Okay, it’s game on. The NHL players and owners have finally opened the locker rooms and hockey can begin once again. It was all about the money. Each side wanted their share and neither would compromise until the 11th hour really.
Many feel that the fans were screwed, not the players or the owners. It is the fans who put their bums in the seats and make it possible for the owners/players to get their inflated contracts. It is the fans who support sport and sadly “being a sport” never came from the NHL.
What does this show kids about fair play and playing for the love of the game? It shows that money is what is most important. Pretty sad really.
So now we have a shortened season comprised of 48 intense battles on the ice. Each and every back-to-back game will count big time and the action will fast and furious. The players will be exhausted but what we won’t get is a number of boring games, where the commercials are more interesting than the games themselves.
Some fans will not return to watch the NHL, but the die-hards will, they always do. Hockey is Canada’s national sport and we have been ingrained to think it is a source of national pride. Perhaps it was once, but now it’s just a bit shameful because of the bickering and money grab made so obvious during those long negotiations. Many found there is something else to do besides watch hockey and they may end up preferring doing other things.
There is life after hockey, but hockey does put the life in many a fan.