Hockey Whooha

With

Wingnut

Of

Pepee's Pornn Palace

Goons who needs em?

This week's question is; does every team need a "goon" to be successful in today's league?

Many of the league's elite teams have at least one (sometimes more) "goon", or enforcer, whom when decided on will bloody a player of choice from the opposing team.

Sure it adds excitement to the game and the bloodthirsty fans eat it up, but does it really add to the game? I'm right there with all the other fans cheering, hooting and hollering when a fight breaks out, it does get *me* pumped up. I have seen it stir a team to come from behind and occasionally win a game from it.

Unfortunately, what the "fight" is usually about is nothing more than bragging rights of who has the bigger, tougher "goon". As with any type of fight, the so-called "losers" want to redeem themselves at the next game. This viscous cycle can go on for an entire season, and in some cases maybe even years.

Now I can hear all of the hockey purists out there screaming at me, "it's part of the game", "part of the tradition", or "they protect the star players from getting roughed up". Remember I said earlier "I'm right there cheering", but I don't recall any tradition around bragging rights of who has the biggest badass on their team.

I fully support the tradition of a "tough-guy" (not a goon) protecting the star players (captains/leaders). Someone takes a cheap shot at your star center, and injures them, that person is "open season". In "old time" hockey that is how the players policed themselves, none of this "gooning" was needed. If a good, clean, open ice hit knocks the hell out of the star player, it's "his bad" for not seeing it coming.

I'm a real fan of watching hockey be played much more than I am a fan of watching to guys who can't play worth a shit beat the hell out of each other. The flow and grace of the passing, skating and shooting is incredible to watch. Precise, tape-to-tape passes at the blink of an eye while skating at full speed is *not* an easy thing to pull off. Not to mention shooting that little piece of rubber in that back of the net, while a 200 pound guy has his stick between your legs! Ouch!

Wingnut