Hockey almost fell out of my life for a while in high school. None of my friends were really into the sport, so I had no one to interact with regarding hockey. Some of my closest friends didn’t even know that I like hockey. Of course, during the 2002-2003 playoffs, I watched the Ducks’ playoff run at home by myself, but during the lockout season, hockey was all but non-existent in my life.
The Ducks’ playoff run in 2006 revitalized hockey in my life. As they advanced further and further into the playoffs, I started to wear my jersey to school more and more. It also inspired me to go into my garage and dig up my brother’s old roller blades and stick which both fit me well enough for me to start skating around again. Oh how I had missed my hockey.
In the fall of 2006, I flew from coast to coast, ending up in Boston for school at Emerson. If you don’t know Emerson, let me give you a brief overview. It’s a very small, private school of arts and communication. Even briefer overview: basically no sports. Meaning no hockey, right? Wrong. During my orientation week, I met someone who was wearing a Bruins hat and I turned the conversation towards hockey. He asked me if I wanted to join the school’s club team (we have no varsity, nor would I be good enough to play on it if we did anyways), and that was that. Hockey was really back in my life.
So after four paragraphs of my hockey history, we finally get to the point of this post: how has hockey affected my life as it is today? Quite a bit, actually. First of all, hockey is a team sport. Being on a hockey team, I have made a lot of close friendships that sprouted from the ice and the locker room. Also, being on my school’s team, I want and need to be in the best physical shape that I can be. Now remember my team is a club team, so we by no means have a strict workout schedule (or any workout schedule for that matter), but I still feel the need to take care of my body. If not for hockey, I think I definitely would have run into our friend named the Freshman Fifteen. Also, I’m not too involved in activities at my school, so hockey gives me more of a life. And on that same note, being involved with the team has opened up work opportunities for me, as I have plans for creating a podcast for the team as well as possibly taking over the team’s website.
Most importantly, however, is the fact that it was through hockey that I met my wonderful girlfriend of almost 16 months. She has been coming to my team’s games since day 1. I hate to say that our fan base has dramatically decreased—disappeared almost—but she has faithfully remained a fan. Yes, even without hockey, we would have had a class together, but I would have just been another face in the crowd. Now, every time I pull my jersey over my head, not only do I feel pride that I am representing my school, but I also always remember that it was because of this team that I’m the luckiest guy out there (Yeah, you heard me. Wanna fight about it? I’m willing to drop the gloves). She started off not knowing much about the sport other than there was fighting and checking (besides the obvious people skating and pushing a rubber disc around with sticks), but she has grown to understand and appreciate the game more and more. She even started learning about the Ducks, both about the players and the team in general. What more could a Ducks fan ask for? Oh, and did I mention she got me Center Ice for my birthday? Last winter, while we were visiting my home in California, I got to take her to her first professional hockey game, and we got dressed for the occasion.
So what would I be like without hockey? Bored. Boring. Lazy. Single. Hockey has really opened up a lot of opportunities for me. Opportunities for socializing, for fitness, and even for work. And that, my friends, is just one of the many reasons why this sport that we love is so amazing.
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