Hockey Is A Great Game

Most people would be surprised to learn that hockey isn't the national sport of Canada, considering the country's love affair with the game. Many people in Canada eat, sleep, and breathe hockey. Hockey is defiantly a Canadian sport, although its roots are in Ireland, back when it was called Hurley. In the 1800s hockey became very popular throughout Canada, especially the East coast, and its infectious nature has caught on all over the world.

Five original teams formed the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1917. This increased to 30 teams from all over Canada and the USA by the end of the century. One look at some of the fans at the arenas show, they mean business and are passionate about their hockey.

During Stanley Cup, in recent years, the US teams have dominated the hockey playoffs. However, hockey still has a bigger following in Canada. Hockey Night in Canada is quite an event in many households and sports bars. Several teams like the Winnipeg Jets and the Quebec Nordiques have fallen by the wayside in Canada in the past several years. High player salaries are an unfortunate cause.

Hockey stars are among the highest paid in any professional sport. This is partly the reason that many of the top players head to teams in the US. Many Canadian teams have a hard time retaining their homegrown players thanks to high salary demands. This is also the key issue in the 2004 dispute which has resulted in no games thus far for the season.

Hockey is a very violent game, and spectators love to watch the opposing team get crushed against the boards. Many people wonder what this is teaching young fans and, unfortunately, violence is very common in the little leagues. Many leagues have adopted a no tolerance policy for aggressive play, and some have banned this type of contact all together. The NHL however, has yet to follow suit.

It's not just children that become too involved - in some instances, some of the parents have become a bit too passionate in recent years. Many little leagues are struggling with fights between parents and verbal and physical abuse against referees and coaches. As a result, many parents are turning from the sport or putting their children in after school hockey programs. It's a frustrating when the parents are more focused on winning than the kids.

Europe also enjoys much success in the world of hockey. Little known places such as Belarus has been highlighted after the recent world championships. Little ice hockey can be played anywhere you can find frozen ponds in the winter. This is not always the case though, look at the Los Angeles Kings.

In North America one of the best-loved games is Hockey. Many fans are hopeful that there will be at least a few games this 2004/2005 NHL season. Farm teams and minor leagues are still playing so at least fans can get to see some hockey. To feel the excitement in the air and understand what the fuss is all about then be sure to check out a game at your local area. This is why hockey is so popular.

Article Source: http://www.articlemonk.com

Urther Queen is the owner of UQ Hockey, the #1 source on the internet for information about hockey, For questions or comments about this article visit: www.uqhockey.com/articles
Click here to get your own unique version of this article.

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated