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Considering the country's love affair with the game most people would be surprised to learn that hockey is not the national sport of Canada. Many people in Canada eat, sleep, and breathe hockey. The roots of hockey are in Ireland, back when it was called Hurley, but hockey is defiantly a Canadian sport. Due to its infectious nature, hockey has caught on all over the world. It became very popular throughout Canada, especially the East coast in the 1800s. In 1917, a league was formed to guide the play among professional hockey teams. This league, the National Hockey League (NHL) originally consisted of five teams. But the numbers quickly grew and by the end of the century there would be 30 teams from all over Canada and the USA. For many fans, hockey is serious business. The hockey playoffs, known as the Stanley Cup, tend to be dominated by US teams in recent years, but that hasn't dampened the fervor of the Canadian fans. In many houses and sports bars throughout Canada, Hockey Night remains a strong tradition. Like many sports where the players demand high salaries, hockey has seen it's fair share of teams come and go, like the Winnipeg Jets and the Quebec Nordiques. Hockey stars are among the highest paid in any professional sport. This is partly the reason that many of the top players head to teams in the US. Many Canadian teams have a hard time retaining their homegrown players thanks to high salary demands. This is also the key issue in the 2004 dispute which has resulted in no games thus far for the season. Hockey is a very violent game, and spectators love to watch the opposing team get crushed against the boards. Many people wonder what this is teaching young fans and, unfortunately, violence is very common in the little leagues. Many leagues have adopted a no tolerance policy for aggressive play, and some have banned this type of contact all together. The NHL however, has yet to follow suit. Some of the parents at little league hockey games have become a bit too passionate in recent years. An increasing number of fights between parents and verbal and physical abuse against referees and coaches have prompted many people to shy away from the sport or putting their children in after school hockey programs. It's a frightening prospect when the parents care more about who wins than the kids do. No matter what happens though, hockey will always be a popular game in North America. Europe enjoys much success in the hockey world as well. Recent world championships have highlighted little known places such as Belarus. Anywhere you can find frozen ponds in the winter are the perfect place for a little ice hockey. This isn't always the case though, look at the Los Angeles Kings! Hockey remains one of the favorite games in North American cities and many fans hope to enjoy hockey during the 2004/2005 NHL season. But even without the pros, there are farm teams and minor leagues teams playing hockey, so hockey fans can still get their hockey fix. If you are curious to see what all the fuss is over, check out a game at your local hockey arena and you'll feel the excitement in the air - and on the ice. No wonder hockey is so popular!
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