Why the NHL and hockey take the cake...

Hockey is unlike any sport. It is one of the few professional sports where we see athletes that play for the love of the game and not necessarily for the money. The name on the front of the jersey is always more important than the one on the back. When a goal is scored, not only does the person who scored get credit, but so does every player who assisted. When a goal is scored, its not all about the person who put the puck in the net. Everyone that was one on the ice when that little red light went off huddles together to celebrate. This is unlike football where we see the athlete who ran the touchdown into the end zone, celebrate on his own, before taunting the opposing team. Not once did he or any fan think, that O-line did an awesome job blocking. ESPN ranked hockey as the second hardest sport to play. It fell short of first to boxing by only six tenths of a point. When considering all the fighting we do in hockey, it makes you wonder why we fell short of first place to a sport where the only goal is knock out the other guy. In hockey we have to knock the other guy out and put points on the board! Hockey is a game of skill, not of luck. It is fast paced, and there is never a dull moment. These athletes have to skate their hardest, be able to stop on a dime, control a stick and a puck, look for their teammates to pass to, watch for the big guy from the other team who is probably head hunting, all while balancing on a thin piece of steal, and you wonder why football or baseball aren't considered to be harder than ice hockey. Not only are the players awesome, down to earth, guys who just wanna kick some butt, but the fans are amazing. Organized chanting that usually is displaying our disapproval of the officiating, high fiving the guy sitting next to you at the game...even though you have no idea who he is, and an overall sense of community. You know that at some point you bonded with someone for the mere fact that he or she was a die hard hockey fan just like you. So the NHL is the 2nd hardest sport (should be the first, but hey take what you can get), the athletes are all about community and about the love of the game, and the fans are amazing! Who says you cant have you cake and eat it too??