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The Challenging Game Of Hockey
By Urther Queen
Most people would be surprised to learn that isn't the national sport of Canada, considering the country's love affair with the game. Many people in Canada eat, sleep, and breathe hockey. is defiantly a Canadian sport, although its roots are in Ireland, back when it was called Hurley. In the 1800s became very popular throughout Canada, especially the East coast, and its infectious nature has caught on all over the world.
In 1917, a league was formed to guide the play among professional teams. This league, the National League (NHL) originally consisted of five teams. But the numbers quickly grew and by the end of the century there would be 30 teams from all over Canada and the USA. For many fans, is serious business.
During Stanley Cup, in recent years, the US teams have dominated the playoffs. However, still has a bigger following in Canada. Night in Canada is quite an event in many households and sports bars. Several teams like the Winnipeg Jets and the Quebec Nordiques have fallen by the wayside in Canada in the past several years. High player salaries are an unfortunate cause.
Hockey stars are among the highest paid in any professional sport. This is partly the reason that many of the top players head to teams in the US. Many Canadian teams have a hard time retaining their homegrown players thanks to high salary demands. This is also the key issue in the 2004 dispute which has resulted in no games thus far for the season.
Hockey can be at times a violent game with spectators cheering their team as the opposing team is crushed against the boards. Of course, some people wonder if this is propensity for violence is teaching young fans to be violent. Unfortunately, violence has turned up in the little leagues. While some of the little leagues are adopting no tolerance policy for aggressive play, and some have banned this type of contact all together, the professional teams under the NHL have not followed suit.
These days' parents have become
a bit too passionate at little league games. There is an increasing number of fights between parents and verbal and physical abuse against referees and coaches. This has prompted many people to stay away from the sport or putting their children in after school programs. The thought of knowing that the parents care more about who wins than the kids do is frightening. Regardless of this will always be a popular game in North America.
No matter what happens though, will always be a popular game in North America. Europe enjoys much success in the world as well. Recent world championships have highlighted little known places such as Belarus. Anywhere you can find frozen ponds in the winter are the perfect place for a little ice hockey. This isn't always the case though, look at the Los Angeles Kings!
Hockey remains one of the favorite games in North American cities and many fans hope to enjoy during the 2004/2005 NHL season. But even without the pros, there are farm teams and minor leagues teams playing hockey, so fans can still get their fix. If you are curious to see what all the fuss is over, check out a game at your local arena and you'll feel the excitement in the air - and on the ice. No wonder is so popular! Free Article brought to YOU by ArticlesOn.com, where you'll find Articles On Everything! Visit http://articleson.com to get more free content. Urther Queen is the owner of UQ Hockey, the web's premier resource for information about hockey. For more articles on visit: www.uqhockey.com/articles
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