I Think I Like Hockey*

I recently came to a startling revelation:

I like hockey.

Let me explain. When we moved into our house we also got TV for the first time in years. The Hubster and I have a few shows we like to watch together, but as time passed I noticed that sports channels were being played in my house with increasing frequency. I knew the Hubs liked sports, but I never thought of him as someone who would sit down and watch some kind of sports game on TV.

I was wrong.

It was playoff season when we first moved, so I just figured that the Hubster got all caught up in the Stanley cup fever. I “watched” a couple of games with him, but I can’t say that it would have been my first choice on TV.

(“Watched” = sitting in the same room with him while the game was on, reading or computer-ing, periodically looking up at the TV.)

When the weather started turning and hockey season began anew, I found myself sitting on the couch with the Hubs and my belly every Saturday night for Hockey Night in Canada. It began as a way to humor the Hubster and spend some time together, but somewhere along the way it happened.

…I actually started to like it.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always enjoyed the sport of hockey. I played ringette for years as a child and have always been more comfortable on skates than in running shoes.  And there is nothing quite like being at an arena for a game–the energy is completely infectious. (Also, hockey fries = WIN.)

…but watching from home? It had never been my cup of tea.

At first I sat on the couch asking silly questions just so I could understand the basic dynamics of the game and teams we watched, but suddenly I found myself wanted to learn in earnest. He was rooting for Toronto, so it became my team too…

…so much so that I decided that if Phil Kessel and I ever met in real life that we would be BFFs.

I suddenly realized that I not only understood the dynamics of the game, but I was connecting which teams had rivalries, and which numbers were attached to which players. I started to learn a little bit more about how everything worked.

…and I began forming an opinion on it.

Seriously. Who AM I?

On more than one occasion I found myself mocking Ovechkin and his lack of front teeth. I fell in love with Carey Price after the All-Star Competition and decided that we could be BFFs too. I followed Stamkos and his incredibly high goal-scoring season.

And I was doing a lot of it when we weren’t even watching hockey.

Now that the season is over I actually find that I miss it. I miss curling up on the couch with the Hubs and our wee-bean every Saturday night to watch the game. I miss watching the game. The Hubster has been watching baseball this summer and I am bored. I tried to watch it with him, but it’s just not the same. It’s too… slow.

And there aren’t any fights. Ha.

So, in the off season I’ve caught myself reading up on things on more than one occasion. I found out about Tim Thomas’ latest escapade before he did, and I’ve found myself following the trades and recognizing players that I know.

I simply can’t deny it any more: I like to watch hockey. On TV.

…and I would even watch it by myself, instead of another program. I’m not quite to the “Me Like Hockey” level, but it’s coming close. haha!