Introduction
It was the end of last February when I was last on the ice. Ever since then, New Jersey ice rinks have been closed, except for mostly league-play. I wasn’t in a league this past year, so I have not been on ice skates for almost a year.
That changed this weekend. A friend invited me to play pond hockey and it was a chance I jumped at. It was like a scene straight out of the movie “Mystery Alaska,” minus that weird subplot where the mayor’s wife is having an affair. Speaking of “Mystery Alaska,” who decided to cast Burt Reynolds? Who thinks of hockey when they see Burt Reynolds?
Look, I know I struggle on the ice, especially after my extended hiatus. I figured I could be like the kid at the beginning of the “Sandlot” when he says he can just stand in the outfield as an extra person and take up space. Well, I didn’t just take up space, unfortunately I got in the way of play multiple time.
Get To The Point, I Want To Watch The Games
Why am I even bothering you with this story? In a year that has been so unexpected, the simple joy of a frozen pond (much smaller than NHL regulation size, for the record) is still fun. This just like it was for the millions of kids growing up playing the sport. In a winter that has saw snowstorm after snowstorm, some beauty can come from layers of ice and sleet.
For a few hours on a Saturday afternoon, instead of beers coming from a vendor charging $20 per can, beer came from home-brought coolers. Instead of a rink enclosed by glass, the rink was enclosed by snowbanks. Instead of a brilliant MSG broadcast team conducting interviews with the games “first star,” people who just met a few hours before fist-bumped and told each other “good game.”
It’s The Simple Things
For as complicated as the world and the season has been, it was nice to see the simple joy in nothing but the game and the game itself. A few hours on that pond helped fill the void New Jersey Devils have left in my life the past few weeks. For the millions of little kids who grow up playing this game, and the millions of adults who still play it, a makeshift rink on a frozen pond was more than good enough. To them, it was game seven of the Stanley Cup finals.
For a few short hours, everything was simpler. If you love this game, you love it at its simplest. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go work on my skating.