NHL: Fighting in Ice Hockey, 2009-2010 Season saw 714 fights
Watching an ice hockey match played in the NHL (National Hockey League), fans will inadvertently see a couple of fights in each game. The tradition of fighting in ice hockey has been around for many years and looks all set to continue. It would seem impossible that a sport played on the ice could be so violent, but it is and always has been.
The brawls in ice hockey could not be more brutal. People have been knocked unconscious, gotten concussions, had their faces slashed with sticks and had severe facial and neck injuries. The origins of fighting in the sport seem to go back to the origins of the sport itself. With a lack of rules in the beginning, ice hockey was a messy and unruly place. Fights over the smallest thing would erupt and players would punch each other senseless. As the style of play in hockey got rougher and hockey got more violent, fighting was actually encouraged in the sport as a response to the violence. This did nothing to stop the fighting culture but only exasperated it further.
Fighting in ice hockey is a direct result of massive amounts of testosterone in the players and a lack of an outright ban on fighting in the leagues. Since it has always been a part of the sport it is assumed that it will always continue to be a part of it and as a result governing bodies are reluctant to end the fighting. Even the commissioner of the NHL has said that a ban would not be implemented against fighting during hockey games because according to him, the fans enjoyed fighting in hockey too much. What is unbelievable is the fact that it seems we are progressing back to a barbaric age when bloodthirsty people would gather around to watch people killing each other. Hopefully we have moved on as a society and as a people.
The fights in ice hockey games have been steadily increasing over the years. Recent statistics show us that in the 2009-2010 Season there were 714 fights in 1230 games with about 340 players fighting. The previous season they were slightly more fights with 734 fights taking place in 1230 games. That is a huge amount of fights, it is something like 0.60 fights per game; almost a fight a game. Why do these players insist on fighting so much and why do the fans enjoy watching the fights so much?
It seems ice hockey fans come to watch the fights in a game almost as much as they watch the games themselves. Apparently, hockey fights create an adrenaline rush in fans and help them to fight the cold. It also provides them with high entertainment value for the high ticket price. Also, it helps them release some aggression by watching a fight. Fighting in hockey games has become ingrained in the culture of the sport and it is going to be extremely difficult to remove it or ban it.
The concept of fighting is so strong in the sport of ice hockey that one can even find articles on the proper methods and ways to fight in the game. It is debatable whether any other sport has instructions on the correct way to fight an opponent during a game. Techniques like pulling an opponent’s jersey over their head and pounding them is one, another is to jab them in the ribs with your stick, yet another is to trip them and start pounding on them when the referee is not looking. How is any of this legal? It seems to be an accepted part of the game and coaches are regularly dishing out advice to players on how to get the upper hand on their rivals. Fighting needs to stop and it is high time the NHL put a ban in place against fighting. It seems they won’t stop unless a player dies and probably not even then.
Violence in the game has led to massive injuries for players and has even led to criminal convictions for some of them. How is it possible that a sport can allow its players to get criminal convictions for fighting in the sport they play? It has all gotten seriously out of hand and a major overhaul is needed if we do not want to see players dying in the hockey rink.
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