On a winter Saturday in the 1970s, we played boot hockey in an alley in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district. The Francos against the Anglos, or rather, as we used to say in those unconscious times, the… A word that begins with an F, followed by an R, an O, a G, against a word that begins with a B, followed by an L, an O, a K, I stop there.
It brews, it pushes itself, it lashes, it flattens. It’s 10 to 10. We’re not playing the trap. We rather opened it wide, our hatch, a question of disturbing the opponent. While shouting, some of the words of religious practices beginning with a T, C, O or S, the others of the words of less religious practices always beginning with F, U, C.
In short, we don’t wear white gloves, just blue-white-red gloves. Which Barry and François have just thrown to the ground.
Barry elbowed Francois in the face, Francois countered with a six inch, just above Barry’s parts. They are in the process of settling their scores by tapping each other. My big brother separates them. Barry, picking up his tuque, makes a comment about François’ sister. In English. François asks him: “What did you say? Barry repeats it in French. Bilingualism is not always good. François throws himself on it, enraged. He crushes his fist on her cheek. Barry kicks him in the stomach.
This time they are no longer battling to emulate John Ferguson and Bobby Hull. They fight for real. And it’s not pretty. It’s not pretty, two people who want to hurt each other. We are all bad. François sends a left to Barry’s nose. Barry begins to bleed. Benoît shouts: “There’s blood! »
My father comes out on the balcony: “What’s going on? François flees, on the rue Girouard side. Barry flees, on the Old Orchard street side. No one answers my father. He goes on: “Hey! It will do, the battle! Go home ! We frown a bit: “Well…” Dad raises his voice: “You’re following! »
We go back. You immediately, it is immediately.
Going through the door frame, I let go: “Why can’t we play anymore? My mother replies, “Fighting is not playing.” »
I nod my head. One to zero for mom. When we are pulling, there is pushing, breaststroke-comrade, we still play. But when you hit each other in the face, it’s no longer fun. Even if my father hadn’t interrupted us, we probably wouldn’t have continued. We had no more fun. We no longer felt it. We weren’t playing anymore.
In all team sports, when two opponents smack each other, they are ejected from the match. Of course, they don’t play anymore. There are no rules for fighting, since fighting is not part of the game. It’s like that in soccer, basketball, football, baseball… You name it. It’s just in hockey that people who have come to blows can continue the game, after five or ten penalty minutes. For what ? Because for some, battles are part of hockey? Uh no ! Hockey is a sport whose object is to score goals. To send the puck into the opponent’s net. Not throwing his fist in the opponent’s face.
Those who want to keep fighting argue that no one is going to buy a beer during a battle at the Bell Centre. Yes, bad? Everyone slows down to watch an accident on the highway, that doesn’t mean you have to remove the speed limits. If during the intermission the driver of the zamboni lost control of his vehicle and smashed the boards to land on the players’ bench, all the spectators would remain there to see the damage. This does not mean that you have to remove the brakes from the groomer.
Humans are curious beings, fascinated by drama. That’s why he passes in front of the houses without looking at them, but why he will spend hours in front of a burning house. This is not a reason to legalize pyromania.
Everything that is not supposed to happen attracts us. In hockey, players are supposed to play hockey, not spank on the marboule. When they do, it demands our attention.
If, during the debates at The antechamberGaston Therrien wanted to make his point of view prevail over that of Mario Tremblay by putting his fist in the glasses of the bionic Bleuet, it is sure that we would watch, it is sure that the sequence would be viral on TikTok and that thousands people would comment on it on Facebook, but that’s not a reason to come to that.
So stop saying fans love battles in hockey, fans wouldn’t look the other way if a battle broke out in soccer, football, synchronized swimming or the National Assembly.
But we don’t do that, among civilized people.
Hockey players deserve to be treated with the same respect as all members of society. By not allowing a bully to jump on them at any time and smack their face in blood.
Those in charge of a sports association must behave like a good father or a good mother.
Going out on the balcony and saying “enough is enough” when their proteges attack each other instead of playing.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is preparing to do so. Battles will be banned starting next season. Cheer ! It was time.
The National Hockey League still allows belligerents to return to the game.
What are they waiting for? The irreparable?
I know, the irreparable can happen following a check, but that’s part of the game of hockey. Not the fights.
UFC boxers don’t start playing hockey in the middle of their scrum. UFC fans aren’t here for that.
Hockey does not need to offer pugilism to interest its public.
Those who really love hockey want to watch hockey.
Good game !