Hockey : My Infatuation

Obsession just doesn't cut it, I'm infatuated with hockey. I love to watch it, play it, follow it, buy any piece of merchandise with a team logo on it (as long as it's not Toronto or Calgary, of course) from hats/shirts to mini cups/figurines. I am very happy I grew up in Canada. Only in Canada could Don Cherry be a national icon and Hockey Night in Canada be a Saturday tradition.

And as usual it is that time of the year again for us Oilers fans to watch our team struggle to make that final playoff berth. I check the standings several times a day, calculating who has to loss and how many we have to win just to get in. It seems it's almost become tradition for the Oilers fate to come down to the final games of the season while all the fans watch intensely praying the team will make the playoffs only to face the top seeded team or Dallas and loose out in the first round. But despite their hardships I am still a die hard Oilers fan like many Oilers fans are. Dedicated to the team, even when our best player leans to hard on his stick, snapping it in half, taking a nose dive on a breakaway with a chance to score the winning goal. Yes I am talking about Smitty, but I should probably lay off the guy because he is a major component of our team and if the pucks didn't bounce of his head or knee and into the net I don't know what we'd do.

So here's to hoping the Oilers manage to scramble their way into the playoffs so I can at least watch 4 games of Oilers playoff hockey. If all else fails several other Canadian teams will be in the playoffs and I would love to see a Canadian team bring home the cup (except Toronto of course, I don't know if I could swallow my pride and be happy for the Maple Leafs but I'm not going to have to any time soon because they aren't going to make the playoffs anyway.)