One of the most controversial issues in all of sport is fighting in hockey. Some say that it detracts from the skill and artistry of the game. However, those who want fighting out of hockey are mostly people who have never played the game and don't understand the importance of fighting in hockey. If you take out the fights, you open up the game for more illegal stick fouls, checks from behind, and other infractions. Fighting helps to keep the game clean. A hockey game is like a pressure cooker, and fighting is the relief valve. Without it you have anarchy on the ice. There is an element of violence and intimidation in all sports. Hockey is the only one to have an honorable way of dealing with violence, and that is fighting. Two opponents square off and settle things. Much better than a baseball pitcher that throws a fastball at an opponents head.
The fans enjoy a good hockey fight. Two things get the fans out of their seats at a hockey game, a goal and a fight. When a player starts to slash or elbow a team's top skilled player, the response is an enforcer from that team will challenge the attacker to a fight. This helps to protect the highly skilled players from injury. The most coveted players in the game today are ones that are highly skilled at playmaking/scoring and can fight.
Hockey is a game played at high speed where players have blades on their feet and sticks in their hands, and collisions are constant. With this much physical contact, there are bound to be disagreements, which leads to fights. After which the players are penalized, and the game continues. No one wants to see players incessantly slashed, butt ended or elbowed to the face. This is what you will have without fighting.
Fighting is also used by coaches as a tactic to breathe life into a team. If a team is down a few goals and nothing is going right for them, an enforcer is sent out to throw some hard checks into the opposition. This will usually draw a response in kind, and inevitably a fight. A good fight can wake up a team that is struggling. It gets the crowd into the game as well.
Many fights happen out of sheer frustration. A lopsided score in the waning moments of a game will cause players on the losing side to start an altercation. Most coaches on the team that is winning on the scoreboard will keep their highly skilled players off the ice near the end of the game and replace them with their tough guys just for this reason.
Hockey fights are different than other forms of fighting. For one thing, they are 100% real, not fake. The players are not trying to score points, but rather pound their opponent into submission. The player who gets in the most punches and lands on top when they tumble to the ice is usually declared the unofficial winner. Although some hockey fights end in a draw, many times there is a knockout. Another aspect of hockey fights that sets them apart is that the opponents are on skates. Balance is crucial. Many times a smaller player with better balance will beat a larger player. Skates can be a great equalizer.
For the most part fans, announcers, and the players love the fights in hockey. Its been an integral part of the game for many years and is here to stay.
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