Hockey Day in Canada...is back in our house

It's Hockey Day in Canada, so they (the "fine" folks at CBC) say and, yes, the game is on. Not the game but hockey is indeed alive and well again at our house. Our Just Drop it pledge is complete. According to the pledge, I could have watched the Edmonton Detroit game this afternoon but missed it due to work. The Vancouver Calgary game is on right now. It's safe to say that I have a happy husband. Or maybe relieved is a better word.

So was it worth it? Does anyone notice or even care that we didn't watch the first 10 games of the season? I honestly couldn't tell you. Even though the Just Drop it crew grabbed significant media attention as the pledges added up, the truth is that I doubt it.

Without getting too philosophical about it, we learned a few things in this house.

• I'm a Canadian girl through and through. I enjoy the game. I enjoy (most) of the banter and chatter that goes with it. Even tonight, having it on more in the background while I finished a crochet project and wound a ball of yarn for my next project - don't judge me - I enjoyed the sounds of it. Skates on ice. Pucks against the boards. Players shouting. My husband cheering...and jeering. And the commentators.
• About the commentators. The break didn't help. They still say stupid things. My dad used to remind my siblings and I that we should think through what we say before we say it. Solid advice, Dad. Thanks. Perhaps the commentators should hear it too. I'm convinced my husband could do the job and do it well. He has LOTS of practice! 
• It's fun to watch successes and milestones. First NHL goals. 1000 games. Great saves and sniper shots. But, for the record Mr. Commentator, remarking on a player's 200th Saturday game is dumb. That's a stupid stat. No one cares. Now back to the kids lighting it up with their first (and now second) NHL goals. 
• We learned which one of us is more stubborn. I'm not sure whether I should be proud of the fact that I "helped" Colin stand by his pledge. Once I've made up my mind about something....
• It's hard to not follow hockey in this town. If I had been watching hockey and if I had been sharing freely my opinions about it over the last couple weeks, I certainly would have pointed out TSN's power ratings at least once because, boy, is that some satisfying stuff.  If you've missed it, let me recap some of the key ones for you: Edmonton (10), Vancouver (15), LA (21) and, oh, wait for it, Calgary (28). 28. Of 30. Just saying. 
• I think the argument that a cup won this season will mean less because it's a shorter season. No one says that season in the early years of the NHL that were only 45ish games "didn't count." As Jenae would say, "a hater's gonna hate." 
• It's fun for us to be fans together. Even more fun when it can be all four of us together. BUT, even though we are big fans of NHL teams, it doesn't have to be the NHL. We enjoyed a couple WHL games over the last couple months and, as we usually are, were impressed by the energy, drive and heart of the game. I still think it would be a wise idea for the NHL as a whole to remember that, remember where they came from and why they're there. Remember the love of the game and the passion of the fans. Big business indeed but it's a game that people love and invest a lot in. 

I was surprised to find that I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would. 10 games, now 11, came and went. I missed it but I didn't miss it.  I'll likely miss a few more this season but we're back. It's hockey night in Canada in our house again but at least, tonight, I feel like we have a little bit of control. Today we decided to watch because we wanted to, not because they, players and management alike, decided whether there would be game or not. 

I'm sadly outnumbered BUT can still appreciate that this is good for a daddy's heart.

P.S. 5-1 Vancouver over the fLames. It's a good night to be a hockey fan.