It’s often been said that Hockey in Quebec is more than a sport, it’s a religion. It all started in Montréal on 3 march 1875 when the first game was played. The rules were published in « the Gazette » newspaper.
“La fièvre du hockey” (hockey fever) is an overwhelming feeling of giddyness that comes when the Montréal Canadiens hockey club compete in the playoffs. Over the years, the Montréal Canadiens won so many Stanley cups with dynasty teams that a common joke was to prepare your lawn chair for the parade on Sainte-Catherine’s street.
Today, women’s hockey is the new attraction. It’s interesting how traditional values of hockey such as speed, agility and might are joined with inclusion and community.
Earlier I talked about the notion of flow. I see hockey as the sport that requires the most flow. It’s a full body and mind sport. Think about it. You’re using your legs to skate along a slippery ice surface, while using your arms to stickhandle a puck. You’re conscious of where 9 other players are. And 5 of which are foes. Your constantly moving as Wayne Gretzky once famously said « to where the puck is going ».
Hockey is so flow intense, that even professionals play only 1 minute at a time. They hop onto the bench to let other teammates take their place. Professionals have four rotations of forwards. There is a Canadian recipe for a good hockey team. The first and second line are the talent players. The third line is more defensive and plays against the adversary’s best players. The fourth line is made of energy players that play aggressively and force the other team to make mistakes.
Here’s a special scene that to my knowledge is only done in hockey. This is the kind of scene that could be used in a hockey documentary with a narrator with a characteristic voice. When kids are ready to start a game, a player stands in the center of the ice and begins tapping his stick on the ice. Everyone looks up and understands that is the call to make 2 teams to play. Everyone who wants to play throws their stick along the ice to the center where all the sticks are gathered into a heap. The player who called the others then gets on his knees, closes his eyes and picks up a stick with each hand. He throws them towards the nets amongst the onlooking crowd. He ceremoniously repeats this process until there are no sticks left. Each player skates to a side, picks up their stick and take into account who their teammates are. This is the story of how teams are made in what is a seemingly random selection.
I was often the one to make the call. When I used to do it, I would pick my stick about third or fourth. So no one would know I was executing a plan. Sometimes, I would favor a side where the ice was cleaner. Sometimes, I wanted to make sure that strong players were on opposing teams. Sometimes, there would be a friend I wanted to play with. But most of the times, I wanted to choose my rivals. I wanted a challenge. Because that’s where the joy is. In not knowing who’s going to win. It’s fun because it’s a challenge.