Right now is an interesting time for a Bruins fan in this area.
I could say, a non-Red Sox fan, but that makes me sound actively against them, and I'm not really (except when they mess with the Bruins schedule, but the feeling passes). Understandably, we are in All Red Sox All The Time mode, and I'm just not that interested.
I'm not a baseball fan. I won't leave the room if it's on TV, but I don't turn it on, because I'm not a baseball fan. I'm not a football fan. I'm not even a basketball fan (tied with the Bruins for who-cares for a lot of years, they're now pulling ahead; I gather they picked up someone or two or three of some promise this off-season, or so I keep hearing).
I'm a hockey fan. Really, I'm a Bruins fan first, and a hockey fan second, and there is no third. Is that so unusual? Not the specific sport, but only following one? Are most people who follow sports Sports Fans? I know there are those who don't follow any, but are the dedicated fans rare, or is it simply that because I root for hockey, I'm unusual?
A number of different people have told me that I'm the only Bruins fan they know. The Bruins should be worried about this.
Of course, right now they have other worries. My poor Patrice Bergeron got hurt badly on Saturday, and to be honest after watching it I do feel he's fortunate to "only" have the most serious kind of concussion, which generally means at least a month off the ice, and a broken nose. He was hit from behind into the boards, and he didn't just fall, he dropped. It was frightening and very hard to watch. I was sitting there saying, "Come on, move your legs, move your feet!" And he was so still.
It turns out he was knocked unconscious. As a precaution that fortunately turned out not to be necessary, they took him off the ice on a stretcher. I mean, they put him on a board and taped his legs together, and his wrists, so he wouldn't move around, but he was not moving, I tell you. It took them about 15 minutes to get him off, and it felt like forever.
And the next day the Red Sox won the World Series, and there's nothing else in Boston Sports. And not that I'm not happy for their fans, but they're all Red-Sox-Red-Sox (with a whisper of Patriots and when do the Celtics start playing), and hi, fourth-class Boston sports fan here in the corner, talking to herself!
Well, almost. There has been some coverage in the Globe, of course, they do a good job by the Bruins overall, and the one person who talked to me about the Bergeron incident, who was also watching and saw it, says she heard it talked about on sports radio too, so that's good. It's just, I don't want to say "It's not fair," because I outgrew that long ago, but sometimes I do get tired of people assuming I must be following the Red Sox, but giving me the blank, "oh, right, Bruins" look if I reverse the position. It isn't that I expect everyone to watch the Bruins games, but I know about two people who do, and it would be nice to get to talk hockey on a regular basis, the way "they" get to talk baseball.
Sounds like I'm a little jealous. Can we pretend it's the headache talking? It's kind of minor at the moment, but it isn't gone.
Of course, on the bright side, I made shortbread cookies tonight. We're having a potluck at lunch tomorrow. Perhaps I'll go test one, and see if my mood improves. Have to make sure they're okay! This is my first time with this recipe. I found it online, looking for a gluten-free recipe so that one of my coworkers who has mad food allergies can eat them. This version uses rice flour, and sea salt, and she loaned me her bottle of gluten-free vanilla so I didn't have to buy a whole one.
Mmm, not bad!
I mostly knit, sometimes crochet or cross-stitch. I read, a lot. I love cats. I love hockey, especially my no-longer-local team, the Boston Bruins. Want more? Read on.
Interesting questions. I'm a football fan--Patriots first, for a good long time (ie, NOT a pesky bandwagon fan since they began winning). But I like the sport in and of itself, too. I've historically found baseball a bit boring, but since I began knitting, they go well together. We watch far more baseball than we used to, just because really, the rest of TV is awful. So we had baseball on much of the summer, and we SAID it was just what we watched until football season, but really, we kept watching. (However, when the Sox played the Yankees and the Patriots played the Chargers on the same night, we were watching the Patriots, duh.)
ReplyDeleteThe Sox are overwhelming around here, I agree. Don't know if you remember when the Patriots were making the run up to their first, underdog Super Bowl. All the media could talk about was the Sox' off-season moves. They weren't even playing!!
I do like hockey, but in person. I find it difficult to watch on TV. I spent a goodly bit of high school shivering in local ice rinks, watching high school hockey. I can't get to pro games--even the P Bruins, given my boys' bedtimes--so for now, that bit of potential fandom languishes.
I'm a Bruins fan, first and foremost, but I am also a Red Sox fan. This is partially because I have a deal with my husband who is a huge Red Sox fan. I promise to watch the Sox with him, follow the games, get to know the players, etc. And he will do the same for me with the Bruins. He actually called icing the other night before the ref did and I was so proud of him!
ReplyDeleteHockey is sort of niche sport, and doesn't really get the coverage or interest that some sports do, but I've always found that the people who are truly Bruins fans will not ever be anything else. They are fans through good and bad. If the team does well over the next couple of years, the more casual fans will probably come back. Personally I don't care one way or the other - I'm hopeful that fewer fans in the seats will encourage ticket prices to go down so that everyone can afford to go to the games.
I was terrified for Bergeron on Saturday. I kept hoping that his foot would move, something, anything. They said his parents were there for the game - can you imagine how upset they must have been? We'll miss him, certainly, but at least we don't have to say things like "The doctor thinks he might walk again someday."
I'm a Seahawks fan first, even though they kind of suck lately (love those boys anyway) and I'll watch other football games, too...but I really am more of a Seahawks fan than a football fan. And I'd rather knit than watch any of it!
ReplyDeleteI'm a soccer and basketball person myself - married to a man who is "NO SPORTS NONE OF THE TIME!"
ReplyDeleteMy feeling is a person should enjoy whatever sport s/he wishes. I prefer sports a person can play throughout life and hockey does qualify. Here in the western part of the state we have some decent rinks and I have a couple of friends friends nearing 50 who still play.
Enjoy your sport and root for your team :) It sure doesn't hurt anybody and that's the important thing.