The danger arises in the takedowns – trying to torque your opponent off balance. This didn’t seem to be an issue 20 or 30 years ago when fighting was much more prevailent, and helmets were optional. Guys would square off, and trade blows. This still happens, but not as frequently. And when there’s a stand up fight that ends in a KO, you’ll see the “winner” attempt to hold his foe up so that his head doesn’t slam the ice. Definitely part of the code.
And how much of this is “follow-the-leader” thinking? Ducks win the Cup with the most fighting majors, and fighting isn’t a problem. Wings win the Cup with the fewest fighting majors, so maybe fighting can be eliminated.
I agree with Jeremy.
True, good points Jeremy.
Jeremy wins the thread. So the next question is, does the NHL institute a new penalty for a takedown?
As for Jeremy’s last question, I think it’s mostly a function of Mr. Sanderson’s death, and not the proclivities of recent Cup winners.
[…] Lot’s of talk these days about fighting, what , with the GMs meeting about it right now, and the recent incident involving a Canadian senior league player. The commentariat is also weighing in, with recent articles by Mike Heika and Puck …More […]