Hockey is one of the most popular sports in the world. Each winter, people are glued to their TVs, living rooms, and social media feeds as the NHL and the KHL go head-to-head for the Stanley Cup. And yet, for a large number of people, it’s mostly a source of frustrating disappointment. Here’s why.
Table of Contents
The Injuries.
Let’s be honest, watching hockey is painful. Every single sport on the TV has incredible graphics and highly responsive fans, but that doesn’t mean it’s not painful to watch. Every play is a duel between two powerful athletes, and it often ends in spectacular fashion, with one of them going down in agony. Injuries are commonplace, and while the game has evolved to reduce the amount of damage sustained by players, it’s still incredibly dangerous, especially for those who play in the NHL. A 2018 study found that hockey players sustain a higher rate of serious injuries (defined as those that result in more than three months of missed play) than any other sport in the United States.
Some of the injuries suffered by hockey players are obvious, like the concussions and the broken bones that come with checking hits. But there are also more subtle injuries, like carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis, that can be more debilitating. Moreover, the game exposes players to more wear and tear than other sports, which also increases the chances of them suffering from long-term injuries. Finally, given that the players wear facemasks, it’s almost impossible to determine whether or not they have food particles in their lungs, which can cause allergies or asthma-like symptoms.
The Excitement Never Quite Matches The Injuries.
Hockey is one of the most popular sports in the world, and for good reason. It’s fast-paced, action-packed, and extremely exciting to watch. But there’s also a large discrepancy between the excitement generated by a hockey game and the injuries it causes. It’s one of the rare sports where you can get injured from excitement, rather than from a lack of it. Take a minute and think about how many goals you’ve scored in your life. Now, think about how many times you’ve been injured while playing sports. It’s probably a lot more than you’d like to admit. In fact, a 2017 study from Harvard Medical School found that participants who played sports in high school were 80% more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than those who didn’t play sports. And that was even after taking into account the risk of injury from playing sports.
What makes this discrepancy so frustrating is that while most people are healed from their injuries within months, it can take years to recover from a hockey injury. Take, for example, the case of Derek Roy. In 2010, the Boston Bruins drafted Roy, mostly because they thought he was too strong to pass in the NHL. Roy was expected to become an important piece of the team’s defense, and in his rookie season, he played in 59 games, recording 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) and 64 penalty minutes. At the end of his first season, he sustained an upper body injury that cost him two months of the 2010-11 season. Since then, Roy has had numerous injuries, including multiple surgeries, and he’s been unable to stay healthy. To this day, Roy still experiences pain in his shoulder, and last week, the team had to place him on long-term injured reserve, ending his season.
This is not an uncommon story. In fact, a 2016 study from the United Kingdom found that 77% of professional hockey players had at least one injury that bothered them for more than three months. Moreover, the study found that 22% of the players had three or more injuries that kept them out of the game for more than three months. And that was before accounting for the fact that the players were 8.5 years old on average and had only played soccer before joining their respective hockey teams.
The Equipment.
Hockey players tend to be larger than the average person, which makes it even more dangerous when they’re on the ice. The players are often so focused on what they’re doing that they don’t see or don’t care about the dangers around them. Moreover, some of their equipment is simply not designed for safety. Take, for example, the case of Justin Faulk, a professional hockey player with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In April 2018, Faulk was penalized for tripping over his own skates, effectively ending his season. Sadly, this is not a one-time incident, as Faulk sustained a similar injury in February 2018 and missed the rest of the season. The ice surface in the NHL is also particularly dangerous, as it’s been shown to dramatically increase the chances of head injuries, especially among young players. (Forbes)
The Coverage.
Hockey is a popular sport, and that means there will always be someone watching no matter where you are in the world. However, just because there’s always someone watching doesn’t mean that the coverage is always accurate or fair. Like other sports, the TV coverage of hockey can be quite subjective, often relying on anonymous experts instead of on-field reporters, who could actually understand what is happening during a game and report on it accurately.
The Addiction.
Hockey is often seen as a past time for adults, yet it still remains one of the most popular sports with kids. And that’s a problem. Adults around the world are realizing the toll that professional sports is taking on their bodies, especially football and hockey, and they’re trying to remove themselves from the equation. Unfortunately, that means a lot of children are being left without the adult supervision that they need. The children of professional football and hockey players are more likely to suffer from addiction, anxiety, and depression than those of other children. The United Kingdom study found that children of professional sports players were twice as likely as those of ordinary people to experience these problems. (The Guardian)
The Violence.
Hockey is a dangerous sport, and it’s likely one of the least safe sports, given all of its inherent risks. Like any other sport, hockey is often perceived as a violent game. And while that’s true to a point, the violence in hockey comes in a different form than in other sports. Take, for example, the case of Phil Kessel. He’s an NHL superstar and one of the most dangerous players in the league, which naturally leads to a lot of violence. And it’s not just him. The NHL is filled with incredibly talented and powerful players who deserve to be in the spotlight, yet most of them lack the fearlessness and the ruthlessness that make Kessel, and other superstars like him, so dangerous. (The Verge)
There’s also a culture of violence in the NHL, which makes it more dangerous than most other professional sports. In 2016, the NHL implemented a new rule, which essentially allows defenders to check forwards into the boards, effectively eliminating the offsides rule. The result has been a dramatic increase in cross-checking and boarding, which has led to more fights. Moreover, some of the players in the NHL are so obsessed with winning that they’ll do anything to gain an advantage, including cheating. In a sport that is already filled with so many dangerous players, this should come as no surprise. (Fox News)
The Litter.
Professional sports are often criticized for the garbage that they leave behind, whether it’s stadiums and arenas clogging up with trash or fans throwing their garbage on the field during a game. And while there’s no denying that, on an individual level, individuals are responsible for their actions and the damage they cause, the collective responsibility lies within the sport itself. At least in part. (The Guardian)
Each year, professional sports leave a large amount of garbage behind them, ranging from empty bottles and cans to pieces of clothing and equipment. At least three cans per game is not uncommon, which amounts to over a 30-gallon dumpster every hour and a half that the team is playing. Moreover, fans are often responsible for the litter around games, whether it’s pieces of clothing or other equipment, especially since many stadiums and arenas are poorly maintained, meaning that there are always places for garbage to be scattered around these structures. (ESPN, Washington Post)