FDNY / NYPD Charity Hockey Brawl

[forumname]

I never said that the reason hockey is the least popular is because of fighting; don't put words in my mouth. I said it was one of the first things that should be looked at. I stand by that statement. It's difficult to take the NHL seriously for newcomers when they see how something as barbaric as bare-knuckle fighting is not only allowed, but is is basically encouraged.

Rylant

I didn't think I was stretching your words too far, but sorry if I was. Anyways, I have never personally met anyone who claims they don't take hockey seriously because it allows fighting.

In general, I guess I just don't agree with the notion that fighting in and of itself is something so terrible. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with a fair fight between 2 willing participants. Most species on this planet do it, so I don't get why people think we have somehow become too sophisticated for it. Talking for those who want to talk, fighting for those who want to fight - what's wrong with that?

[STONE.]

I didn't think I was stretching your words too far, but sorry if I was. Anyways, I have never personally met anyone who claims they don't take hockey seriously because it allows fighting.

Although not a personal example, nearly every talking head at ESPN takes this stance. And ESPN is probably the #1 thing keeping the NHL from being a bigger presence in North America. If ESPN can make Poker a watchable event, it could build the NHL. Bettman made a mistake in not taking less money from the four-letter network. NBCSN isn't doing anything for attracting new fans (although I'm happy with the amount of coverage!) Now, Americans are relegated to 4th-rate coverage and the league suffers as a result.

Unless there is a fantastic scoring play, ESPN generally only highlights the negative coverage -- and they often show fighting as part of that negative coverage.

[Bass56]

I didn't think I was stretching your words too far, but sorry if I was. Anyways, I have never personally met anyone who claims they don't take hockey seriously because it allows fighting.

In general, I guess I just don't agree with the notion that fighting in and of itself is something so terrible. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with a fair fight between 2 willing participants. Most species on this planet do it, so I don't get why people think we have somehow become too sophisticated for it. Talking for those who want to talk, fighting for those who want to fight - what's wrong with that?

I think there are 2 different topics here:
1) fighting is bad
2) fighting among NYPD and FDNY in a charity hockey game is bad

I can understand both views for both topics.

Some may say that humans CAN set themselves apart from other species by using reasoning and communication rather than inflicting physical harm when settling an argument. I, personally, do not believe that violence is the answer. But I am realistic and I understand that we cannot avoid it completely. Therefore, as forumname points out, we should not hide it from our youth but rather better explain it and its consequences. Does that mean that we should condemn it from sports or TV shows/movies? Once again, I do not think so because it's in our DNA. As humans, we can choose to make the right decisions.

Now in terms of the brawl between both the NYPD and the FDNY, as I pointed out earlier; I'm pretty sure that there was no bad blood and that is was just some emotions getting the best of some guys. You can see that the goalies ''chose'' not to fight and instead, just get a laugh out of it. Some others, though, chose to express themselves with their fists. Does this incident tell our youth that Firefighters and Cops are violent people and have no respect for each other? I would hope not. But just in case it does, a parent's role is to be there for their kids and to explain what can be perceived differently by them, given the circumstances.

The game of hockey is a violent sport... Both brotherhoods engaged themselves to play that very sport for an important cause. The stress of their jobs combined with the competitive nature of the event was bound to create a bit of tension. I see no harm done here! If anything, the people organizing this event should have chosen a different sport (baseball, bowling, ...) if they wanted to showcase a violence-free event.

[forumname]

I think there are 2 different topics here:
1) fighting is bad
2) fighting among NYPD and FDNY in a charity hockey game is bad

I can understand both views for both topics.

Some may say that humans CAN set themselves apart from other species by using reasoning and communication rather than inflicting physical harm when settling an argument. I, personally, do not believe that violence is the answer. But I am realistic and I understand that we cannot avoid it completely. Therefore, as forumname points out, we should not hide it from our youth but rather better explain it and its consequences. Does that mean that we should condemn it from sports or TV shows/movies? Once again, I do not think so because it's in our DNA. As humans, we can choose to make the right decisions.

Now in terms of the brawl between both the NYPD and the FDNY, as I pointed out earlier; I'm pretty sure that there was no bad blood and that is was just some emotions getting the best of some guys. You can see that the goalies ''chose'' not to fight and instead, just get a laugh out of it. Some others, though, chose to express themselves with their fists. Does this incident tell our youth that Firefighters and Cops are violent people and have no respect for each other? I would hope not. But just in case it does, a parent's role is to be there for their kids and to explain what can be perceived differently by them, given the circumstances.

The game of hockey is a violent sport... Both brotherhoods engaged themselves to play that very sport for an important cause. The stress of their jobs combined with the competitive nature of the event was bound to create a bit of tension. I see no harm done here! If anything, the people organizing this event should have chose a different sport (baseball, bowling, ...) if they wanted to showcase a violence free event.

Spoken in a far more intelligent and cordial way than my attempts. Thanks for that.

[SeaDawg]

Having played organized sports against PD teams, I'm not surprised by this at all. Many cops and firemen are hot-heads and former jocks who are extremely competitive and have anger-management issues.

I'm not saying this out of disrespect for police or firemen. They work hard, have dangerous jobs, and I admire what they do.

[Chili con Carne]

They probably should have played a baseball game instead. Preferably slow pitch.

This went horribly wrong in a Happy Days episode I saw once.

[HockeyProphet]

Having played organized sports against PD teams, I'm not surprised by this at all. Many cops and firemen are hot-heads and former jocks who are extremely competitive and have anger-management issues.

I'm not saying this out of disrespect for police or firemen. They work hard, have dangerous jobs, and I admire what they do.

As an ex-volunteer firefighter, this seems to check out from my experience. I know in my city, a lot of firefighters and police officers played some good junior hockey and ultimately fell into the profession afterwards.