what I miss...

The crowd chanting 'we want Shack' and then the reckless charge down the ice after Toe Blake finally gives in and sends Eddy over the boards followed by the fans yelling the phrase of the day ‘clear the track here comes Shack’, and of course the inevitable bobbling of the puck at the end of his spectacular rush, punctuating why Blake didn’t want to play him in the first place. All the while the fans basking in pure self gratification for causing the event to occur at all.

Tuning into a Bruins game knowing that the face of their franchise would be on that blue line exercising his franchise, the result of years of dedication, and effort, rewarded nightly with the adulations of the fans, who to him, I’m sure, were more than just paying customers but friends and comrades in his dreams and goals. Ray Bourque was a hero in Boston. Guy Lefleur in Montreal and Gordie Howe in Detroit. This is what made hockey great!

Jumping from my seat yelling, cursing at the Ref, not for what he didn’t call or to protest a review, but to critic a call! A decision made at ice level, with no regard for the press box or how much money was at stake or who could take his job. The man was in charge! The call was made and we talked about it for days but in the end we respected the man and his job and we never questioned his commitment to be the best he could be. He was proud to wear his name on his striped jersey.

Families standing up from their dinner tables on Saturday night. Not because they were done eating but because they could hear the 'Hockey Night in Canada' anthem drifting in from the sitting room. It meant more than the end of the week long wait for more hockey, it was who we were, our identity.

Five on five hockey is the true measure of this mans hockey. Teams were teams, men were men and a penalty was a penalty! When a penalty was called it was because some player did something that no other player was allowed to do. Degrees of guilt were not a factor and two tier officiating was not an issue.

Respect was a word that meant something, owners respected the fans input, the coaches gave their players their due and the players respected each other. If a player decided to waver from this code, by God another would remind him of why he should not! This enforcement mechanism was developed to ensure a code was followed and players were left with no choice but to fall in or suffer the consequences. The game policed itself. It was a reflection of the society of the day. Just as, I suppose, the apparent lack of respect in the game is a reflex to today’s world.

These are some of the things this old fan pines for. Maybe you can add something or could be you want to debate one of them. I am open to either.