I woke up this morning feeling battered and bruised and every day of my 52 years. I'm currently favoring a twisted right knee, a bruised left kneecap, two sore fingers on my right hand, a shoulder that hurts when I lift my arm and a fresh bruise on my right ankle bone.
I am not special.
It shouldn't be a surprise that you get banged up playing a contact sport on ice four to five nights a week with only a week or two off the ice a few times a year. The beer league seasons roll one into the other and I don't know a single player who likes those weeks without hockey.
It's kind of a strange thing that beer league players choose to hand over hard-earned money to play a game that inevitably results in a variety of bumps, bruises and sometimes serious injuries and yet they do come back– night after night, season after season.
Two nights ago during our semi-final game, one of the players on the opposing team took a high stick to his face, cutting his nose and spilling blood all over the ice. While the refs cleaned up the blood, he went to locker room and slapped on a makeshift bandage and returned to the game. In the handshake line, his face was caked with blood and he had a smile on his face.
I've seen players finish games with broken fingers and even cracked bones. My wife broke her ankle on the ice and still plays a couple nights of week. My best friend broke his leg and was back playing as soon as he could get the OK from his doctor. I couldn't roll over in bed for the better part of a month with cracked ribs but missed only 3 games out 18 that month. Every week, the roster of any given team has players missing with injury or playing with one and yet they keep coming back. They keep playing.
Why?
Is it the "tough guy" reputation of hockey? Is it the strong conviction of being on a team and never wanting to let them down? Does hockey draw in people who have a lesser sense of self-preservation? Is the passion of playing hockey greater than other sports?
I can't say why but tonight I'll show up to play hockey with my pals and I'll do my best. I might wince getting up off the ice and I might even play a little handicapped but it would take more than aches, pains and bruises to keep me off the ice and the crazy thing is that playing alongside me are guys who are doing the same– and paying to do it every week.