I have to agree with the Canadians on this one.

After recently getting in touch with one of my biggest all-time passions...hockey, I couldn't help but ask the question, why don't more people have as big a love as I do for the sport?


It could have been my recent trip to a skating rink (I haven't been since before my knee surgery)...


Or even watching the outdoor three-on-three hockey tournament along the Erie Canal,


but it could have actually been just because I love the sport so much and the fact that there's so much to love about it.


First off, you get in touch with your roots again....going out into nature and skating on that frozen pond behind your house or in the park. Or even going to an indoor skating rink. You see people at all skill levels, toddlers scrambling past you, even adults who don't seem to get the whole idea of the blades gliding along ice. With the few things you can actually do in the cold, this is one of them and quite possibly the best.


Second...you have the American Hockey League (AHL) where you get to see the young guys skating hard and progressing with hopes of making it to the big leagues. This is a true show to watch since they're not getting paid much and it's a brutal schedule, going town after town in a Coach bus...not quite the amenities you think would be given to a professional team....


and don't forget, the AHL is small town USA, with teams coming from Rochester, Syracuse, Hershey, and all over the rest of the country...you don't only get "family fun time," or time with your buddies, but gimmicky songs and video clips pumping you up when your team is on the brink of a win, or a loss.


Last, but not least comes....the National Hockey League.


It's sad to say most restaurants don't even buy the NHL Ticket on Demand, but splurge on the NFL and NBA almost always.


The NHL is full of MEN, who hit, fight and somehow still manage to skate along the ice, while juggling a puck with a stick.


TV doesn't do hockey any justice, I know this because any time I eagerly sit watching the tube, everyone around me seems to disperse. On that I can agree, it takes a really TRUE fan to sit and watch a game on TV sometimes, but it's not hard to be a true fan...


It seems hockey players are among a different class of gentlemen. They aren't often on TV-unless it's ESPN (or married to Carrie Underwood). And when it comes to their all-star competitions they are not afraid of injuries and always play hard and who doesn't love a player who can shoot a puck over 105 miles an hour? That's pure talent.


You can even appreciate it more after watching the NHL All-Star Game, where all rules were broken this year...Nicklas Lindstrom of the Detroit Redwings and Marc Staal of the New York Rangers took it to the playground and became honorary team captains, picking their own teams.


So, next time you see a hockey game on...take a second to truly appreciate it, maybe even WATCH it. Because I guranntee, you'll remember one of the things I've just wrote and develop a tiny bit of appreciation for the stick and the puck.