{"id":120032,"date":"2025-03-08T12:53:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-08T12:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/american-history\/march-4-2025-hockey-histories-fighting\/"},"modified":"2025-03-08T12:53:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-08T12:53:19","slug":"march-4-2025-hockey-histories-fighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=120032","title":{"rendered":"March 4, 2025: Hockey Histories: Fighting"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

[On March
\n3rd<\/sup>, 1875<\/a>, the first organized ice hockey game was played. So this
\nweek for the sport\u2019s 150th<\/sup> anniversary I\u2019ll AmericanStudy a handful
\nof hockey histories, leading up to a weekend post on some SportsStudiers we can
\nall learn from!]<\/p>\n

On the way
\nnot to argue for a sport\u2019s violent tradition, and a possible way to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, in
\nthe interest of full disclosure: of the four major sports, I know by far the
\nleast about hockey. And that\u2019s especially true of hockey history\u2014other than a
\nfew <\/span>big name players<\/span><\/a> and the
\noccasional <\/span>interesting
\nstory<\/span><\/a> (both of those hyperlinked pieces focus on <\/span>Boston-related topics<\/span><\/a>, which is
\nlikely why I know a bit more about them than I do other hockey histories), what
\nI know about the history of hockey can be fit inside a box much smaller than
\nthe penalty one. Researching this week\u2019s series has helped with that to be
\nsure, but I know I\u2019ve only scratched the surface still. So as always, and
\nespecially when it comes to topics like this one on which I am generally and
\nadmittedly ignorant, I\u2019ll very much appreciate any responses and challenges and
\nother ideas in comments (or <\/span>by email<\/span><\/a>). I don\u2019t
\nthink I\u2019m ever gonna get to full <\/span>octopus-on-the-ice<\/span><\/a> level
\nhockey fandom, but there\u2019s no topic about which I\u2019m not excited to learn more,
\nthis one very much included. <\/span><\/p>\n

So with
\nall of that said, it\u2019s my understanding that one of the most heated debates in
\nthe hockey world is over whether fighting is a <\/span>central
\nand beloved element of the sport<\/span><\/a> that must be preserved or an <\/span>outdated
\nand dangerous aside<\/span><\/a> that should be discarded to attract more
\nwidespread fan support. Obviously I don\u2019t know enough to have a strong opinion
\n(I\u2019m <\/span>opposed to
\nfighting-based sports<\/span><\/a>, but this is somewhat of a different story of
\ncourse), but I will say this: from what I can tell, many of the arguments in
\nfavor of fighting seem to come from what we could call <\/span>hockey
\ntraditionalists<\/span><\/a>. And having had more than my share of experiences with <\/span>baseball
\ntraditionalists<\/span><\/a>, I\u2019d say that \u201cThis is how we have always done things\u201d is an
\nincredibly ineffective way to argue for any aspect of a sport (or most anything
\nelse for that matter). For one thing, such an argument would by extension make
\nany change impossible, and anything that is going to endure over time needs to
\nevolve in at least some ways in order to do so. And for another thing, there
\nare many cases where we learn things that require specific changes in the way
\nwe do things\u2014and it seems to me that what we now <\/span>know about
\nhead injuries<\/span><\/a>, for example, just might make that the case when it comes to <\/span>fighting in hockey<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m pretty
\nserious about CTE (although I haven\u2019t been able to <\/span>give up
\nfootball<\/span><\/a> yet), so if I were to weigh in more fully on the fighting in
\nhockey debate, I\u2019d likely be in the opposition camp. But I try to be open to
\ndifferent perspectives of course, and in a debate like this what I\u2019d be
\ninterested to hear is how pro-fighting perspectives might argue for its role in
\nhow the sport is played. That is, when it comes to <\/span>fighting
\nin baseball<\/span><\/a> (something I know a lot more about), fights represent an entirely
\nunsanctioned and illegal element, one that always leads to ejections and
\nsuspensions and fines and so on. Whereas <\/span>fighting
\nin hockey is more or less entirely sanctioned<\/span><\/a>, with the two fighters surrounded by
\nthe referees and allowed to complete their fight before the regular gameplay
\nresumes. So perhaps there are reasons beyond tradition alone, ways that
\nfighting contributes to the play of hockey within games, within a season, as a
\nsport. After all, all rules in sports are arbitrary and constructed, and don\u2019t
\nnecessarily need changing as a result. This one features violence to be sure,
\nbut so for that matter does hockey overall\u2014so I\u2019m open to hearing (including
\nhere if you\u2019d like!) for how this element of hockey might also feature other
\nsides to this sport, past and present.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next
\nhockey history tomorrow,<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben<\/span><\/p>\n

PS. What
\ndo you think? Hockey histories you\u2019d highlight? <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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