The Honour of a Game

In hockey, there is skill, honour, tradition, and integrity. There is a standard to live up to, that has been apart of the game since it began. There are no celebrities (except Sean Avery), there are no primadonnas. They will walk and score game-winning goals with a broken leg (Bobby Baun broken leg), they will continue to fight for Lord Stanley's Cup (Ryan Malone's broken nose).

Where on little incident happens in hockey, there are more in the other major professional leagues.

Now with the celebrities and primadonnas in the NFL, NBA, and MLB, would there be less arrogance and disrespect for each other? Yes, hockey has fighting, but they are not considered to be rating boosters or to get the fans into the action. It's there to honour a code.

When someone wants to disrespect the game, it is well known that the player has something coming to him in a negative way. We're not saying a high stick, a hard slash, or an elbow to the face. The player will be punished, legally in every way.

When Washington Capitals superstar, Alexander Ovechkin decided to show everyone his "hot hands" after his 50th goal of the 2008-09 NHL season, it wasn't taken well by the Tampa Bay Lightning players and Coaches. Although Ovechkin didn't receive retaliation, it was going to come the next game. Fortunately, Head Coach Bruce Boudreau talked to Ovechkin about and stated it publicly and basically all was forgiven next game.

Have we heard the same from other athletes that act off-the-wall? Not really. When Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals catches a football, runs in for a touch down, pulls out a cell phone and mock the other team, do you think he would get away with this in the NHL or if Jarome Iglina played? Never. He would get bumped after the touch down, pushed and shoved and then the gloves would be off. Life would be hell every time he stepped onto the field.

No one would pull out cell phones, sign footballs, celebrate on another teams logo and talk back because then they would get their own medicine shoved down their throats and they would be bruised in places they didn't know they could.

Every time we see a dunk in the NBA, they hang onto the rim and act like they destroyed the world. Would this go if this happened in hockey? If Shaquille O'Neal hammered the ball in, and told the arena to hush by putting his finger to his mouth, do you think there wouldn't be something coming to him? Regardless of being a monster over 7' feet tall, a man like Theoren Fleury all 5'6'' would come in and let him know not to pull off his arrogant antics. Heart overcomes size, he wouldn't think twice.

These are two examples of mocking an entire organization can hurt the image and the history of the game. Sure, it's edgy and entertaining to the those young fans who their action, but self-respect goes a lot further in these professional leagues.

So be glad that your favourite athletes are playing their sports, because if they played hockey, they wouldn't be able to make a photo shoot the next morning looking like a model, because you got away with being a child and complaining to the referee.