Moooom! It’s Just Blood!

Sitting last night in my brand new Nicky B sweater watching the Caps vs. ‘Canes game.  Normal night:  lots of cussing, coaching of the team from my couch (my son keeps telling me they can’t hear me, shyea right), and cursing of Verizon for not having an HD channel for when the game is not on the Comcast Sportsnet Channel, bastards.  (Note to self: new rant for a different day).

During the first period I remembered a couple of things.  First why I love this sport.  A beautiful goal by Mathieu Perreault off an assist by my boy Semin.  Gorgeous!  And this guy is one worth watching (5 goals, 2 assists, 12 goal points since he was called up from Hershey).  He has what it takes to be an amazing hockey player, one who will be written up in the sports pages for years to come, in fact he was written up in today’s sports section.  Wait….what?  Oh yeah, that reminds me of the second thing I remembered: I’m a mom.  Damnit!

Just when one thinks they can sit down and enjoy a hockey game, bam! Life intrudes, slaps us upside the head and says “hey you, yeah you, remember those maternal instincts? Get them out, you’re about to need them”.

Such a beautiful goal, followed later in the period by one heck of a hit, resulting in my maternal instincts coming out in full force.

The hit is up for debate.  Some say it was clean, some say it wasn’t, the refs said it wasn’t and ejected Tim Gleason for charging.  I’m not here to debate the hit.

What happened next sent my brain into maternal overdrive, I quickly pictured myself as that screaming “mommy” who runs out onto the pee wee football field when lil Johnny takes a tumble, orange slices and juice boxes in hand.

Down Mathieu goes, face down. 

Just like in slow motion it all happened at once: I reacted with a “oh hell no, you did not just hit my boy” followed by a “oh no, he’s not getting up” to “please take the camera away, I don’t think I can tolerate seeing that much blood pour out of someone’s face”.

OK, I know what you’re thinking; how the hell can you say you’re a hockey fan if you can’t take a little blood, or as my youngest put it “moooom, it’s just blood!”

The answer really is simple, no matter what we do, no matter how old our kids get, once we’ve become moms us women are unable to separate our maternal instinct from anything in our lives.  Here I am enjoying one of the most violent sports there is and the first sign of blood (to my defense, it was A LOT of blood) I flip into mommy mode. 

You know what though, I refuse to apologize for that.  I love my Caps, and that means that I care about each and every one of those boys from the coaches to the managers to the players.  They bust their tails (or in Mathieu’s case, noses) to provide me with a sport I love, the least I can do is provide my undying support in return.  Some of that might include a little trash talking when they aren’t playing to their ability (I’m looking at you Semin, I love ya, but let’s take it up a notch), and I celebrate right along with them when they win.  But at the end of the day I’m a mom first and that sometimes spills over onto people who I didn’t actually birth.

I’ve had the privilege of meeting a couple of the guys, and they could not have been kinder and more polite.  Humph, damn right.  No boys of mine will be disrespectful.  See!?  Where did that come from?

So tomorrow I will watch the game against the Canadiens (Ole, Ole MFers) and cheer on my boys.  I’ll watch to see if Mathieu is able to breathe well enough to play and cringe every time someone gets near him, just like I do when I see someone go near Knuble and his broken jaw.  Wednesday night I’m sure HBO will show me the hit, and the aftermath, blood and all in high-definition and I’ll once again go into mommy mode.  But at the end of the day I consider this just one more way I can throw my support at my team. 

Sara Palin doesn’t know crap about being a hockey mom, just ask me.

Here is the video of the hit:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeISsk2c7No

Here is John Carlson’s picture of Mathieu after the game:  http://www.yardbarker.com/nhl/articles/mathieu_perreaults_face/3857197

P.S. I’m watching the CBJ vs Minn game: Don’t the Minn sweaters make them look like Christmas elves? WTF?  Just sayin.

When a Hockey Puck and Woman Love Each Other…

And so it begins, the story of how a hockey lover comes into the world.  Every parent should have this talk with their child, after all the better informed our children are, the more likely they are to  pick winning teams, hold steady jobs, and be able to read the sports page of the local paper. 

So boys and girls, this first post will be our talk about how this fan came to be.  My hope is that in response I’ll learn a little about your alliances in the NHL, how you became a fan, and just exactly what we plan to do with this little piece of the ice.

Although I had glanced now again at a game on TV, it wasn’t until a couple of years ago, when I attended my first NHL game, that I became what I consider a real hockey fan.  I guess this is akin to when Mommy and Daddy met at the bar.

I was hooked, right then, right there, and forever.

Are you kidding me?  This sport is awesome! 

Like me, it was loud, obnoxious, in your face, without filter, and oh by the way, fun!  (Insert, Mommy and Daddy discovered they had so much in common).  Although from Ohio, I’m a Steelers fan, but I aligned myself with the Washington Capitals, my first in person game and the town I hail from now.  (Mommy and Daddy accepted each others differences and he was my *cough* first).

Now is when my obsessive behavior came into play: it is time to learn everything and anything you can about this sport STAT! (Mommy paced by the phone the next morning hoping he would call).  And oh by the way NHL Shop, you’re welcome, because this also means I had to outfit every inch of my life in Capitals gear to truley “Rock the Red”.

And so began my love affair with the game.  I’m proud to say that although I’m still learning some aspects of it, I’ve armed myself with enough knowledge to be dangerous, carry on an educated conversation and to swear like a sailor when the game is on.  (Mommy and Daddy decided to get married and live happily ever after, oh and learned about boarding which is how you came to be). 

So, fellow sport fans, how did  you fall in love with the sport?  Do you have ideas that you’d like to share/see on the blog?

I think we are supposed to end our talk with precautions, but hell, where’s the fun in that?  Besides if we had wrapped it before we tapped it, we wouldn’t  have found one another now would we?