The Observation Deck

LHS Hockey will kick off it's season at Winterhurst tonight at 6pm.

I'd love to see some fellow Observers there!

Dress warm though!

the game was brutal and the parents from Brooklyn didn't show any class at all.

Unfortunately, neither did their kids.

it's been like this every year where cheap shots fly around as does dirty language and tonight we had parents punching the rink glass and swearing at the referee.

But on a good note Lakewood won by a score of 7-3 and played a solid game. I hated going to hockey games the past four years but this year it's definitely entertaining to watch. Brooklyn is the only real competition in the Rangers conference so things look promising for this years Hockey team. It's great that they're bringing the winning traditions back!

here is the link for the gallery!
Lakewood defeats Brooklyn 7-3

Cheers,
Ivor

Ivor:

Thanks for the great shots and the background notes on the action of the crowd.

It's not only your creative eye that interests me but your analytical mind.

That is, what more you might possibly say about the "given." In the blog you captioned "It is a given that Brooklyn and Lakewood Hockey teams have a rivalry..."

Why are the Brooklyn fans out of control?

Do Lakewood fans ever go out of control?

I am interested in anything you can tell me about differences (if any) between Brooklyn and Lakewood player/fan/school/ community culture. Or are the communities equally matched rivals with similar cultures?

Thanks again. Your images and remarks are always a pleasure.

Kenneth Warren

Ken,

I think that the similarities between Brooklyn and Lakewood are the two teams. I don't think it's the community.

Lakewood fans get out of control, yes, every community has those parents that think "it's the ref's fault and not my kids."

Everywhere are parents that live through the lives of their kids.

The players always had detestation towards each other because they are very similar teams with very similar goals. Lakewood would always come into Brooklyn's tournament and beat them at their own house. So going into the game Brooklyn's players and coaches want to "show up" the Rangers in front of their home crowd.

What I found sad was that these parents would be screaming at the referee, calling him a lot of nasty names, and then turning around and screaming at their two young (maybe 8 year old) kids to stop distracting them from the game.

Brooklyn players would throw the first and second punch, and Lakewood players wouldn't back down. It's funny that parents from the Brooklyn side didn't see what started altercations but noticed that ended it.

Ken, I'll ask you a question.

Do you think that when you're rooting for a team, you are partially blind and are more accepting to penalties and wrong doings of your favored players and at the same time be more critical of the opposition?

Why is that so?

Call me a fool, but if my player throws down an opponent and kicks him in the jaw, it wouldn't make it any more or less acceptable.

Ivor:

I am not especially attuned to parent/child dynamics of organized high school sports. My kids did not play school sports. There was no Little League in Lakewood when my kids were young. I never really pressed organized sports with my kids; I never went to many games. Lacking skills and interest, I never wanted to get caught up in the sports performance mirror.

As you might guess, I am more girlie man than jock. As a twerp I was turned off and afraid of contact sports. Call me wimp. Baseball was the only game I played as a kid, the only one for which a modicum of interest could persist. So I have very little experience with sports.

That said, the rabid fan seems desirous of the win at any cost, caught up in a wild association with the team. Perhaps the collective in your face fantasy is made more fantastic and satisfying when the rules of the game are blatantly transgressed and emotions spilled at the site of the tribal contest, World Wide Wrestling Federation style.

Like you, I prefer good sportsmanship to winning at any cost. That’s easy for me to say. I am not the kid busting tail with practice, trying to win and hoping to satisfy the winning expectations of the mob.

Thanks for your clarification and insights.

Kenneth Warren

As a former hockey coach and father of children who participate in sports, many of the current crop of athletes and their parents are totally out of control.

These people need to win no matter what because they feel inadequate about themselves. They treat their children poorly going so far as to verbally and physically abuse them in front of others because they performed less than perfectly. Then they blame the refs or the coach.

I've heard parents tell their children to go out and hurt an opponent. If I saw any of this "head hunting" going on the kid would sit for the rest of the game.

Many coaches are no better. I've heard a coach call a 5 year old a "pussy" as well as use every 4 letter word there is at them. Even at a young age, coaches will only play the best or most aggressive players instead of giving each child equal time. They learn that aggression is more important than skill.

Sportsmanship is foremost in my mind. Sport's main purpose is to teach self control and mental hardness in adverse conditions. These lessons can be applied directly to life. This underlying theme has been changed to win at all costs no matter what and the resulting change in societal behavior is evident.

People who get upset over sporting events and yell at refs or children should be banned from the arena. Unfortunately, now, they try to blame the coach of the team for the behavior of the parents.

The best solution would be a zero tolerance policy to aggression on and off the field with punishment for this type of behavior.