Ice Hogs And What They Teach Us

Boy, it's been a while since a new Monroe Doctrine has been posted.  I've found that going through a divorce can really sap all creative strength from a person.  So here's an attempt to get back into the swing of things and rather than hit the ground running with baseball, I figured I would ease myself back in with, of all things, hockey.

Admittedly I am a fair weather, bandwagon jumping fan of hockey.  Didn't care much about it until the Blackhawks won the first of their two recent Stanley Cups.  That sparked an interest.

So while trying to find something fun and different to do with the kids last weekend I took them to Rockford, IL to see the Ice Hogs (minor league affiliate to the Blackhawks).  I was impressed.  The way the Ice Hogs handled their pre, during and post game stuff reminded me of the Kane County Cougars for minor league baseball.  It was fun, it was professional and it was cost effective.

My kids (three girls and a boy) seemed to view our excursion as a punishment rather than an adventure.  The older two girls absolutely wanted nothing to do with this, but they went anyway.

While the Ice Hogs put on a great game and won 3-0, for the kids the entertainment seemed to be more in the stands.  Directly in front of us was a young boy who would alternate his attention between the action on the ice and his hand held electronic device.  My son (age 7) was yelling at the players (from the second to last row of the stadium) "Get it to number 28!  Oh man, 28 was open!  Why didn't you pass it to him?!"

That caused the boy in front of him to comment "They should pass it to 57."  My son responded "Well, that is a very good suggestion!"  At which point my son leaned to me and said "Papa, I have a  new best friend."

Watching this exchange caused my 13 and 15 year old daughters to absolutely crack up to the point of near tears as the banter between the boys continued throughout the game.  That coupled with my son's efforts to get on the video screen by dancing wildly to the music during the time outs was more entertaining that anything American Idol can produce.

It's obvious my son understands the nuances of hockey because part way through the second period he asked "Hey, when are they going to start fighting?"  I explained that these players don't make much money and probably get fined if they fight.

My oldest daughter wasn't as impressed with the Ice Hogs.  Based on the play she was observing she couldn't understand how any of these guys were going to be called up to the Blackhawks any time soon.  Her standards for hockey play are pretty high.

Another interesting and telling moment during the game was when the audio people tried to get the crowd amped up.  There is a tradition for them to play "Monee, monee".  Now in the clubs, I think we're all aware of the part of the song where people will yell out about the opportunity to have some entertaining nocturnal activity.  When they started playing the song in the stadium, I cringed thinking my kids were going to hear this.  Instead the crowd is conditioned to another response.  It took me a few times through to understand what the crowd was yelling, but I finally got it.  Both my 13 and 17 year olds asked what the crowd was yelling.  I said it's "Hey, guess what? You're goalie sucks!"  Upon hearing that my 13 year old said "Aw that's just mean."

I took them to see the Ice Hogs because they had never been to a live hockey game.  And while the game was entertaining and the Ice Hogs do it up right, sitting in the stands I observed more about my kids' personalities than I did about a hockey game.  It was awesome.