Everyone who knows me knows that my life loves are the Lord, my family, my church family, books, and the game of hockey. Every now and then I get the question, "Why do you like hockey so much?" I feel a little silly saying, "I don't know really -- I just do." The Internet Monk has blogged about his love for baseball, and reading it, I find a parallel to my love for hockey. Read the post here.
He writes:
"Baseball is not really as much a sport to me as it is an alternate
universe where I am welcome to step out of whatever role I’m playing or
responsibilities I have and discover something deep, true and innocent. ... Baseball is my 'other place.' My happy, safe, sane place. Baseball
is like a colony of heaven for me, where for the price of a ticket, I
can put my toes in the river of eternal pleasures and forget about all
the things I have to do tomorrow and the rest of my life. My love for baseball isn’t because of being a fan of a team. ... No, I love the game. It’s history. It’s quirks. The ballparks. The
local ball diamonds. High school teams. Minor league ball. Ball park
food. Baseball talk on the radio. .... I love the idea of a night game on a perfect spring evening, good
seats high above first base in a classic park, a velvet sunset over
some river painting a lazy, magical scene to keep for year to come. I
love the memories of games when I was a kid, games with my dad, games
with my kids. I love the anticipation of games to come. I love the caps. And the names. I love the personalities, the
cliche’s and the humor. I love great baseball writing and any baseball
movie. Almost. I love seeing dads with their young children at the park. I love the
weird characters that inhabit ballparks. I love the loyalty to cursed
teams and the philosophical attitudes that allow us all to watch a team
in August, 25 games out and we still love what’s happening on the field."
As the iMonk feels about baseball, I feel about hockey. It is an alternate universe that allows me to step outside of my role and responsibilities (except in my capacity as hockey chaplain). The rink is a happy, safe, sane place, where I can forget about the stress of the day behind me and the worry about the day ahead. And I don't have a favorite team or a favorite player per se, but I just love the game. I love the legends and traditions that surround the game. And unlike baseball or any other popular American sport, with hockey true fans are few and far between. So when we stumble across each other, its like meeting family. There is an instant bond.
As I write this, I have two points to make. First, everyone needs an outlet. Most of us spend too much time with our bows strung too tight, and we are liable to snap without a little down time around a favorite activity. It doesn't have to be hockey, baseball, or sports, but it needs to be something--a little diversion from the daily grind. Second, that common bond that unites people around a sport or a hobby ought to pale in comparison to the bond we share in Christ. Let's say your "outlet" is collecting warthog tusks. When you meet another warthog tusk collector, your soul is aglow with the joy of a common interest. You begin to schedule opportunities to pursue tusks together and go to tusk collecting conventions, and to go to the zoo just to admire the nasal protrusions of your favorite mammal. And it doesn't really matter what else you disagree on, you have this one thing in common and the bliss is tremendous. OK, now let's suppose you meet a fellow Christian. You get the picture.
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