Oh, Woe Is Me

I overestimated my importance in their world. ::sigh::

NHL Lockout

As a fan, I'm devastated. When I'm down and things in my life aren't going so great, I know that come October, I'll have a little escape a couple of days a week. Charlie used to call himself a "Hockey Widower", until he got wrapped up in the excitement as well. Say what you will, but we are talking about the challenge for the oldest trophy in sports history. The coveted Holy Grail; Lord Stanley's Cup.

It seems insane doesn't it? That a girl born and raised on a tropical island would become a crazed hockey fanatic? It flies in the face of conformity. That's me; a hockey "Fly Girl." Move over J-Lo. I learned during our short stint in the midwest, that if you aren't a Cheesehead or a Viking fan, and you absolutely abhore football, you'd better love hockey. And I did.

It helped that my son took to ice like a duck to water, and could skate better than he could walk. Thus forcing me to learn very quickly the difference between a cross-check and a slash. From surfing to skating in the blink of an eye. When you're a 6 year old boy, the most important cup in your world is the one that protects "the goods"...so he always called his protective gear HIS Stanley cup. It wasn't until he saw the real deal when he was 13 that he stopped refering to it that way. A new reverence emerged. He looked at it with starry eyes and heroic dreams, but never touched it. A hockey player doesn't touch the Cup unless he wins the Cup. That's commonly known. You don't wanna jinx your chances.

So now, both the Grommet and I look toward this season, or the lack of season, as the case may be, with sadness. Sadness that they couldn't come to an agreement. Sadness that again, money is the endall. Literally. The owners are asking for a salary cap. Why is that so awful? Let's do some math. If they cap out at, say, a million. Hmmm, a million divided by 84 games. That's approximately $11,900 a game. An average player...nah, let's think big..a good player will have about 15 to 17 minutes of ice time, on the average. That's around $700 a minute. Hello?

Now I know I'm simplifying it. But really, come on guys. Do you REALLY have anything to complain about? I know you're not making as much as NFL or NBA players. And I know you're not as popular. Hey, there's no accounting for taste. Don't EVEN get me started on why I hate football, :::yawn::: basketball, and America's favorite pastime :::gag::: baseball. In our world, drop the puck and you've got game. And now, you're depriving us. Which makes you no better to me than THEM. I held you in much higher esteem.

We raise a family on what you make in less than 6 games. So do those couple hundred people that work for the NHL, who are out of a job after this week. All because $1.3 million isn't enough? Shame on you. Shame on all of you.

Go to your rooms. I can't even look at you right now. And don't even THINK about asking to borrow the car. Ungrateful brats.