It's About Fights, er, Time

Whenever I play hockey games on the Wii, PS3, or PC, I always toggle hockey fights . However, I made sure to start a scrum after every whistle and jack up the Aggression level to eleven. Possibly the best part about NHL 2000 (PC) was after the whistle, Brendan Shanahan (me) would skate after the whistle towards Mike Ricci (com), shove him into the boards, and start a melee. Eleven two-minute penalties later, the score is 2-1 for Detroit, and I'm laughing hysterically on the floor.

Fast forward to being an adult, and the New York Islanders host the Pittsburgh Penguins for a Friday night regular season tilt. Without Crosby or Malkin, the Penguins are like convicts walking down 'the green mile' to the Islanders, but the players in blue & orange look similar to those in the bright orange jumpers at the state prison. Call it retribution for an earlier offence, but the Islanders want more than payback, never mind a reason for fans to come out to the Friday game.

Don't know what I'm talking about? Really?! Well, here you go...

Yes, the players fought and the NHL did hand down lengthy suspensions and heavy fines. You only need to type the keywords 'Islanders', 'Penguins', and 'fight' on any search engine or Wiki to find videos, responses, essays, and CBC mini-documentaries (?) on the subject! I can't help but think there are more hands covered with blood.

Any Islanders fan will tell you the Nassau Memorial Coliseum, which serves as home for the four-time Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders, is half-empty at best for NHL hockey games. Their eccentric owner hired and fired former general manager Neil Smith during ONE off-season, and agreed to sign their goaltender Rick DiPietro to a fifteen-year contract! With no new stadium on the horizon, rumours fly about the future of the team: Will it be sold, will it relocate, or would it...fold?!

The Pittsburgh Penguins coming to town is just what the doctor ordered. Penguins fans coming in for cheap seats, Islanders fans crying for blood, and minor-league call ups willing to do the dirty work. This microburst of anger and violence on the ice is not a one-time thing; you only need to see what NESN does during hockey broadcasts when a fight breaks out...or should that be fight broadcasts when a hockey game breaks out... o_O

I can't help but feel responsible for this. I am part of the current video game simulation, retribution craved, high-paced, mass violence culture demanding this stuff. We wanted the death of the "tie game", we got the "shootout", and as a result there are "three-point games", extended contests with no actual winning goal, goals in the NHL statistics that are unaccounted for, and skewed goalie wins, losses, and averages.

Three points for a win, tabulate shootout winners in players' goal totals, and let players play without fear of getting killed. Fights happen out of emotion and rage, I know, but leave the staged contract fights for YouTube. Speaking of Youtube...