Watching the game I was once again reminded why there are many people who love hockey. It's a great game to watch live, but it just doesn't translate to the television, and I think part of it is where they have to put the cameras. Watching hockey from the side is like watching tennis from the side, you can do it, but the game makes more sense watching from one of the ends, behind the goal if you ask me. But I digress. What I also noticed was how poorly both teams played the game of hockey.
It was exciting 3-2 game, with Idaho scoring the game-winning goal as the guy who scored it got hammered into the boards, but they didn't play well. The games can be thrilling, but they don't play the game as well as we're used to seeing it played; and minor league hockey is not like minor league baseball, where the best players are good enough to get called up to the pros and just about all pros played at least one season in the minors. No, these guys are as high up the hockey ladder as they'll ever get. At what point to you have to tell these guys to give it up. I mean, it's not like they can be making too much money playing in front of 2-3 thousand people a night, and hockey is a violent game and it takes a toll on you physically. I understand love of the game, but I would think love of the ability to walk when you're 45 would be preferable. Anyway, I won't begrudge these men their game, as it provided me with a night's entertainment.
Although, last night, the entertainment was provided by none other than the legendary San Diego Chicken
For the uninitiated, the San Diego Chicken was the first pro sports mascot and has been, for the last 30 years, THE great vaudevillian of American sports. He was recently ranked as one of the 100 Most Influential Figures in Sports for the 20th Century by TSN, and was invited by President Bush to appear at the first game of the White House T-Ball League. Simply put, The Chicken is a legend. Now, he is getting up in age, so his antics have been scaled back a bit in recent years, but even so, he's still got that irreverent, irascible spirit going, and any time he makes an appearance it's a treat for anyone in attendance who cares about American sports history and/or has a sense of humor. Go see him if he's coming to your area any time soon, he is allegedly looking toward retirement in the coming year(s) and obviously can't make it to every city in the country on an official farewell tour.
Here's a nice sampling of some classic Chicken moments, courtesy of Youtube. Enjoy
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