Puck Off!!

Every year about this time, I start to get excited. I love fall. I love the smell, the temperature, the holidays, the clothes, etc. But most of all, I love me some hockey.

Around October the pre-season games start. All the changes over the summer are displayed for everyone to see. You get to see some players who maybe missed the end of the previous season due to injury. You get to see new players that have been added to the team, and observe how well they work with the existing team. It's so exciting! It gets you pumped up for your team, for the season. For me, I get to practice calling the refs every god-awful name under the sun. I get to practice standing up for three periods, drinking beer and holding it for a period and then running as fast as I can to the restroom, knocking down dumb girls as I go. The pre-season is a beautiful thing because it means the season is coming.

Or not, as is the case this year. It is with a heavy heart that I have been observing the events of the past few weeks in the NHL. Negotiations have flown out the window faster than you can say "Frasier sucks!" And with those negotiations, most of what I look forward to about fall has gone, too.

I enjoy sports for the most part, but not like I enjoy hockey. I get obsessed. I turn into a completely different person. Most of my friends and family will not go to a game with me. They usually won't even go to a sports bar or even watch the game with me at home. They will definitely not bring their children near me. I am a monster when it comes to hockey. I can barely think about anything else. It is ugly.

When I still lived at home, the neighbors once called the cops from all the noise I was making. Imagine my embarrassment when I had to explain to the police that yes, I was making all that noise. No, no one else is home right now. Yes, I am watching television. It is a playoff game between the Avs and the Wings. Do you understand how serious that is? Sorry, officer, I have to go. The puck is back in play.

NOW WHAT AM I LEFT WITH!?!?! I suppose I can watch the Ice Dogs play. That's always fun. But it's not the same. It's not my Avs. They don't show them on TV. I can't go to a sports bar and get a crowd riled up. It's just not the same. I can't tape their schedule to my fridge and plan my social life around it (or lack thereof as the case may be). I can't wear my lucky shirt and not wash it until they, god-forbid, lose. I mean, I suppose I can...but no, it's just not the same.

Without a "healthy" outlet for my anger, where will it all go? At least hockey allows me to yell and cuss and throw things at people that are not personally affected by me. Who am I going to take that out on? Any volunteers?!?!

Geesh! I am going to have a lot of pent up anger. I hope my friends and family make it through to the Spring...