Hockey v Birding
A couple of nights ago we were out birding on the same evening the hockey playoffs began. There were lots of people out and about - roller bladers, parents walking with their children, birders, people just out for a walk, cyclists, and so on. I remarked to my wife that I was happy to see that everyone was not glued to a television set watching hockey.
Strange pastime this hockey. Grown men skate around the ice trying to hit a little rubber disc with a stick. In the process they fight each other, inflicting serious physical harm at times, and trying to draw as much blood as possible. Each team has a player called an enforcer, or a goon, whose primary job it is to wreak mayhem on players of the opposing team. He is paid very handsomely to engage in activities which would land him in gaol if committed anywhere else. Sometimes the players even wield their sticks as weapons and try to kill each other. They blind side each other with bone shattering hits, frequently sufficient to end a career.
Yet people are glued to their television sets watching this stuff; or, if they can get a ticket to the arena, are willing to pay half a week's wages for the privilege.
Personally, I'd rather be birding!
It's true. Hockey has become a peversion. It's all about fighting and brutality. Even t.v. clips show the fights not the goal scoring. It's very sad. I haven't watched a game in several years.
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