Another one for Hockey

I'm a fair weather sports watcher. Mind you this is not the same as a fair weather fan. A fair weather fan only supports his team when they are doing well and pays no attention to them when the struggle. That is not me. I am a fair weather sports watcher. I have trouble watching the broadcasts of my favorite teams when they are struggling. This is a habit I picked up from Old Man Pike.

This has become much easier in this day and age of the "flip" button on your remote control. You're watching a football game and a big touchdown is called back for holding you can quickly hit that "flip" button and watch another game on or some other program. When I watch my favorite teams I always have to have a back-up program selected so that should something go wrong I can hit the flip and turn on to my alternate viewing.

I bring this up because I realized that with the success of the Celtics last year all but one of my favorite teams have won a title not only in my lifetime but in a time frame that I can actually remember (yes, I am including the Revolution's SuperLiga victory). The one glaring exception has been the Bruins. As you will note on my grid to the right, the Bruins are second only to the alma mater for my love and devotion. Being at Cam Neely's number retirement ceremony a few years ago was one of the most religious experiences of my sports life. It rivals Albany in 2001 and Denver in 2008 (BC hockey national titles for those of you not in the know).

I realized that when the Red Sox won World Series back in 2004, I barely watched the ALCS. I did not watch a single pitch of games 4 and 5 because I did not want to watch the Yankees celebrating at Fenway. Let's face it, being down 3-0, no one but the Sox themselves thought they were going to come back. Games 6 and 7 were notorious flipathons were I was watching more of my back up programs than the actual game.

It got me to thinking how I would react if the Bruins were playing for the Stanley Cup. Last year when they were playing the Canadiens, I watched every minute of the games that I was able to see (being in Denver during games 1 and 2 put a crimp in that) and though I would flip during lulls in play there was not much flipping during actual playtime (with the exception of game 7 once Montreal had firmly put it away). There is something about hockey that you don't get with football, baseball, or basketball which makes it more watchable even when you team is losing. Its the fact that at any minute the game can turn with a goal that makes all the difference.

In football, poor series on offense or defense can lead to increased viewer frustration and you can get a feel of how a game is going and know that your team just doesn't have it that day no matter how close the score is. In baseball, there is a defined period of time when you know your team cannot improve the score of the game and things can only get worse when the other team is batting. In basketball, the ups and downs of the scoring are what make the game both very thrilling and very heart-wrenching at the same time. But with hockey, this is not the case.

In hockey, your team can be playing miserable for the most part but if your goalie is on, one break can still lead to the 1-0 victory. At any second, possession can change and the team with the scoring opportunity suddenly becomes the team who just let up a goal. And with the limited about of scoring, the lead usually doesn't shift 5 times over 5 minutes. The anticipation of what will happen next keeps you watching. And it keeps me watching even when the Bruins or Eagles are trailing because as a fan I believe that they can get that one or two more goals to tie it up or take the lead. When the Red Sox trail a dominant pitcher by 2 runs late in the game you doubt the ability to win the game because you have watched them struggle all night. When the Bruins trail by a goal even with 1 minute to play, you know that one lucky bounce sends the game to overtime.

The joy of hockey is the unpredictability. This is what keep me watching even when my team is struggling. You never know when the momentum can turn and bring victory. Thank God hockey is back!