Many Hockey Arenas Merely Mausoleums To Ineptness And Injury
Posted: Wednesday, June 15, 2011
by Gerry Charbonneau
http://nibblednews.typepad.com
The gladiators of ancient Rome were heroes to the masses. Slaves, generals, merchants , the poor and occasionally the emperor himself flocked to the colisseum to be entertained and enthralled by the superior skills and performances of these athletes.
In time those few men and women who eventually earned their freedom from the arena were granted Roman citizenship, a plot of land, monetary compensation for their efforts and the right to live their lives as they saw fit.
These men and many more like them are modern day gladiators. In their day they pleased the crowds, won games and accolades for their teams and basked in the pomp and circumstance that being a highly successful professional athlete confers to its adherent.
These men at one time in their hockey careers were definite crowd pleasers. They were all dedicated to being the best they could be. They focused their lives, on the ice and off, to being top notch hockey players.
They all deployed a modicum of violence and cunning in the way they played the game. They now all are suffering the debilitating effects that concussions can confer on the human body.
They are finally coming out in the open and admitting that the concussions they experienced on the ice ruined their lives, careers, marriages and more importantly the way their brain functions.
In their minds they have been kicked off the top of the hockey pyramid of fame and success and dumped into the mire of the forgotten and the once great. They suffer daily fits of depression, doubt, confusion, irritability, loneliness and mood swings.
This is definitely not the picture that the National Hockey League or local coaches foist upon young , impressionable players who train their hardest to be considered good enough for league acceptance.
Many youngsters feel that if they make the effort, pay their dues and play hard the benevolent hockey gods will smile on them and bless them with success and riches.
Many have bought into the Wayne Gretzky myth of a relatively controlled , non confrontational hockey playing style which emphasizes that developing skating skill and speed will ensure success. Stick handling also ensures the same rewards.
That approach may have worked well for good ole number 99 who had his own personal on ice goon squad ready to maim and injure any player foolish enough to believe they could take down the Oiler's Golden Child.
Gretzky always knew his back was covered so he could easily develop his scoring technique and speed unfettered by lesser concerns. Youngsters and many professional players who do not cover their backs face physical injury, broken bones and potential head trauma.
It is intimidating to see your grandson lying still on the ice , hockey helmet off to the side , referees and medical personnel searching for signs of life and lucidity. You sit on the sidelines hoping that this blow to the head will not be fatal.
Sure, the crowd always applauds when the player rises to his feet and leaves the ice. It's probably a public sigh of relief that the player survived the spill. But at what cost to the families involved caring for the injured player once they get him home.
This off ice duplicity only demonstrates the helplessness and the utter ineptness both the players and their families experience when confronted with the reality of a traumatic head concussion.
Many arenas today are in dire need of update or replacement. The costs of doing such updating runs into the millions of dollars. This dollar amount requires a long term commitment on the part of the cities housing and supporting the team's arena.
The increase in the number of player concussions should make everyone involved in the update financing rethink hockey violence and realize that the games played in the future may well be played by holographic entities rather than malleable human beings.
Merely labelling someone a "professional player" effectively strips away that person's humanity and overly emphasizes an indestructible entity incapable of feeling pain, experiencing injury and loneliness.
It should be mentioned that in the ancient Roman arena whenever the site became too covered in blood the clean up crews would clear out the carcasses -- both human and animal -- and spread a fresh layer of sand on the battle ground lest the spectators be offended by the sight or smell of blood.
Let's all hope that in this day and age those individuals in the NHL responsible for the health and safety of their players will not ignore the fact that concussions cause serious injuries.
Hopefully they will not merely send in the zamboni to clean up the mess on the ice to allow further game play to continue. Out of sight in this instance should not turn into an out of mind situation.
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