It’s okay to fight about hockey, but you don’t have to do it all the time

Lately, some people have been getting upset on social media. I realize that’s an understatement, but bear with me for a second. Sometimes, it’s for very meaningful reasons.

Take the Jake Virtanen banner, for instance. Given the circumstances under which he departed, it seems reasonable that fans are antsy to have it taken down. I’m inclined to think seven women don’t come forward for no reason, but regardless of your opinion about the allegations, it seems needlessly cruel to keep that banner up simply because it’s going to take a little extra time and money.

At other times, it’s essentially meaningless. Like, say, the seemingly endless arguments about the effectiveness of Oliver Ekman-Larsson as he enters his thirties. People are essentially projecting a centuries-long debate about the relationship between humans and technology and given how things are going in the world right now, that makes a lot of sense. 

There’s also a lot of information–and disinformation– out there acknowledging that we shouldn’t trust experts simply because they say they’re experts. Having said that, if you think the analytics crowd has the power when it comes to these conversations, I think perhaps you have made some mistakes in your analysis. I know it can be hard to trust things you can’t see with your own eyes, but for what it’s worth, a lot of people just need glasses.

Athletes are our heroes. They challenge us to be the best version of ourselves by being great at what they do. And we challenge them to live up to those standards. So we should keep fighting, because it’s the right thing to do, and also because it’s fun. Particularly when you’re fighting someone who clearly has no idea what they’re doing. But we’re ultimately talking about hockey, and at the end of the day, we’re all playing for the love of the game. If you don’t love it right now, you can step away. I promise it will be fun again soon. 

*photo by Nick Procaylo