The greatest game ever

Last Wednesday night, my life received new meaning once again. As obvious by my position, I am a big sports fan. And lately, sports have not been an area of much joy in my life. Being from Chicago, there are pretty much no sports teams to cheer and support. \nThe Cubs are failing in their quest to bring the World Series to Chicago for yet one more year, the Bears are horrible, the Bulls are young and bad (heck, I would have to buy beer for half that team right now), and I don't even care about the White Sox. Tack on the fact that I am a Hoosier and our football team is as unfamiliar with winning as I am with being a millionaire, and there is not much joy in Mudville for me. Until last Wednesday that is.\nFor those not in the know, the NHL season opened up last Wednesday with the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche playing the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose owner/player Mario Lemieux very well might be the best player in hockey today. While Colorado won the game easily, that wasn't the point. Hockey was back.\nFor me, it is a close race between football and hockey as my favorite sport. Hockey is so much fun to watch once you get into it. It's fast, the hits are hard and you just see things that are downright unbelievable. It is just unfortunate that I am one of the few that know about it. \nHockey is suffering from a lack of fans, but if only people gave it a chance, they would see the greatness that this sport is. Even the XFL was doing better in the rankings of viewers compared to the NHL regular season. \nWhat's frustrating is that it's hard to recreate the experience of seeing the game live and in person. Going to a hockey game is unlike anything else. The fans there are so into the game, the noise gets ridiculous. For example, a tradition back at the Chicago Blackhawks games was to yell during the national anthem. Not at the end of it, no. From the start. All the way through to the end, when it comes into a fever pitch that is unlike anything you have experienced. Well, kinda like the flag thing that happens during the basketball games, only without all the old people sittin' on their butts and not clapping. \nThere are hard hitting defensive teams like the New Jersey Devils or St. Louis Blues. There are high-flying scoring teams like the Avalanche and Penguins. And there are plenty of teams somewhere in between, along with plenty of intriguing story lines to track during the season. Can the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup before they have to apply for social security? Can Eric Lindros actually play hockey or is he one hit away from being a vegetable? \nWhatever you're interested in, hockey has got it. So, instead of doing something like studying this Wednesday night and before you head to the Bird for 15 cent draft night, turn on ESPN and watch the coolest game around.