Well, it didn’t take long for Salty City’s hockey crowd to launch into enthusiasm and praise for the fights and “dirty” behavior that distinguish professional hockey from nearly every other sport on the planet.
Hockey can be a fast-paced, exciting, and incredible game. Slapping the puck past the goalie into a corner of the net while flashing down the ice and dodging defenders is absolutely amazing.
My dad played semi-pro hockey in Butte, Montana, and loved the game.
I recall an Olympic match between Russia and Czechoslovakia that was incredibly fast and rough. But the fighting, dirty play, goons and enforcers typical on NHL ice are prohibited in international play. So it was a fine and furious game with plenty of skill on display. I doubt the fans who came to see a hockey game were disappointed.
(More — should you be interested.)
But glorifying the fights and violent hits (as Belle Fraser illustrates so convincingly in The Tribune) will only perpetuate and encourage disgraceful behavior in professional hockey.
Good to know that Spicy Tuna will be taking his message to Utah youth. What a great role model for young hockey players!
Can you imagine Stockton or Malone being touted and cheered for “dropping the gloves” in game after game?
Or, for that matter, LDS Church President Russell Nelson?
I doubt it.
Can’t wait for the Trib’s reporting of a career-ending hit in some future game at the Delta Center.
Maybe those cute quotes won’t seem quite so cute around the word “dirty.”
Jim Pissot, Canmore, Alberta (former 30-year Utah resident)
