Watched Legends of Hockey tonight; it's a series I've watched before, in Canada, about...well, legends of hockey, the great players who have come and gone in the past 60 years.
It is awe-inspiring to see these older gentlemen whose faces light up as they recall their playing days, to hear each of them sit and say what an honor it was to play a game they loved for so long, to hear the respect with which they speak of each other. It is names, faces and numbers that I recognize instantly, men who played before I was even born. And then, as the episodes get into the modern era, it is the gods of my childhood, the players I had the good fortune to sit and watch on my television.
It also reminds me of what I love about hockey, and I suppose sport in general. What is it about sports that speaks to us, why do we love athletes so much? Watching those old clips of players swooping along the ice, I find myself smiling and can't quite explain why. Of course, then you see the guy skating along gracefully and punching some dude in the face, or slashing or hooking, and you remember it can also be a game of incredible violence.
I have still yet to go see a game at MSG, something I have to remedy one of these days. Really want to see Alexander Ovechkin play, too. That kid is really something.
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