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The Challenging Game of Hockey

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When most people think of hockey, they often associate the game with Canada. But, surprisingly, hockey isn't the national sport of Canada, but the roots of hockey go back to Ireland. Before Canadians began their obsessive need for hockey, the game was played in Ireland under the unlikely name of Hurley. The game was brought over to Canada by Irish immigrants, and around the 1800s hockey began to gain popularity throughout Canada. The game quickly caught on, especially on the East coast, and became popular all over the world.

In 1917 the National Hockey League (NHL) was formed and it consisted of five original teams. By the end of the century there would be 30 teams from all over Canada and the USA. People are passionate about their hockey and one look at some of the fans at the arenas show that they mean business.

The hockey playoffs, known as the Stanley Cup, tend to be dominated by US teams in recent years, but that hasn't dampened the fervor of the Canadian fans. In many houses and sports bars throughout Canada, Hockey Night remains a strong tradition. Like many sports where the players demand high salaries, hockey has seen it's fair share of teams come and go, like the Winnipeg Jets and the Quebec Nordiques.

Hockey stars are able to demand high salaries for their game. In part, this is what leads some of the top players to teams in the US. Some Canadian teams find it challenging to keep their homegrown players thanks to high salary demands. This is one of the issues in the 2004 NHL dispute that resulted a curtailed season.

Hockey can be at times a violent game with spectators cheering their team as the opposing team is crushed against the boards. Of course, some people wonder if this is propensity for violence is teaching young fans to be violent. Unfortunately, violence has turned up in the little leagues. While some of the little leagues are adopting no tolerance policy for aggressive play, and some have banned this type of contact all together, the professional teams under the NHL have not followed suit.

These days' parents have become a bit too passionate at little league hockey games. There is an increasing number of fights between parents and verbal and physical abuse against referees and coaches. This has prompted many people to stay away from the sport or putting their children in after school hockey programs. The thought of knowing that the parents care more about who wins than the kids do is frightening. Regardless of this hockey will always be a popular game in North America.

Europe also enjoys much success in the world of hockey. Little known places such as Belarus has been highlighted after the recent world championships. Little ice hockey can be played anywhere you can find frozen ponds in the winter. This is not always the case though, look at the Los Angeles Kings.

Hockey is one of the best-loved games in North America and many fans have their fingers crossed that there will be at least a few games this 2004/2005 NHL season. But there are farm teams and minor leagues that are still playing so at least fans can get their hockey fix. If you are wondering what the fuss is all about, be sure to check out a game at your local area and feel the excitement in the air. No wonder hockey is so popular!

Article Source: http://www.bluearticles.com


Urther Queen is the owner of UQ Hockey, the #1 source on the internet for information about hockey. For questions or comments about this article visit: http://www.uqhockey.com/articles

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