So much more to Dallas Stars, NHL

Published 10:05 pm Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Editor’s Note: The following is a commentary from Judy Boatman of Bullard. Mrs. Boatman’s thoughts will appear in the Tyler Morning Telegraph periodically. She is a grandmother who loves sports; and she helps out in the sports department during football and basketball seasons.

“It’s not the game you think. It’s SO much more.”

Those are the words of a Dallas Stars promotional ad that runs on Fox Sports Southwest and it got me thinking what an unlikely candidate I was to become the passionate hockey fan I am today.

Born in Texas and transplanted to Southern California, baseball was my first love. Neither of those places was exactly a hockey Mecca.

In the mid ‘70’s, a Canadian co-worker of mine took my son to his first hockey game and he fell in love. Until then, if I thought about hockey at all, it seemed to be played by a rather primitive sort, badly in need of dental work.

But it really is so much more.

Until a couple of years ago, Mike Modano was the face of the Dallas Stars and hockey in Northeast Texas. I still have a vivid mental picture of him on a breakaway, streaking down the ice, his jersey billowing out behind him. There was such beauty and grace you could hardly believe it was hockey.

But hockey is still very much a blue-collar sport. You can more easily picture these guys carrying lunch buckets instead of briefcases.

If you get tired of seeing millionaire athletes being pampered and coddled, take a look at hockey players. There’s not much coddling going on. Yes, I know a lot of them are also millionaires, but most of them just don’t act like it. I get the feeling that the majority would play just for the love of the game.

Team chemistry is a big deal in hockey. There’s an us-against-the-world mentality that you don’t always see in other sports.

In fact, what goes on in “the room” (never the locker room, just “the room”) is extremely important. A player is expected to step up and stand up for his teammates, one factor that contributes to fighting.

Now, don’t take this wrong. I don’t usually advocate violence, but I have come to see that some of the fights in hockey have strategic purpose.

Others, of course, are just boys acting stupid! Oh, and no offense should be taken. Even if they’re in their forties, hockey players always encourage each other with “Let’s go, boys.” I find it rather endearing.

If you already love hockey and follow the Stars, then I am preaching to the choir and I haven’t said anything you don’t already know.

But if you’ve never really watched the game, check it out. Stars fans are blessed to have an excellent and entertaining broadcast team in Ralph Strangis and Darryl “Razor” Reaugh. And take a look at Jamie Benn, who I personally think could step into Modano’s big skates and become the Dallas Star.

There’s no guarantee you’ll feel about hockey the way that I do, but I feel fairly certain you won’t be bored.