Musings on Yesteryear

[dogwoodmaple 354]

Boomer.

Geezer.

Old Man.

Flip Phone.

 

Those are just some of the names my teammates call me on a regular basis.  Not because I'm old, but because I pride myself on the "good old days" of hockey and playing the game the right way.  I'm a firm believer that the height of hockey was what we'd call the retro days which is how I model my game.  Growing up, I idolized the stars of that era and was immediately taken in by their skill, speed, and raucous fights that always lit up the highlights.  

 

I'm also a firm believer in putting team play ahead of individual accolades, which is also somewhat of a retro ideal.  So many people nowadays are focused 100% on what they're doing, how their stat line looks, and some would even trade team accomplishments for individual accolades.  Not me, though.  The purest form of hockey is five players acting as one, seamlessly flowing across the ice to help set up a goal.  In my mind, it doesn't really matter who scores the goal as long as it gets scored.  Whether I score a hat trick or put up a goose egg on the box score, the only thing that truly matters is getting the win and helping to propel the team forward.  The bottom line is that in the good old days of hockey, even if you weren't credited with an assist, you were a crucial component of the play.  Now, it's all about me me me, which I firmly reject.  I would do anything to bring home another cup to Vancouver, even if that meant never scoring another goal all season.

 

I'm also a fighter, which is something that has been frowned upon in recent years.  If you have a beef with someone on the ice, the best way to handle it isn't with a witty tweet or a dig on Instagram. It's to put them on their backside during the game and let them know exactly what you think of them. Not to mention the unwritten rule that if you hit our guy, we're going to hit your guy.  Tit for tat, so to speak.  I'm not a dirty player by any stretch, but there are just some things in hockey that are part of the way the game should be played.  I do all my talking on the ice with my play and my fists, if need be.  I won't back down under any circumstances.

 

The last reason my teammates keep digging me about being in love with the retro old days is my affinity for the old jersey combinations.  Nowadays, so many uniforms are bland, basic, and all too similar to one another.  They're over-corporatized and really bring nothing new and fun to the franchise.  In the old days, however, there were bright uniforms with unique logos and fun designs.  It really gave the team a true identity and made it that much more fun for the fans to get engaged with the franchise.  There's just something about those goofy logos and bright colors of yesteryear that call to me as a player and as a fan.