Tuesday, April 10, 2012

NHL Playoffs: The Second Season

NHL- Every team in the NHL plays all season long for their shot at the Stanley Cup.  For 16 deserving teams, that chance at glory begins tomorrow night.  It is the oldest trophy in North American sports coming into fruition in 1893. From the moment you lay your eyes on the cup, it is a mesmerizing object that leaves you in a rare moment of awe.  It is what every hockey player has dreamed of winning since the moment they were introduced to the sport.  It is the toughest trophy in all of sports to win.

The remaining teams have all played 82 games, they are now trying to be the first to win just 16 more.  The winning team must win four best of seven series to hoist the sport’s Holy Grail.  After a grueling regular season which sees some of the most physical play in any of the top 4 sporting leagues, each team is readying themselves to embark on a (hopefully) long, grueling path to the cup.  It is truly astonishing the amount of effort that these guys put forth on a nightly basis during the long regular season.  Somehow that play is elevated to an unworldly level of intensity come postseason time.

The greatest player to ever play the game, Wayne Gretzky once recalled a moment after his Edmonton team lost their first Stanley Cup appearance to the New York Islanders. Looking around the locker room after his team had lost, he felt that they could have gone out there to play another game.  The same could not be said about the Champions.  They were all wrapped in ice bags from head to toe, getting stitched, and popping shoulders back into place. Gretzky learned, at that very moment, what it took to become a true champion.

It takes everything you have, 23 teammates bonded into brothers, literally giving their blood, sweat, and tears to win a prize that they’ve coveted for their entire lives.  Gretzky went on to win 4 Cups of his own.  Safe to say, lesson learned.

That’s what makes this tournament so great.  It’s not about who has the most talented team, who compiled the most wins in the regular season.  Its about which team is willing to go out and sacrifice absolutely everything they have to attain greatness.  Just thinking about what these player’s put into each and every shift, the atmosphere of the sold out arenas, the will and determination put forward, truly leaves goose-bumps up and down my spine. 

So here’s to the waiving towels, the bone-shattering hits, the amazing goals, and to every team laying it all on the line to get their names engraved on the coveted Stanley Cup.  The playoffs are a start to the second season because it truly is a whole different animal.  If you’re not a hockey fan, give it a shot, I can truly promise you one thing; you will never experience anything in the world of sports like playoff hockey.

This video sums up everything there is to know about a hockey player, and why they play the game.  Enjoy the cup finals, and may the best team win (they always do):