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Up Front: NPHL hockey fans loyal to the end?
Emily Plihal
for Smoky River Express
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a rush from being at each game played between the Lakeland Eagles and Falher Pirates earlier this month in the NPHL East Division playoff finals.
The hockey was exciting to watch, the fans were electric, and the atmosphere was exciting... for the most part anyway.
I have always really enjoyed watching great hockey, but this year my challenge was not getting upset at the fans yelling obscene things at the hockey players.
I think it’s really important to support your team, a little taunting to the opponents isn’t bad either, but some of the fans who were in each rink were out of control.
I’ve never heard people use some of the expletives at any hockey game prior to what I heard this year at Pirates/Eagles games.
Actually, the language young children were exposed to at these games cannot even be repeated in print.
The language may have been better suited to a brothel house.
My main concern with the language is that there was a multitude of young children being exposed to this utter disrespect for the players.
At one game I was standing beside a three, maybe four year old child. When she heard one of the words used, she ran around chanting the expletive.
I’m a firm believer that using expletives repeatedly makes an individual look like he/she is uneducated and inconsiderate of others. No, I’m not a saint, I swear lie a trucker some days. However; I evaluate the company I am keeping. Expletives do not belong at local hockey games... PERIOD.
Even the racial taunting I heard between the fans was incredibly haunting. In the year 2010, whatever your background is should not matter.
If you are Canadian, you are Canadian. PERIOD.
Coming from a different background than most Canadians, I know what it’s like to be discriminated against.
This is the year 2010 for crying out loud! I don’t care what country you are from, what your religion is, or what colour your skin is. The comments I heard from both sets of fans made me nauseous.
We’ve all chosen this country to be our home. Whether by being born here, like I was, or by moving here for a better life for our families.
The hockey teams
I was really impressed with the way both teams played the series. Both teams played relatively clean hockey (up to game seven, where there were a few disturbing illegal hits and slashes by one of the teams that I won’t mention.)
It was really great hockey to watch, and both teams proved how much they wanted to win the series.
Kudos to both teams. Thanks for providing such great entertainment. I will be watching each game I can in the series between McLennan and Grande Prairie. Go Eagles Go!
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