OT Rangers-Caps fight

[CTBballfan243]

Hockey and its players are so frickin stupid it’s amazing, bunch of 13 year olds

I disagree.

 

[superjohn]

The fact that any professional freaking sport allows fighting is beyond me. It is shockingly, shockingly stupid.

Getting rid of it would be ridiculous, it's as much a part of the sport as scoring goals is.

I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out. -Rodney Dangerfield

 

[Rocktheworld]

Getting rid of it would be ridiculous, it's as much a part of the sport as scoring goals is.

I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out. -Rodney Dangerfield

And that’s incredibly stupid.

 

[August_West]

Pre-planned line brawls involving guys who don't fight are corny as hell.

It was definitely planned but those were 3rd and 4th line guys at puck drop, Tgat is not how game lineups start, and Caps had to put their line out first. So who was planning?

 

[Scoe]

And that’s incredibly stupid.

You can’t get rid of fighting it’s part of the sport.

 

[Rocktheworld]

You can’t get rid of fighting it’s part of the sport.

And that is incredibly stupid

 

[superjohn]

And that’s incredibly stupid.

You just don't like the sport, it's not for everyone.

 

[Rocktheworld]

You just don't like the sport, it's not for everyone.

I played it when I was younger and don’t mind it as a sport at its core; I just reject this notion that fighting is some immutable “part” of the sport. I think it is so lame and reflects poorly on people who see the sport as “I went to a fight and a hockey game happened”... grow up. Watch boxing or MMA. I think hockey is stupid exclusively over the ongoing embracing of fighting. It’s boring, only interrupts action, nobody cares about the outcome. It’s even more lame than the self-policing culture of pitchers hitting batters.

I find it so interesting, the cultures of fighting that were present in both white-dominated hockey and black-dominated basketball. One league was a group of thugs and if David Stern didn’t start severely punishing fights, the league was going down; the other league, it’s celebrated. I’m not shocked to see the sentiments of the older crowd here.

 

[navery12]

If they took fighting out of hockey I'd miss it for exactly 1 second. It already barely happens because of the new penalties, and there's no real reason for it other than nostalgia for old fans

 

[superjohn]

I played it when I was younger and don’t mind it as a sport at its core; I just reject this notion that fighting is some immutable “part” of the sport. I think it is so lame and reflects poorly on people who see the sport as “I went to a fight and a hockey game happened”... grow up. Watch boxing or MMA. I think hockey is stupid exclusively over the ongoing embracing of fighting. It’s boring, only interrupts action, nobody cares about the outcome. It’s even more lame than the self-policing culture of pitchers hitting batters.

I find it so interesting, the cultures of fighting that were present in both white-dominated hockey and black-dominated basketball. One league was a group of thugs and if David Stern didn’t start severely punishing fights, the league was going down; the other league, it’s celebrated. I’m not shocked to see the sentiments of the older crowd here.

I'm definitely not young but not sure I'm the older crowd on this board at 41. There used to be hard fouls and fights in the NBA and I miss that but it's nothing like hockey, it's never been core to the sport. Fighting is just a part of the game like, checking, slap shots etc. It's there from when you learn how to play and the physicality and fighting only amps up as you get older. Best fight I ever saw was at a New England prep school game.

 

[MDHuskFan]

I'm definitely not young but not sure I'm the older crowd on this board at 41. There used to be hard fouls and fights in the NBA and I miss that but it's nothing like hockey, it's never been core to the sport. Fighting is just a part of the game like, checking, slap shots etc. It's there from when you learn how to play and the physicality and fighting only amps up as you get older. Best fight I ever saw was at a New England prep school game.

Getting rid of fighting would be like not allowing cars to rub in NASCAR.
Fights & wrecks, what keep the casuals to occasionally tune into these sports

 

[Rocktheworld]

I'm definitely not young but not sure I'm the older crowd on this board at 41. There used to be hard fouls and fights in the NBA and I miss that but it's nothing like hockey, it's never been core to the sport. Fighting is just a part of the game like, checking, slap shots etc. It's there from when you learn how to play and the physicality and fighting only amps up as you get older. Best fight I ever saw was at a New England prep school game.

And this is all incredibly stupid.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Getting rid of fighting would be like not allowing cars to rub in NASCAR.
Fights & wrecks, what keep the casuals to occasionally tune into these sports

And that is incredibly stupid.

Whoever watches hockey hoping for/because of fights is a mental child

 

[superjohn]

Getting rid of fighting would be like not allowing cars to rub in NASCAR.
Fights & wrecks, what keep the casuals to occasionally tune into these sports

I'm definitely a casual, it's pretty far down my list of favorite sports but I always enjoyed playoff hockey and I always enjoyed the threat of a brawl breaking out at any second. For a couple of seasons we basically only went to Whalers games to watch Scott Daniels and Stu Grimson fight people.

 

[Salty Dog]

If they took fighting out of hockey I'd miss it for exactly 1 second. It already barely happens because of the new penalties, and there's no real reason for it other than nostalgia for old fans

your soft as hell.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

your soft as hell.

What a dumb duck___ post.

Whether or not you agree with him, he's not entirely wrong that fighting (a) happens much less than it used to; (b) is less necessary than it used to be because of the emphasis on speed and skill at the expense of physicality; and (c) there are only a handful of true tough guys still in the league. Scott Stevens would be banned for life these days for hits that were barely even called back in the day. It's a completely different game.

Imagine calling someone "soft" for making an observation. And then spelling "your" wrong when you did it.

 

[Dove]

Back in the day most teams had their "goons." Some were just balloon knots with zero hockey skills.

Then you had crowd faves like Torrie Robertson and Dave "Cement Head" Semenko.

I have barely watched hockey since the Whale left. Sad, but true, as I loved the NHL and the Whalers. I tried to follow the Canadiens for a short time and could not latch on to the Bruins or Rangers. Ah, well.

I loved a good fight now and then.

 

[Scoe]

No one in their right mind goes to a hockey game with their first thought being “I hope there’s a fight”. When it happens especially in person is fun to watch.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Back in the day most teams had their "goons." Some were just balloon knots with zero hockey skills.

yeah, and god forbid we lose out on that beautiful tradition

 

[Scoe]

The children everyone save the children from the horror of fighting.

 

[prankster]

The whole game felt weird and contrived.

Loved how Smith went after Wilson, but the Rangers absolutely need to get tougher next year. Their current players have an ability to stand up for themselves, but they need to add some muscle to "back up" the current players they have.

Also, hours before the game, the Rangers fire their GM and President.

What a weird week for Rangers fans.

The Hansons!

 

[Edward Sargent]

I am so happy I am out of the NY sports scene, especially for hockey and bball. I still love my Gints and Mets but the rest I am retired to Tampa and enjoying good hockey

 

[Rocktheworld]

The children everyone save the children from the horror of fighting.

Please don’t take the men-children’s play thing away

Just say it son, whip up a (preferably coherent) sentence that includes “pussification of America”

 

[superjohn]

yeah, and god forbid we lose out on that beautiful tradition

It's a great tradition for a lot of people who love the sport and for some casual fans. It doesn't have to float your boat, people like different things.

 

[Rocktheworld]

It's a great tradition for a lot of people who love the sport and for some casual fans. It doesn't have to float your boat, people like different things.

It perplexes me to no end when I observe it, but don’t worry; not losing sleep over this.

Think you could delineate how it is a “great” tradition? Like if hockey was never played again after today, what would you tell your grandkids

“And they interrupted play constantly to fight! In fact for most of the sport’s history, guys who couldn’t even play particularly well were recruited just to fight! No, it had no impact on the game itself but man, what a tradition...

...

...

And that, Johnny, is why extraneous fighting was such a critical and great part of watching professional athletes play hockey.”