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TechnographGo ahead, laugh it up
By Mike Szwaja
Posted: 2/18/05 Section: Sports
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I tried not to care, but it hasn't worked. I tried to resist temptation on Wednesday afternoon, but I couldn't stop myself from turning on the TV and watching Gary Bettman's news conference in its entirety, which ended up being about an hour.
These days, not caring about hockey has become trendy.
"Hey, Szwaja, still wearing your Blackhawks jacket, huh?"
Cue the laughing faces and fingers pointed in my direction.
I've gotten used to that during the past few months. These days, if you still like hockey, you just aren't cool.
My, how times have changed. Bettman's cancellation of the NHL season came six days short of the 25th anniversary of arguably the greatest moment in American sports: the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's victory over the Russians. That day, hockey gave our country something to smile about. Wednesday, hockey gave our country something to laugh about - for those of you who are "cool" of course.
Well, you know what's cool?
Being in a filled-to-the-brim United Center during the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" before a Blackhawks game, that's cool. It's the loudest, most exciting rendition of our national anthem you'll ever hear, and the inescapable noise and passion actually make you feel proud to be an American.
Painfully, it'll be a while before Blackhawks fans pack the United Center, so it'll be a while before anyone can experience that passion.
That's not cool.
Chris Chelios, Peter Forsberg, Brett Hull, Mario Lemieux, Eric Lindros, Mark Messier, Jeremy Roenick, Scott Stevens and Steve Yzerman, they're all cool because they're all great hockey players who have meant so much to the game.
Thanks in large part to the lockout, the majority of those guys, if not all of them, have played their last games on NHL ice. Who will carry the torch if the NHL ever resumes play? That's tough to predict at this point.
That's not cool.
When the players line up like five-year-old boys and shake each other's hands after the completion of the Stanley Cup finals, that's one of the coolest things in sports.
These days, not caring about hockey has become trendy.
"Hey, Szwaja, still wearing your Blackhawks jacket, huh?"
Cue the laughing faces and fingers pointed in my direction.
I've gotten used to that during the past few months. These days, if you still like hockey, you just aren't cool.
My, how times have changed. Bettman's cancellation of the NHL season came six days short of the 25th anniversary of arguably the greatest moment in American sports: the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's victory over the Russians. That day, hockey gave our country something to smile about. Wednesday, hockey gave our country something to laugh about - for those of you who are "cool" of course.
Well, you know what's cool?
Being in a filled-to-the-brim United Center during the singing of "The Star Spangled Banner" before a Blackhawks game, that's cool. It's the loudest, most exciting rendition of our national anthem you'll ever hear, and the inescapable noise and passion actually make you feel proud to be an American.
Painfully, it'll be a while before Blackhawks fans pack the United Center, so it'll be a while before anyone can experience that passion.
That's not cool.
Chris Chelios, Peter Forsberg, Brett Hull, Mario Lemieux, Eric Lindros, Mark Messier, Jeremy Roenick, Scott Stevens and Steve Yzerman, they're all cool because they're all great hockey players who have meant so much to the game.
Thanks in large part to the lockout, the majority of those guys, if not all of them, have played their last games on NHL ice. Who will carry the torch if the NHL ever resumes play? That's tough to predict at this point.
That's not cool.
When the players line up like five-year-old boys and shake each other's hands after the completion of the Stanley Cup finals, that's one of the coolest things in sports.
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