Hockey as a Sport 

Index:

Beginners guide to hockey

The sport of hockey, originally a Canadian sport, has grown in audience appreciation throughout the United States and Europe. The even of the international men's ice hockey world championships is one that is greatly looked forward to by the European countries; this is not true in the United States because the event takes place at the same time as the Stanley cup playoffs. Many of the best players in any given country go off to play in the NHL and play for the Stanley cup trophy; this is particularly true in nations that have an already high rate of NHL players in their country.

The world championships do not accurately reflect the world's top players; this has not been true since the barring of professionals from playing for the NHL ended and Europeans began playing at an international level. In 1924, hockey became a mainstay of the Olympics; unsurprisingly, Canada won the majority of the gold medals that year, with 6 out of 7 going to the sport's country of origin. During the years that professional American, Swedish, Finnish, and Canadians were barred from Olympic competition, the United States took home the gold medal (in 1960) and Russia won all but two gold medals from 1956 to 1988. U.S.Non-pro College students went on to beat the Russians and win the gold medal in 1980 in Lake Placid, New York.

These were the years that the sport began experiencing a revival of popularity; though most Americans weren't paying much attention to the sport at the time. Canada and Russia were hockey enemies; this was solidified in the 1972 and 1974 Summit series. The Canadian Cup where the best of the best nations were able to play later followed it.

The name of this organization was changed from the Canadian Cup to the World Cup of Hockey, and it was for this organization that the United States played and won in 1996, and Canada in 2004. Since 1998 NHL professionals have played in the Olympics giving the top players more opportunity to compete and face off with other professional players from different countries. Since the year of 1998, the Olympics have been home to 9 women's competitions; the women's games started that year.

The women's games are every bit as rough as the males, and as a whole, women are truly coming into their own in the sport. Still, they have a long way to go in terms of being on equal footing with men at the domestic and international levels. Hockey, after all, has always been a sport dominated by males, so women have a long way to go before they are taken seriously. This sport today continues to attract the love and devotion of many; attendance records are regularly broken by the many loyal fans who love the sport. This sport is seen as the kind of family tradition, an past time that many Americans view the sports of baseball, football, or basketball.

Hockey to some people is like poetry on ice it's got its own set of rules and it's a separate world altogether from any other sport whether it's professional or not. This sport is viewed as important as the air they breath by many, and people can get very wrapped up in it. Many people will spend hours, late into the night, practicing the game.