Blood on the ice. The barely conscious body of grown man splayed at his teammate's feet.
Good night; both to him, and to my 8-and-6-year-old children.
My kids did not watch the Canadiens' season opener against Toronto. My daughter did have a special supper in front of the T.V. while watching the torch ceremony preceding the game. But, thankfully, it was a school night. I marched her to bed before the first puck dropped.
There are Saturdays, especially during the playoffs, I will sit with them on the couch and watch the first two periods of a 7pm game. But, I do so reluctantly; nervously. I don't enjoy risking my elementary schoolers' final images before bedtime being the sorrowful outcome of a bloody fight.
I understand the threads of hypocrisy and illogic threading through this philosophy.
I GREW UP WATHCHING HOCKEY FIGHTS
I am not a prude.
I grew up part of the "Battle of Quebec" generation. We would run from the family dinner table to witness the Canadiens and Nordiques or the Canadiens and Flyers compete against and often pummel each other relentlessly.
I loved it.
I remember asking my brother who the Habs would be playing that particular night.
"Philadelphia." He would answer.
"Will there be fights?" I enquired eagerly.
"Probably."
That answer piqued my interest in that particular evening's matchup.
But, I'm a father now. That job entails being an emotional and psychological barometer and protector for my children. Each family is unique. I know my children would have been bothered by the image of Colton Orr hauling George Parros into unconsciousness. Especially just prior to turning off their lights and laying their heads on their pillows. Consequently, I don't tune into the games. Just in case.
Foolish? Perhaps.
I don't believe my children will become violent after witnessing violence during a hockey game. I don't believe they will jump out a window after watching Superman. I never blew my brother up with TNT because I was addicted the The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show.
Yet, I am the protector of my little kids' psyche as I know it now, and not watching a hockey game is no real sacrifice.
MATH DICTATES FIGHTING WILL NEVER BE REMOVED FROM HOCKEY.
The day following the Parros incident, I was listening to debate after debate on TSN690's Melnick in the Afternoon.
The show's offered its usual line-up of impeccably qualified guests: Scotty Bowman, Aaron Ward, Elliotte Friedman, Chris Nilan and quotes from an earlier conversation with PJ Stock.
The prevailing argument in favour of fighting was the following:
The players rely of their teams' enforcers to regulate fair play. Should fighting be completely removed from the game, the "rats" (dirty players) would be free to spear, slash and cross-check with impunity. The referees would either not see the infraction or--during playoff competition--not want to risk affecting the outcome of an important game by assessing a one-sided penalty.
The show also ran a quote from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettmen, in which he noted the players themselves had blocked attempts to scale back fighting.
But, aside from opinions gathered from players, from coaches, and from talk show pundits, there is one reason fighting will never disappear from hockey:
THE FANS LOVE IT.
It's a pure numbers game.
If it were announced tonight there would never be another NHL fight, how would arena attendance and TV ratings manifest that decision? Perhaps attendance at live games wouldn't suffer; people willing to pay current admission and concession prices are likely there for more than just the possibility of violence.
But, TV viewers? These are the fans who consume their sport through mass media. One only needs to look at what aspects of NHL play media focus on to understand what attracts viewers.
Sports news shows use fight highlights in their headlines and in their teases to commercials. They will use fight highlights repeatedly during the same broadcast under the guise of analyzing the game from a different angle than was discussed 5 minute ago.
Newspapers don't run photos of goal celebrations. They showcase violence photography.
Why? Because it sells papers and attracts viewers.
It's math and money.
PJ Stock argued enforcers are paid a lot of money and understand the risk associated with their role on the ice. Why do they earn so much? Because people love to watch them. It's math and money.
Hopefully, no NHL player ever dies as a result of being slammed to the ice after a fight, or due to a severe blow to the head during one. It would put the NHL in an impossible position. It would feel tremendous pressure to eliminate fighting, but it couldn't really afford to follow through. Math and money.
A generation after fighting is eliminated, perhaps a new fan base will form. One who grew up knowing nothing other than a fast, clean game called hockey. Then maybe Neilsen numbers will begin to climb to where they once were. Maybe a new breed of father with sit with his children in front of Hockey Night in Canada.
Until then, Mr Bettman et al are responsible for their game, I am responsible for my children, and what's reasonable probably lies somewhere between us all.
