There is nothing more enjoyable than watching athletes who truly love the game.
As a child, some of my fondest memories of watching sports came while sitting in the bleachers watching the SUNY Geneseo Ice Knights play hockey. Although I'd been to professional football, baseball, hockey and basketball games, there was just something about a bag of vending machine Cheetos at the Ira R. Wilson Ice Arena that made me happy.
Maybe it was that tickets cost two dollars and allowed you to sit wherever you wanted, or maybe it was that every time a puck went into the stands I could usually hunt it down and take it home as a small memento of the game, but I don't think there's more to it than that.
It was because those kids just loved to play. Even at eleven years old, I knew that it was exciting to watch athletes who didn't play for status or money, athletes who didn't worry about paychecks and investments, athletes who really cared that there were little kids who went to the game just to watch them play.
Most of my memories from my father-son trips to the Geneseo rink came during the era of a family friend named Greg Doell, who started playing for Geneseo when I was eleven. My dad and I would sit right behind the bench, and after the games I would anxiously wait, hoping to get a chance to talk to Greg.
Players like Greg never disappointed a fan, especially a younger fan. Win or lose, I was always given the opportunity to say hello and get at the minimum a "thanks for coming."
I knew the names and numbers of every player on the team during those days, and I had memorized the program, which was just a sheet of paper with roster information on it. I still have one of the rosters sitting somewhere on my dusty mantle at my parent's house, complete with autographs from the 1995 team.
Years later when I played for the junior Ice Knights, I didn't emulate Sabres players or Bills players. I skated as hard as I could, because that's what Greg and his teammates did. When people came to watch me, I always took the time to say a nice "thank you," even if it was just towards two friends and an uncle, because I learned that's what athletes do when people come to watch them.
I guess it would be unfair to say that all professional players are just in it for the money. However, it seems as if every other year one of the big sports is in the midst of a lockout, and for what? Money. It's always about the money.
What happened to the world? They are getting paid money to play a game!
Don't even get me started about those NBA players; I won't even watch their highlights anymore, and I could never watch a game. I can barely even believe the way they conduct themselves.
These guys are idolized by kids everywhere. They have the power to shape a generation and look at the life lessons they have taught youth. The values they seem to be emphasizing now are "cheat on your wife," and "leave college early," or in fact "don't go to college at all." Are these really the lessons eleven year-old kids should be hearing?
They have players running into the stands to fight people. Come on boys, the whole world is watching you. Millionaires whining about a dress code! It's like one big "Jerry Springer" episode minus the rednecks.
Professional hockey is filled with fights too. Some people love it! I think it is absolutely ridiculous. You want to see fights? Go to a boxing match. Why do we have to find some way to incorporate fighting and violence into everything? The Russians love to play hockey, and they don't fight. Americans and Canadians fight each other, and Tie Domi climbs the glass to fight drunken fans.
I don't remember any Geneseo hockey players climbing the glass to fight a rowdy group of fans. In fact, at the end of the games they get in a line in front of the fans to slap their sticks on the ice, as if to say, "Thanks for coming, I hope you enjoyed the game." That's what sports are all about.
The best sporting event that I went to this year was a high school hockey game between Aquinas and Batavia. At the end of the game, they gave out a few awards, including the "hustle" award. A hustle award! From what I saw every kid out there deserved a hustle award. That game was about pride, and every kid played his heart out.
Although it was just a regular season high school game, it was as intense as NHL playoff hockey. When I walked out of that rink that snowy February night, one of the finest lines from high school sports echoed through my head. It was the way those high school kids had played, how they gave it their all the whole game. Those are the athletes I want to watch.
My high school coach Mr. Mullen said it best: "Left it all out there boys, no regrets."
