For The Love of Hockey

Our love of hockey, condensed into one poem.

We are the ones with passion

With high hopes for each goal --- longing to see sticks raised to the sky

We are those that know stats by heart, thrive in the cold, and relish in the smell and feel of an ice rink.

We are the ones that find exhilaration when ice shavings fly with each abrupt stop, the fans that feel the anticipation of each slap-shot or fan on the puck.

Our hearts jump with joy, or tumble in sorrow with our team.

We are the ones submerged in the game-- some quietly pondering, some screaming their lungs out even when a player cannot hear.

We breathe passion, we live in our world of excitement and the unknown.

We live for goal horns, sing-along goal songs, victories, and lessons of defeat.

We study trade percentages, mull over possibilities, all to make our team better.

We are the ones that stay up late for overtime, and even later for playoff overtimes.

We emotionally bleed for our teams, and roar like ravenous lions with blood-lust for victory.

We bond without knowing one another, for we are all the same when we are in the arena.  Every color, religion, and political thoughts become null when we are in the moment.

We wear our team's colors with pride, even on the off-season.  We count down to October.  We live for the chill of Fall and Winter solely for this purpose.

Some may call us obsessive, but others can see that this is passion and dedication.

We are the ones that are ecstatic for hours after a win, and devastated after a loss. 

We all know "Lord Stanley" and crave the title for our own team.

It is the greatest honor, and we don't care what anyone else thinks about that.

We are strong as a steadfast family, bonded by one thing...

All for the love of hockey.

Author's Note

I am a die-hard Philadelphia Flyers fan, and after attending a game in the second row, I came up with this prose.