Why don't you like hockey?

[White Peacock]

I love hockey; it's the only sport I really care about enough to scream about. I used to go to as many games as possible, but then I had a kid, and now I'm on dad duty when I'm not at work, so my contribution to Barons ticket sales has been next to nothing these past couple years. I had hoped to take my daughter to Barons games when she got old enough to sit in one place for a few hours. Hopefully we get something worth going to and throwing support behind in the near future.

[Zuplar]

Someone earlier said low-scoring and boring really weren't reasons, but those are most of my reasons for not really liking the sport. It's basically an ice version of soccer. I believe I read somewhere that fighting in Hockey is only done in American/Canadian hockey, that everywhere else it's really frowned on and subject to ejection. Not sure if that's true or not. I've always thought it was gimmicky. I think most of it is cultural preference.

[Teo9969]

I feel like there's a decent amount more scoring in hockey than in soccer…obviously not high scoring, but that's what makes it exciting to me. A goal means something at any point in the game…baskets between the first 2 minutes and the last 4 minutes of an NBA game are only exciting if it's a bad ass play.

If you have a strong rooting interest, the tension you have when an offense is setup in front of the blue line is really quite remarkable. I too really like the fast paced aspect of hockey.

All that being said…I don't watch these days because I got into OU football and Thunder basketball and I only have so much desire to follow a sports team. I lost interest when Gretzky left and I got older. I played roller hockey when I was younger but no longer.

Speaking of…are there any roller hockey leagues or pick-up games going on in the metro these days?

[Dave Cook]

Differences in hockey and soccer........shots on goal, contact and boards. I see the attempted analogy but it's not really there. Show me a soccer goalie that stops 35 shots on goal a game.

Yes, fighting is more common in North American hockey. You don't see it so much in Europe. More finesse overseas.

[bluedogok]

The Olympic and European ice rinks are larger which open the games up more as well.

[Stan Silliman]

I can appreciate the game without having to prefer it. The skating and the athleticism is unbelievable. The violence exceeds football. The serial killers produced from hockey make for better horror movies. The speed and continuity of the game will make your heart race. At the same I don't prefer it because the scoring and the possibilities of scoring are too infrequent. For one, the goal compared to goalie size unfairly favors the defense. A wide 300# goalie can park himself in the net and the pucks would never get in. The goalie should be required to move more side to side with wider nets. In that case saves mean something. It means the goalie has to be an athlete.

But as far as danger, I'd rank the game right up there with Rollerball.

[Dubya61]

I can appreciate the game without having to prefer it. The skating and the athleticism is unbelievable. The violence exceeds football. The serial killers produced from hockey make for better horror movies. The speed and continuity of the game will make your heart race. At the same I don't prefer it because the scoring and the possibilities of scoring are too infrequent. For one, the goal compared to goalie size unfairly favors the defense. A wide 300# goalie can park himself in the net and the pucks would never get in. The goalie should be required to move more side to side with wider nets. In that case saves mean something. It means the goalie has to be an athlete.

But as far as danger, I'd rank the game right up there with Rollerball.

A larger goalie does not mean a better defense against scoring. The net is large enough that any goalie leaves 4 - 5 holes to score through. I can't see any justification to say that the violence exceeds football or that hockey produces serial killers, unless you're just trying out another punchline. It's an exhilarating game where anybody can score and yet teamwork pays the best reward over other sports.

[okatty]

Like most anything this is a matter of personal preference. I love soccer (and football, basketball, golf and other sports), but I wouldn't walk across the street to see a hockey match if you paid me. Lots of people feel that way about soccer. I agree with Stan S that the skating is incredible, but not something I am going to sit around and watch for 2 hours.

[OKCisOK4me]

Because its like soccer and croquet combined... BORING. If the fights were more common then I'd put a sweatshirt on and go.

[Stan Silliman]

A larger goalie does not mean a better defense against scoring. The net is large enough that any goalie leaves 4 - 5 holes to score through. I can't see any justification to say that the violence exceeds football or that hockey produces serial killers, unless you're just trying out another punchline. It's an exhilarating game where anybody can score and yet teamwork pays the best reward over other sports.

NHL hockey goal is 6' wide x 4' tall which means a 6' tall x 350 # goalie can lay down in the net and his 30" wide body leaves only 18" at the top of the net to get in. Do you know how far away you'd have to be to get the puck up to 30"? The goalie sticks are bigger than they once were which further decreases the chances of scoring ... On Jason. And you wouldn't want to. You can't kill him and he'll haunt you every Halloween.

[Dubya61]

NHL hockey goal is 6' wide x 4' tall which means a 6' tall x 350 # goalie can lay down in the net and his 30" wide body leaves only 18" at the top of the net to get in. Do you know how far away you'd have to be to get the puck up to 30"? The goalie sticks are bigger than they once were which further decreases the chances of scoring ... On Jason. And you wouldn't want to. You can't kill him and he'll haunt you every Halloween.

A good hockey player doesn't need to be very far away to get the puck off the ice.

[Jersey Boss]

There is nothing to compare to a playoff game that becomes tied with a minute to go or less when the team that was down scores by pulling the goalie and putting another skater on the ice. The high drama that follows in sudden death overtime is outstanding. For those that do not think there is enough scoring, then a no hitter in baseball or a defensive struggle in football must bore them as well. Hockey players are very rarely involved in off ice problems and injuries keep fewer hockey players out then other sports. It's a great game.

[bluedogok]

We went to the first Avs playoff game here last season, Stastny scored with 13.4 seconds left to tie it up and go to OT. He then scored the winning goal 7:27 into OT to win 5-4. My wife got into it after that experience. Unfortunately they lost in 7 games but most were OT or last second goal games.