My New Passion

Now that American Idol is over for the season, there is a new object of my affection -- hockey.

Yeah, seriously . . . hockey.

I'm not much of a sports girl. I've talked here before about how I tend to know quite a bit about sports thanks to my dad but that I just don't get all that into it. Yeah, I watch the Super Bowl every year -- for the commercials. My ears prick up a touch if the Cubs or Bears are having a good season, but for the most part, I would much rather curl up with a book than watch sports.

So why hockey?

Well, first of all, in case you didn't know this (and considering how few people tend to actually follow hockey, I bet there are people out there who didn't know), the Chicago Blackhawks have made it to the Stanley Cup finals. It's a Chicago team . . . doing well . . . um, gotta pay attention to that! It's kind of thrilling to see Chicago on the cusp of success for the first time in a long time. So yeah, go ahead and call me a fair weather fan or someone who's just jumped on the bandwagon. If I'd known how freakin' cool hockey was earlier, I would have been here sooner!

Part of it, too, is about hockey itself. The funny thing is that, as crazy as my dad was about sports, hockey was one sport he never really followed. He was much more content to watch a basketball or baseball game. There's something kind of thrilling about feeling I'm "discovering" a sport rather than it being the product of my upbringing. I'm learning the game as I watch, so it's a really new experience for me.

Here's what I love about hockey:
1. I love that it is a game of tremendous skill. Think about it -- the object of the game is to take a stick and hit a "puck" that's really not that much bigger than a bar of soap into a net that is being fiercely defended by a guy with a stick while others guys (also with sticks) try to stop you. And you're doing it all on ice skates.

2. It's really fast moving -- and the game itself is not tremendously long. One of the things that's always frustrated me about football or baseball is how slooooooooooowly it moves. Hockey is more like basketball with a lot of movement. It's harder to get bored because something is always happening...and it's usually violent.

3. From a purely girly perspective, is there any uniform cooler than a hockey uniform? Those hockey jerseys are so generously cut and so comfortable looking. I would say a soccer jersey is a warmer-weather peer, but I would far prefer a hockey jersey any day!

4. I'm not gonna lie -- the violence is kind of entertaining.

5. Two words -- Dustin Byfuglien.

6. Two more words -- "Chelsea Dagger."

7. It's kind of nice watching a winter sport in the midst of early summer heat. Just watching a game and I feel my body temperature plummet.

Will my love for hockey endure? Who knows? It wouldn't be the first time I've discovered a new passion and quickly tired of it, but I will say that last night, I chose game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals over an Always Sunny marathon. There's something there, friends.