Played out

Walking the dog this morning past the old arena. Like every other building I frequented as a kid, it looks ten times smaller than it does in memory. I gave up hockey when I reached my teens, moving on to basketball, soccer, and artsy pretensions. From the ages of five to thirteen, however--well like thousands of others I assumed one day I'd be kissing the Cup. It's closed for the summer, but I can still smell this place. The musty aroma of the dressing rooms and unwashed equipment. Hard wood benches and concrete walls. The sharp cold numbing your throat when you hit the ice. Greasy cheeseburgers and ketchup chips, better than anything at McDicks. Numbness in the ankles from too-tight skates. The sound of sharp blades when you begin to glide.

I've spent the past two winters working in the United Kingdom, and my love for (european) football has asserted itself. I've got a team and I watch whatever games I can. I get passionate about it in a way I can't with hockey. The hockey playoffs are on and my dad is into it. I haven't watched a full game in years. At first I brushed off his invitations to watch, but, slowly, I find myself drawn to the box...it's the sounds that get me. The reliable tones of the CBC commentators, the rattle of the boards after a good hit, the thunk of a slapshot.

Of course I was an Oilers fan back in the day, but my longest love has been for the Leafs. The only game I can remember watching as a kid, and I did watch a lot, was a regular season match-up between the Leafs and the Oilers, which the Leafs won--the score was 13-7 or 13-6. Anyway, I was fucking stoked--I couldn't believe what was happening...this was in the day of Messier, Gretzky, etc. Eventually I gave up on the Leafs in my head; never in my heart, ha ha ha. As an aside--Torontonians--you have one of, if not the, richest team in the league--please, just one game, vote with your bloody feet and don't show up! You deserve better! The past is the past!

So--am I going to follow this play-off season religiously? Hells no. But I know I'll be there for some games...dad informs me the Kings are a team of young unknowns with an outside chance. Alright then. Go Los Angeles!