Hockey Section: What does hockey mean to you?

So what does hockey mean to you? I’m hoping for some good answers and really hoping mine will be read. Giving best answer.

Last week my dad went for his yearly MRI, and today we got the good news that he is a 7-year survivor of his inoperable brain tumor. No growth currently and no changes. We actually found this out about an hour and a half after hearing that Rick Nash was now a Ranger. Both of that put together made me think of what hockey means to my family. I was in a Maple Leafs jersey before I could even walk (eventually turned to a Habs fan at a very young age) and I remember how close hockey brought me and my father. We are very close, but hockey is something we have in common. I remember when I was younger, me and my dad used to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Night in Canada every Saturday night. Chips, pop, popcorn, etc… it was me and my dad sitting in the living room in front of the game. I remember all the amazing times we would watch every Leafs vs. Habs game and have that little rivalry in the household. Every summer for one day, me and my dad and little brother would go to Toronto for a boys day out. Usually my mom would go hang out with her sister or something that day. We would just spend the day together in Toronto (probably an hour and a half drive from home). But one stop we make EVERY year is to the Hockey Hall of Fame to get a picture standing next to the greatest trophy in all of sports – Lord Stanley’s Cup. I see the pictures on my wall in my room growing up next to the Cup every year from the age of 4, and I’m now 16. It’s amazing how much we’ve grown from little kids. Because Leaf tickets (my dad’s favourite team) are so expensive and difficult to get, we go see Sabre games across the border. We have seen Buffalo vs. Ottawa a few times, Buffalo vs. Montreal, and when the 2011 World Juniors was in Buffalo we saw the Canada vs. Russia round robin game and Canada vs. U.S.A. semi-final game. What hockey means to me is something that brings my family close, and something we have always had.

Hockey as any other sport, brings people together. To fans it’s when my towns OHL team has a home game and we all come together for those 3 hours as family. On the ice, it’s like brotherhood. You’re a family and you stand by one another. Hockey brings pride, happiness, sorrow, confidence and fear together. Hockey is truly the greatest sport on the planet. What hockey means to me is more than a game, it's more than winning or losing, it’s something indescribable that I’m proud to be surrounded by. I’m thankful for the relationships I’ve built through it, and when I can put all of my problems behind me and sit down and watch a good game. I’m proud to be Canadian, and I’m proud to be part of the hockey world. Thanks to all that read my little speech.