Jun 03 2008
Hockey and the Poetry of Motion
Okay - at the risk of being vilified, I’m not much of a hockey fan. Many, many, many moons ago I did see a game at Madison Square Garden between the Rangers and North Stars (at least I remember who played, although I can’t remember who won).
And I know names like Bobby Orr and Stan Mikita and Wayne Gretsky and Mario, and I can even name some of the Pens’ current players. But I just don’t care much about what happens in the game.
Until recently.
I actually watched half of the third period and the first two overtimes last night (I was just too darn tired to stay awake).
And I have to admit that now I understand why Pittsburgh is such a hockey town.
It was pretty intense.
Even I, who knows next to nothing about the game, could tell that Fleury put on a performance that should probably go down in history. How he did it for almost 6 periods is beyond me. It was, in a way, a beautiful thing to behold.
In fact, the tenacity of the Penguins throughout the game was something to behold. They were obviously tired and Detroit seemed to dominate even when the Pens were trying to fight back.
But in the words of an old Traffic tune, "spirit is something that no one destroys."
I’ll certainly be pulling for the Pens for the rest of the series - even if I never watch another game beyond the 2008 Stanley Cup Final.
Then again, who knows? Maybe I’ll become a fan of this sport I still don’t fully understand.
Stranger things have happened.
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