As part of the overall cultural experience in Canada, every visitor should try to watch a hockey game. Hockey is one of the most popular sports in Canada and many people believe that Canada is the birthplace of modern hockey. To many, hockey is an important part of life in this country and it plays an important role in the lives of its inhabitants.
One aspect of hockey, however, has critics arguing back and forth over whether or not hockey is a good sport for young people to watch and to participate in. The concern of these critics is with hockey violence. They say that violence ruins the sport and that hockey players should be charged in court with assault when they become overly aggressive on the ice.
Visitors to Canada often ask why there is so much fighting in hockey. In fact, hockey fights are on the decline. Ten years ago it would have been difficult to watch a game without seeing one or two fights - they were very commonplace. Nowadays, though, many games go by without anything but a little bit of clutch and grab. Actually, it looks more like the players are engaged in a strange sort of aggressive dance rather than an actual fight. The reason for the decline in fighting is the new instigator rule. This rule causes a player who starts a fight to be kicked out of the game. Of course, that's why players often agree to have a fight before they take off their gloves. That way neither of them will be thrown out.
There are several reasons why hockey players fight. First and foremost, they fight to protect other, more valuable, players on the team. Skilled players are often not as big and strong as other players. Thus, teammates will often fight opponents who attempt to bully or hurt a skilled player. Without fighting, there would be little or no punishment for attacking a skilled player. In addition to skilled players, a team will often fight opponents who attack a goaltender. Each team only has two goalies and usually only one has any talent. Thus, they also need to be protected from injury.
Another reason why players fight is to give their team an emotional lift. If a team isn't playing well, sometimes a fight will get them excited and more involved in the game. Some players argue that winning a fight is almost as good as scoring a goal. Winning a fight can also get the fans excited and bring cheers of support to a team.
In addition, fighting creates a kind of respect for teams playing a hockey game. Without respect, many players say that other, more dangerous, kinds of violence begin to occur. For example, since the new rule changes, there seems to be a lot more injuries due to stick infractions. Some players raise their sticks to eye level and cause terrible career-ending injuries. Other players hit opponents in the back with their sticks. With fighting, they are less likely to hurt other players this way, because they know that their opponents will exact revenge with a fight.
Although the league would like to limit the amount of fighting because it makes hockey less attractive to new fans, we probably will never see hockey completely ruled out. It's a part of the North American game and a lot of players want to see it stay that way.