This week I don’t feel like talking about the games as such , or of the unsightly testosterone induced events that happened during the match between the Tomahawks and The Czeckers and that will force the Discipline Committee to meet yet again...
I didn’t count them but it seems to me that 3/4 of my texts speak at one point of some guys «loosing it» for some reason or another and I will not go in further detail on this topic either.
The holidays are approaching and next Saturday, the first "Dinner-Party-Gala-Extravaganza"of the LFA will be held... And it is at these moments that we can see the guys for who our league is like a «big family» as the «league Commissioner» likes to say… They are not necessarily best buddies who call and see each other outside the ice, but they know how to appreciate each other and are able to put things into perspective and celebrate the sport we all love.
It’s the perfect opportunity to strengthen ties between team members but also to weave some with the opponent, without whom our sport would simply not exist. I can see the faces some guys are pulling as they are reading these lines and say to themselves : Fuck it , this guy is like this or like that and I wouldn’t «raise my glass » with him etc ...
All I have to say is that first, if the guy you are thinking about shows up at such an event, he is probably not as bad as you can you imagine, since his being there shows his interest in the "community" that forms LFA . In other words, «the spirit Hockey Brotherhood» is in him, and you should try to connect with him in some other way than in your imagination as you plow him into the boards...
It's time to defuse tensions and cultivate a healthy atmosphere , probe him so you realize that the guy is not so bad after all ... That way the next time you feel a stick hooking you or a guy pushing you , maybe your reaction will not be the same and you can laugh rather than cry about it ... Why not go ahead and say outright what you thought about a gesture or attitude that upset you? Just don’t wait until you are plastered : we don’t want a brawl at the restaurant ! !
Last Saturday night after the game we were at «La Cabane» and at one point Fern spoke of «honor» in hockey. Although this term seems outdated and reminds us of the middle ages and of knights in amours and all, it remains a basic principle that should apply not only on the ice but in every day life as well. It is a fundamental concept of respect , whether that of others and/or of oneself, or the environment or certain laws, written or unwritten for that matter. In my book, it should more or less guide our every action or at least make us reflect about them ... A sort of mixture of respect and pride. A sense of belonging to a group, a community and not think of ourselves as the "center of the universe"...
I looked up «honor» in different dictionaries etc…and to summarize and take what is relevant to hockey, we could say that honor is a set of principles and unwritten laws by which people interact in a context where laws and regulations do not necessarily apply or are too little of a deterrent to really regulate and or punish a misconduct…if you get my drift.... Shit ! I think I should add this one to the Wikipedia definition I just read… All in all, I think that the LFA is filled with men of honor and this Saturday will be yet another opportunity to verify it ...
PS : I still give the Benefit of the doubt to those who will not show up at the party ! As long as theey have an «honorable» reason not to be there !!!