Hockey with a six year old

I went to a hockey game last night with some friends (Thanks Dan). One of them was a six year old who was attending his "very first" live hockey game ever. I'm not so sure about the amount of hockey he has seen over his six years, so it was lots of fun to "see" the game as he "saw" it. We watched the game as he downed a huge bucket of popcorn and drank a large Pepsi. What an experience. I had so much fun watching him enjoy all the sights.

It was great to hear his observations and comments on the game that most of us would take for granted. Having watched hockey since 1969 (wow that's almost 40 years), I think I have a good handle on the game. Trying to explain the game to a youngster was so much fun. He had a very interesting reaction to the two fights that occurred in the game. Having not been indoctrinated in the game like most Canadian kids, he did not scream and cheer as the two pugilists bashed their bare knuckles on the opposing players helmets. He actually didn't notice the cheering throng, he just said, "it's not good to hit like that, is it?".

I restrained myself from pontificating on it "being part of the game" and maturely said, no it's not good to hit each other like that. He really liked the body checking though and since he's going to start hockey in a week, I made sure that he understood the rules that body checking would not be allowed until he is older.

He cheered for both teams, a noble gesture, but I think it was because I was cheering for the Leaf rookies and his Poppa was cheering for anyone but the Leaf rookies (in this case, the Pittsburgh Penguin rookies).

All in all, we had some fun, learned a bit about the game, got soaked as we walked to the truck(thanks for driving Rick) and got home before 8:30. You know, it just goes to show that quality time can be spent anywhere and last night was some good quality time at the rink with a six year old. I'll watch the game more carefully from now on, just to be able to take in the experience more and "see" the game as my little friend does. Maybe we'll do what most proper Canadians do and make Saturday night a night to watch the game and have a bit of fun.

Looking back over the years, I remember every time my kids went on the ice as either a player, a member of the staff or as an official, I said two words to them, "have fun". From this point forward, I'll say those same words to my little friend, and I'm sure he will.