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To Fight or Not to Fight
April 2, 2003
Courtesy of: On
The Wall
Story by: Jackie McGale
The controversial question of whether hockey
is too violent was brought up when Toronto
Maple Leaf Darcy Tucker engaged in a fight
with the entire Ottawa Senators bench. We
asked hockey fans what they think of hockey
violence and Tucker’s behaviour.
"It feels like there is too much anger
and hatred on the ice, almost like the number
on their backs represent their aggressive
level, or how many people they've punched
out. There is so much anger that is brought
onto the ice that should be left behind."
~ Heather Mitchell, a fourth year student
at the University of Toronto.
"I enjoy watching hockey because there
is never a dull moment and it is always
moving. It is a very physical and hands
on game. You are physically against your
rival in direct competition. In a way it
is like the survival of the fittest, as
you could be really good at one thing, but
unless you're good at everything, you aren't
going to be completely effective."
~John Cochrane, a first year student at
Ryerson University
"A research study shows hockey culture
has done emotional, psychological and social
damage to millions of Canadian boys. A group
of Junior A players filled out some questionnaires
about relationships. They scored significantly
higher on hyper-masculinity than the other
group that was non-hockey-playing college
men between 18 and 21."
~Alexis Peters, a professor of kinesiology
at the University of Lethbridge,
"Fighting is one thing that keeps
‘not real hockey fans’ watching
the sport. Fights add to the play in general.
You always know who the fighters on each
team are, so you always get a little excited
when they are on shift. You look forward
to the fights as it adds to the excitement."
~Meaghan Derynck, a first year student at
Ryerson University
"Fights take away from the game. It
stops the action. I would rather watch hockey
than a boring fight. Rarely anything happens
with fights and that most of the time it
is just two guys holding each other's jerseys
and slowly twirling. One of the reasons
I like the playoffs is because there is
less fighting, or virtually no fighting.
I can't remember the last time I saw a fight
in the playoffs. I recognize that fighting
may serve a purpose as it may release aggression
that has to go somewhere. If fighting were
banned altogether, then there would be problems,
but they would eventually iron out. A lot
of players would have to adapt with some
difficulty."
~Craig Dorrell, a molecular geneticist at
Princess Margaret Hospital
"Fights in hockey don't belong in
the game at all. If fights needed to be
removed from the sport, completely, they
could be. All they have to do is give out
some game suspensions to those who do fight,
and they will eventually stop. There is
always a risk of injury when playing hockey,
but I don’t think it is so severe that
stepping onto the ice should be feared."
~Bryan Eaton, a first year student at Ryerson
University
"My favourite fights were the ones
between Tie Domi and Bob Probert. They were
both veteran players at the time, and they
both went at it. They are well known tough
guys, and they fought each other on many
occasions. Fights sometimes act like a kick
in the pants in some games. Usually when
a team is ahead, they won't fight because
they don't want to get a penalty. However,
it could work to the advantage of the team,
who doesn't have the lead, because if they
do manage to get one of the guys on the
other team to fight, then it often wakes
their own team up."
~John Ferguson, a first year student at
Ryerson University
"Without fighting, hockey would lose
a lot of its real life human emotion. You
can’t take fighting out of the game
and expect the same product on the ice."
~Shaun Betker, Globe Printer Pressman
"Tucker instigated it by going over
to the Senators’ bench and yelling
at them, then punching one of them. It wasn't
necessary. Tucker received 42 penalty minutes
in that game. Tucker seems more like a bully.
Tucker seemed like a good hard-working player,
but now he just doesn't seem nice. He's
a big meany. This event is a bad thing for
hockey. Fighting is part of the sport, but
it was just brutal violence, and it wasn't
needed. This wasn't even reasonable, it
was just dumb."
~Kevin MacGillivray, a second year student
at Ryerson University
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