Welcome Back, NHL!

When the NHL strike happened at the start of the (non-existent) 2004-05 season, I was as angry as anyone else. Hockey had reached such a state of disarray (which many people, myself included, believe began right around the time the hated New Jersey Devils began using their asshole-ish neutral zone trap) that the sport became practically unwatchable. Play was agonizingly slow, to the point of being downright boring, and the forces of business had infiltrated the sport to such a degree that ticket prices were astronomically high. Taking your family of four to see a game became impossible for tens of thousands of fans, and those fans reacted with disgust and apathy toward the sport they once loved.

Now, I grew up watching hockey. It's a part of some of my earliest and most cherished memories, and anyone who knows me will tell you my blood runs Flyers orange (along with Eagles midnight green and Phillies old-skool maroon and powder blue). I've loved the team since I've been alive, and it had killed me to have become so ambivalent to them, and to the sport at large. Now that the league is alive again (and every single rink is emblazoned with "Thank you, fans!"), the question looms: will anyone care about this sport anymore?

After watching a small handful of games (two of them Flyers games), I'm officially going on record:

Hockey, I still love you, and it's great to have you back. You pissed me off, but life is about transcending things like that.

Along with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement enacted to settle the myriad business issues plaguing the sport, the NHL administration installed a batch of rule changes to increase the speed and level of competition. Whether it is the result of the rules, or just collective exuberance to have hockey back, every game I have watched so far this season has been fast, thrilling, and rough.

Dudes are no longer afraid to hit! Imagine that!

It's obviously still early in hockey's resurrected life, and some things will settle into regularity: the refs will probably cease to be as whistle-happy as they've been in the first few games, the players will finally realize they can utilize the touch-up offsides (a style they likely haven't played since college), defensemen will find creative ways to move opponents from the front of the net without drawing penalties, and the Devils will continue to find ways to be cheating bastards. So I guess, some things will stay the same after all.

[For those unable to pick up on my jack-hammer-like subtlety, I despise the New Jersey Devils, along with the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals. Again, some things will NEVER change.]

So, could this be the year the Cup's brilliant light shines upon the Black and Orange? I'm no soothsayer, but with our revised roster (a well-balanced group of rookies, up-and-comers, and seasoned vets), not to mention a 30+ year thirst for glory, I for one am cheering for us to channel the spirit of the Broad Street Bullies of old, and bring Stanley home!

FLYERS IN '06!!!




*****N*T*G*****

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