What is there to say about ‘The Shot Heard ‘Round The World’ that hasn’t already been said? I’ve been thinking for a week about how to write about this without letting my emotions get the best of me. As a fan who was in the building I can honestly say that Chara’s shove of Pacioretty into the stanchion made me sick and saddened as a hockey fan.
As you know, I was at the game. The previous blog posting talks about how it had the chance to be the ‘game of the year’, and if you were a Montreal fan, it was shaping up to be a game for the ages. All that changed with 16 seconds left in the second period.
What scares me is that I feel like I saw this kind of injury coming. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how serious the issue of concussions is in sports, and the increase in later-in-life brain injuries. While I didn’t think that a broken neck would be a lynchpin for this newfound demand for change, the sheer brutality of the act combined with the lack of discipline handed down by the league has left a feeling of sadness and shock throughout the hockey world.
The uproar that has followed has been incredible, the North American mainstream media has jumped all over the story, major sponsors have weighed in demanding that the NHL address the issue of violence, and on Parliament Hill the Prime Minister, himself a huge hockey fan, demanded that the violent nature of the game be tamed.
In Montreal, the issue has dominated call in radio shows, newspapers, watercooler conversation as well as the city’s consciousness. People are angry, and they don’t understand why the National Hockey League has felt the need to downplay the issue. Even if there hadn’t been a history between the two players (and there has), the hit seemed deliberate to me. It seems very cut and dried in my opinion- I believe that a critical injury should warrant a suspension.
On Tuesday, I attended a non-violence rally in front of the Bell Centre that I had seen promoted on Facebook. I was expecting a love-in, and was surprised to see a hate fest directed at Commissioner Bettman. While I get that Bettman’s comments regarding the play were shallow, I don’t think that “Fire Bettman” signs are the right way for fans to express their discontent about the state of violence in hockey. I have a friend who suggested that the only way to get the league to pay attention is to boycott the games. “Don’t go,” he said, “just stand outside the building with your tickets. What’ll they say if 21,000 people are standing around outside waiting for the game to change?”
As a fan, are you ready to make that kind of commitment? I really can’t picture boycotting hockey. I love the sport, and hope that the players union gets to the forefront of the violence issue and takes a heavy stand against. It’s obvious that the League only reacts when necessary. The real shame is that hockey doesn’t need hits like Chara’s to be exciting. It’s a beautiful game.
Reports are now that Max Pacioretty is going to be all right. In fact, the Canadiens announced today that he may return during the playoffs. Pacioretty is only 22 years old, and hopefully has a long career ahead of him. He’s scrappy and fearless, but the hit last week proves that he’s not invincible. Hopefully he’ll never be involved in anything like this again. I hope that Zdeno Chara isn’t either.
