My favorite sport by far is Hockey. In my opinion, no other sport combines the shear brutality, excitement, skill, and intensity like Hockey. I don't say this to slight any other sports (though there are those I won't watch...i.e. baseball), it is just my own opinion.
To me Hockey is a MANLY sport. The players are proud of their missing teeth. They jump in front of a 1/2 pound piece of hard rubber (that is frozen) moving at speeds of up to 100mph. They take these hits in the pads, in the skates, in the hands and even in the face. And often they get right back up to continue play. Even when they do come off the ice, they very often are right back on the ice for their next shift.
I've seen players come off the ice after taking a puck to the face. They go to the locker room, get stitched up, and head back up. I've seen this exact same player (on more than one occasion) score the winning goal.
And not only are players getting hit by a frozen puck, there are other dangers. They face sticks being swung by their opponents made of graphite, fiberglass, and kevlar. Sticks that are often swung intentionally at ankles and arms to make someone lose the puck.
Not to mention the fact that you have players from the other team trying to ram you into the boards and put a good hard hit on you. All this while skating around on thin blades of steel on a sheet of ice. I am constantly amazed.
It is okay to shout. To be a man (this is true for most sports, I just relate it better to Hockey). To appreciate the skills and abilities of both teams on the ice, regardless of who you are loyal to. It is okay to show emotion, as long as those emotions include, joy, intensity, and sometimes even anger.
The emotions that you show in Hockey are socially acceptable emotions for men to express. I think that is part of why I like Hockey. But really, I appreciate Hockey. I really like Hockey. The fact that the emotions are socially acceptable is just a bonus.
Yet I have a whole other set of emotions that don't seem to apply to Hockey. And I was reminded of such in a conversation with my wife and one of our friends. We were talking about how a certain injury could make me cry. And our friend said something to the affect of, that is probably the only thing that could make me cry.
I of course (being a man) said I can't remember the last time I cried. My wife was quick to point out that I had cried at a movie. Specifically "Mr. Holland's Opus". Which I might add is a superb movie. I quickly agreed with my wife that I had cried. But, to be honest, I felt a little ashamed for a second or two that I had cried.
I think though it is okay for men to cry. Really. I might not do it very often, but I do think it is okay. There are moments I am overcome with pride for something my son has done and I can feel my throat tighten and tears well in my eyes. I have felt the Holy Spirit move in worship services at various points and I get the same feeling. I have watched movies and had the same feelings.
I haven't always felt it was okay to cry though. I felt like I had to somehow hide my tears. At movies, in worship services, when I was proud of my son. Somehow, for some reason, that wasn't an acceptable emotion for me to show.
For me, that's not okay now. Not that I need to break out into tears for every little sad thing that happens. But, genuine emotion, that's okay. That's healthy.
And I think this is actually echoed in the uber manly sport of Hockey. I have watched enough Stanley Cup Final games and seen enough winners of this coveted cup to know how they end. The winners are often interviewed and many of the players are completely speechless, overwhelmed with emotion and often showing tears. And if they can show tears on national television, I can show my tears when they are genuine.
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