Fighting in Hockey Ice Hockey is a combination of speed, precision and skill like no other sport, where players are put onto ice with an inch of a steel blade strapped to their feet. One aspect that has been criticized with the game of hockey is its violence in the form of fighting, as it is the only national league sport where it is encouraged. Fighting and hockey has been forever linked together since the sport was established, from scrapping with friends on the frozen pond for fun to players making a career from fighting in the National Hockey League. In 1922 the NHL regulated the act of fighting with Rule 56 where players will only be punished with a five-minute penalty instead of being ejected from the game and since this rule, fighting
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The large debate of whether fighting should be apart of hockey has grown over the previous years as one half of people believe that the game has benefited from fighting on and off the ice, where as the other half have criticised hockey for its violent behavior doing great harm to the players and the sport in general. With weighing both the pros and the cons of fighting in hockey, it should be banned from the game of hockey to ensure the safety of the game.
The atmosphere in an arena full of hockey fans after a spirited fight between two players is like no other. The roar of the crowd brings the game to life and it adds that extra level of competitiveness to hockey that some sports enthusiasts say other sports are missing. Fighting has brought large contributions to the sport of ice hockey from getting the crowd involved in the game to allowing players to protect themselves and their teammates. A common quote used by many hockey fans is “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out” (Dangerfield, 1978), expressing the entertainment value fans receive from not only watching hockey itself but also seeing a fight occur on the ice. A recent …show more content…
This stat shows that many hockey fans are favorable that fighting should be apart of hockey. The viewers are not the only ones that have benefited from fighting in hockey, the players in the game have also gained from this phenomenon. Hockey is a fast and violent game where dangerous hits can occur at any second. Allowing the players to fight limits these plays as the skaters are less likely to make a violent check if they know the consequences are a fight with another player right after. This allows the players an opportunity to police themselves on the ice, holding their teammates and the other team accountable for their actions. When a dangerous check does occur, fighting allows players to show what they are willing to do to stand up for their fallen teammate, instead of possibly taking another unwelcome cheap shot. Another benefit from fighting in hockey is that it promotes a strong rivalry between two teams. These rivalries motivate the players as there is nothing they hate more then losing to the opposition,
The large debate of whether fighting should be apart of hockey has grown over the previous years as one half of people believe that the game has benefited from fighting on and off the ice, where as the other half have criticised hockey for its violent behavior doing great harm to the players and the sport in general. With weighing both the pros and the cons of fighting in hockey, it should be banned from the game of hockey to ensure the safety of the game.
The atmosphere in an arena full of hockey fans after a spirited fight between two players is like no other. The roar of the crowd brings the game to life and it adds that extra level of competitiveness to hockey that some sports enthusiasts say other sports are missing. Fighting has brought large contributions to the sport of ice hockey from getting the crowd involved in the game to allowing players to protect themselves and their teammates. A common quote used by many hockey fans is “I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out” (Dangerfield, 1978), expressing the entertainment value fans receive from not only watching hockey itself but also seeing a fight occur on the ice. A recent …show more content…
This stat shows that many hockey fans are favorable that fighting should be apart of hockey. The viewers are not the only ones that have benefited from fighting in hockey, the players in the game have also gained from this phenomenon. Hockey is a fast and violent game where dangerous hits can occur at any second. Allowing the players to fight limits these plays as the skaters are less likely to make a violent check if they know the consequences are a fight with another player right after. This allows the players an opportunity to police themselves on the ice, holding their teammates and the other team accountable for their actions. When a dangerous check does occur, fighting allows players to show what they are willing to do to stand up for their fallen teammate, instead of possibly taking another unwelcome cheap shot. Another benefit from fighting in hockey is that it promotes a strong rivalry between two teams. These rivalries motivate the players as there is nothing they hate more then losing to the opposition,