Hockey

My daughter starts hockey tomorrow night. $200+ got us thick socks that go to her thighs, a helmet that makes her look like a Pep Boy and new skates that could make things VERY interesting along with every pad, cushion, glove, guard and piece of plastic available to keep her little bones and joints protected

My wife and I were HUGE hockey fans until the asshole owner decided to move our Hartford Whalers away, despite the fact that we put over 75% capacity in the building for the inferior product he delivered. Mrs. B was particularly devastated when they left since she's not really into the other sports like I am. We have AHL hockey in Hartford now, but we can't get into it like we did the NHL.

During intermission of Whaler games they'd have Mighty Mites go out on the ice and two million kids would go up against two million other kids on an NHL rink in a "match" that was accompanied by comical music. Mostly it was groups of kids converging in a scrum, kids falling all over the place and a puck somehow squeezing out of the masses so they could all chase it and do it over again. We swore when we had a kid, he'd play hockey. Or she would.

The Little One is excited and cute as shit in all that getup. I had to re-arrange my work hours by working late on Mondays so I could get out early on Tuesdays and get her to the rink for practice but its worth it. The Mrs. will take her for Saturday morning sessions. I guess that's all easy compared to the high school ice times of 4 or 5 am.

Maybe she'll stick with it until then but maybe she won't. In the end it really doesn't matter. Finally, we're getting back into hockey. We don't need no stinkin' Whalers.