READING, Pa. – This year’s ECHL All-Star game might be over, but just thinking about how much fun the experience was will surely remain.
Regardless of how you feel about All-Star games, the name of the game is to have fun, which is exactly what everyone involved had. Fans, players, and everyone involved from the Zamboni driver to the head of the ECHL, had a great time. All-Star games are not necassarily about the game itself, it is about the love of the sport. Years from now, very few people will remember that the American Conference All-Stars defeated the National Conference All-Stars 11-5. What they will remember is just how great the sport is, not just because of how fast the game is or how hard someone throws a check or how a goaltender makes a great glove save but what they will remember is how great the people who are involved in the sport are. Hockey fans have known for years that hockey players, along with the people who run hockey franchises, are some of the best to deal with in all of the major professional sports. They are what makes coming to the rink fun, regardless of who wins and loses. The global economy might be in bad shape but the love of hockey sure isn’t. The only real shame these days is when a team folds or move due to lack of fan support. They say that you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, so for those of you who stay away from the rink because you want to send team management a “message” because you’re unhappy when your team loses. Just think about what you will miss when it’s gone one day. Trust me when we say that life is short, enjoy it, because without sports like hockey, life would be a pretty boring place. The city of Reading found out just how much fun hockey is on Wednesday. No one was chasing the Stanley Cup, even if it was in the house for the game, no one was yelling at a referee, no one was fighting on the ice, they just went out and had a great time playing a kids game. Isn’t that what it is all about, being a kid even if you are a grown up? Life is so much better being a big kid than a small adult. No thinking about mortgages, car payments, the nagging in-laws, screaming infants who poop in the middle of the night. Just having a good time at the good old hockey game. Now that time well spent if you ask me. Contact the author at Brian.jennings@prohockeynews.com
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