About this time of year, I am always reminded why I am a hockey fan. Just as the nascent baseball season begins to wake me from my neutral-zone trap inspired coma, and move me to thoughts of sunny weekend afternoons sitting in the bleachers at Fenway, the NHL playoffs come along and re-ignite my passions for the sport of the great white north. It is an unbelievable transformation, one that makes the trials of being a fan worth it.
You may wonder why the playoffs have this effect on me. Well here is my manifesto. Straight from the home office in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, here are Mike's Top 10 Reasons to Love Playoff Hockey.
No. 10 -- Playoff Beards
While they might not be as common now as in the past, playoff facial hair exemplifies all that playoff hockey stands for. Making a promise not to shave until you lose shows dedication to your team if not proper hygiene. This may seem inconsequential, but playoff hockey is all about the psychological edge. Doing this as a team is a unifying action like no other in sports.
It is always enjoyable to watch the progression of players' facial hair over the march to the Stanley Cup. What looks like a bad case of five-o'clock shadow eventually makes the player look like an extra in the new Unabomber movie. The progression of the beard is a metaphor for the grueling battles a team must undergo to reach the finals.
No. 9 -- All hockey, all the time
In what is the pro hockey enthusiast's equivalent of March Madness, the first few rounds of the playoffs offer a delectable menu of hockey treats. Do I want to catch the Devils-Panthers game on ESPN, or the Toronto-Ottawa game on the ESPN2? After that, as dessert, the Oilers play the Stars. Though schoolwork and other factors have lessened my allotted time for hockey significantly, I still love to have the option. When I'm a millionaire, you won't find me lounging on a beach somewhere in Tahiti come April. They don't get the Deuce there.
No. 8 -- Individual Heroes
Hockey is a team sport. There is no debating that. But sometimes, during the playoffs, individual players are called on to do superhuman feats in the name of the team. For example, in 1994 Mark Messier boldly guaranteed victory for the Rangers in Game 6 of the conference finals. He then went on to single-handedly defeat the Devils, and propelled the Broadway Blue shirts to their first Cup in over 50 years. Playoff hockey is what legends are made of.
No. 7 -- Heritage
Not to take anything away from expansion and progress, but somehow I feel vindicated when an Original Six team is successful in the playoffs. Though a few of the elders of the league " the Blackhawks, the Rangers, and my beloved Bruins " have come upon trying times, it is still gratifying to see the Red Wings or the Leafs teach the new kids on the block to respect their elders by defeating upstart clubs. Perhaps it is a rejection of the Disney-fication of the NHL. Maybe it's the simple uniforms. But at heart it's the heritage.
No. 6 " Rivalries
Rivalries are what drive a sports fan to root for a team. As a Red Sox fan I know that all the losses in the world against the A's or the Tigers are worth one win when it counts against the Yankees. The same goes for hockey. Playoff rivalries have existed since the beginning of hockey, but are in danger of being lost in the expansion shuffle. There is nothing better than a series between two teams who legitimately hate each other. Just look at the Red Wings -- Aves rivalry, two teams who always seem to meet in the playoffs, and who always make for entertaining hockey. Rivalries make for epic seven-game battles, which are on every hockey fan's wish list.
No. 5 -- Desperation
Like a fighter up against the ropes getting battered by his opponent, the hockey team on the brink of elimination reverts to its most basic survival instincts. Every small battle is a matter of life and death. Every hit is delivered with force. Every shot has extra power behind it. Every scrum in the corner is fought with tooth and nail. Desperation brings out the best in competitive instincts.
No. 4 " The Handshake
It is a tradition borrowed by other sports, but never replicated. After up to seven games of blood, sweat and tears, the opposing teams shake hands and congratulate each other on a hard-fought series. It doesn't matter what happened during the series. All bad blood is forgotten or overlooked. This is the essence of sportsmanship.
Number 3 -- The Fans
Just as it causes the competitive juices to flow in the players, the playoffs brings the fans to a feverish intensity level not reached in most sports. As someone who has sat " to use this term loosely -- through playoff games at the old Boston Garden, I know what real noise sounds like. When you feel the building shake -- literally -- after a goal, you know the game means something. The Boston Garden was no anomaly either. The same could be said for the fans in Montreal, Edmonton, New York, Colorado or any city for that matter.
Number 2 -- Sudden Death
The words "sudden death" have such finality to them. And final it is. In the playoffs there is no such thing as a tie. The teams play until the last man is standing. This provides for some memorable games. Multiple-overtime games that go deep into the spring night before some hero of the day ends it with a flick of the wrist or deflection of the puck. The intensity level of overtime hockey rises exponentially. Even when their legs feel like lead and they are getting IV on the bench, players leave everything on the ice. This is the only place they can leave it, for sudden death means exactly that.
Number 1 -- The Stanley Cup
Lord Stanley's Cup. The Holy Grail. Whatever you choose to call it, the Cup is the dream of every player who ever laced up the skates. It is the oldest trophy in North America, dating from 1892. With over 100 years of history surrounding it, the Cup has a special motivation behind it. To have one's name etched on the same trophy as Gordie Howe, Rocket Richard, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky adds a sense of immortality to your name. To drink from the Cup is the ultimate satisfaction any player can hope for. It is what motivates every player who steps on the ice. It is what makes playoff hockey so great.
