If the NHL stopped fighting, would you stop watching?

Question

So -- in no other sport is it OK to just run up and start punching somebody. Basketball, football, you just don't see this (and, OK, I'm sure there are exceptions but they're rare). The only other sports with fighting are, well, fighting sports: wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, etc.

If they stopped allowing fighting during hockey games (Checking would still be OK, just not punching and such) would you still go?

What about if they cut out checking?

I'm not talking about increasing penalty-box times; I'm talking about just tossing somebody out of the game (the way I'm assuming would happen in, say, baseball, if you just punched somebody else).

Opinions and ideas welcome, but mostly I want to know; Would you stop watching?

Answer 1

First, it's not really OK to do that - you get penalized.  I would be in favor of stiffer penalties, to reduce not only the unnecessary scrumming but the sometimes unbalanced calling of who-gets-what.

Second, there's not nearly as much fighting in the NHL as there used to be - not even close - and I don't think most people watch it for fighting.  

If you cut out checking it's not even hockey anymore.

Answer 2

YES, id stop watching and I may put a hit out for Bettman!!!

Old time hockey is the best, bench clearing brawls, goalie fights, players fighting fans, thats good hockey.

They cant allow fighting in the NBA because it would consist of guns and knives.

Answer 3

yea i would still watch but it would def lose some entertainment i miss the way it was with the old rules...team used to absolutely kill each other in the playoffs that was fun to watch

Answer 4

That is why I stopped watching.  I don't enjoy blood sports.

They should be charged with assault and convicted in the courts.  I don't feel they are promoting good sportsmanship or a good example.  After being convicted they should be kicked out of the NHL.

Answer 5

If they cut out both fighting And checking you might as well watch golf.

Answer 6

well my first reaction to this question was wth.

i think it was mostly to your first part "in no other sport is it ok to just run up and start punching somebody"...do you watch hockey? they just all together start punching each other right. anyways so i'll just not respond to that, but i'll ask you what is your stand on all the "fighting" sports.

if they stopped "allowing" fighting i'd still follow hockey.

if they cut out checking, then it'll become like soccer, and although i'll watch to see what they come up with to fill in the checking slot, i'll probably watch more soccer...if i wanted hockey to be like soccer than i wouldn't watch hockey more than soccer although the one played on the field is my favourite sport.

PIM...you want automatic ejections like in baseball or in basketball? do you like hockey?

i would never stop following hockey. i love it too much. crazy.

also do you watch/play football? what do you think about that. and what do you think about car to car contact in nascar...is that also just a little too reckless?

Answer 7

yes, but it would kinda get boring

Answer 8

Since when was it OK in hockey to "run up and punch somebody"? I must have missed the memo.

FYI... (not to be taken personally, but I am tired of the stereotypes) Hockey would not be hockey without checking. It's part of the game, like beanballs in baseball, chop blocks in football, and flailing elbows in basketball. Whether they remove it from the game or not, it'll still happen.

Some leagues do not allow fighting at all, (IE: the NCAA) it doesn't stop people from watching. There is plenty of good hockey going on without fighting, but a good scrap can add emotion to an otherwise flat game.

Answer 9

i'd still watch, but its not like there is a fight every game anyway i went to 10 caps games this year and there was only a fight at one and it wasnt really at fight it was just a punch and then to the box.  Its all for sure unless its in defense of a team mate then its serious.  You ant have hockey without checking, how the h**l do you steal the puck if you don check, poking the puck doesnt work all the time.  Hockey isnt like it used to be is my point fighting is down from past decades.

Answer 10

no i wouldnt stop watching but i would be very mad! Fighting is a big part of hockey without it it wouldnt be the same!

Answer 11

I hate to burst your bubble, but it is not OK to run up and start punching someone in hockey.  There is a code to be followed and violators don't last long in the league.

Answer 12

When it comes to fighting the closest comparison I can make is NASCAR.  People don't necessarily watch for the crash/fight, but it sure makes the event more exciting!

If fighting were eliminated, or as you suggest, players who fought would be ejected, I would still watch hockey.  I think that the fighting is part of the tradition, I do not want hockey to be like baseball, basketball, or football...I don't watch hockey because it is like other sports, I watch it because hockey is unique, hockey is UNLIKE any other sport.

If checking were eliminated I would stop watching, I love hockey, and without checking it isn't hockey.  In fact I think the reason women's hockey will never be taken seriously is that checking is not allowed and it makes the game unbearably boring.

Fundamentals are great, but nothing beats a hard hit at center ice.

Answer 13

Never watched a Baseball game my dear??

  I'd still watch if the fighting was gone...but CHECKING?? You can't be serious...why not get rid of blocking in football while you're at it?

Answer 14

Actually I'd like them to ban the fighting, but definitely not the checking. That is integral to the game.

Answer 15

If they cut out checking and fighting, I WOULD stop watching the NHL.  Then I would get really into the Florida Everblades.  So, so, so sad.

Answer 16

I would not stop watching if they removed fighting. It would be different, and I always thought it best to let them go at it instead of keeping their frustration pent up to explode at a later date, but it never was a major part of hockey for me.

Removing checking, however, will probably make me shy away. would watch a few games first to see how it goes without, then decide...

Answer 17

To make a Good Point Yes I would.

Answer 18

If they stop fighting altogether I would be mad, but I would still watch the game. If they take out checking, then I can't say with certainty I would still watch hockey, because it would so different from the game I'm used to watching. I think it would get to a point where you couldn't even call it hockey anymore.

no fighting- still watch

no checking- maybe

Answer 19

I would not stop watching it.  Fights seem random and dont seem to have anything to do with the flow of play on the ice.  Doesnt seem that teams get real pumped up from an enforcer going out and fighting.  And many times people are fighting b/c they dont have much other skill.  Its kinda silly to watch the fights were the whole teams fight and there is no bad blood between many of them, just fight who they happened to be paired up with.  And with checks, 9 times out of 10, they guy checked skates right back into the play after the guy who checked him, I could live without them if they needed to get rid of that.

Answer 20

absolutely. the fighting was up this year, and in my opinion, thats the only thing thats saving the NHL right now.

Answer 21

i would hope that if the NHL went this far in the rule changes everyone would stop watching and going to games in protest

LilCobra....while i agree everyone has a right to express their opinion i do wish people did not pull them from their A$$

Answer 22

no

Answer 23

I think that the shootout should be eliminated from the game before fighting. Fighting should be scrapped (no pun intended). No, I would not stop watching these overpaid guys play the game, though.

Answer 24

Oh boy!  I wasn't even here in the good old days of the mega fights, so the new NHL is what I'm used to, and I'm not missing the fights as they used to happen.  I dislike cheap shots, but when two players decide to 'go' it doesn't upset me, I'll grin and cheer with the rest of them.

Checking?  The All Star game was non-contact and honestly it was just plain boring.  It skewed the play advantage so far in favour of the offense, that it just didn't look much like hockey any more.  I can see why it was done that way, as it meant that the star players scored loads of goals.  But without checking, it would not be the same game in the league, and as Lae suggested, it would be more like soccer.  Yawn.