There are lots of reasons for hockey fights. The main one is payback. Somebody on the other team throws a dirty hit on one of your guys, you don't let that go. Dropping the gloves is a way of saying "Not on my watch."
It's also a way of bringing energy into a game. If your team is skating badly, or down by a goal or two, you drop the gloves. It gets everyone on the bench energized, and puts the spark back into their play so they can (hopefully) come back and win the game.
But the main reason is pure testosterone. You have a lot of big, aggressive guys beating the snot out of each other with sticks. Eventually, somebody is going to lose their temper, especially if the teams playing are division rivals.
But there are other sports where this out and out fighting could also apply, like, say, football. But it just seems as though fighting that would get you thrown out of the game, fined, suspended, in another sport is allowable in hockey. It just seems different to me.
It is different. Plus, there are penalties assessed to the combatants, which can range from 2 minutes for roughing to a game misconduct, depending on the severity of the fight. And yes, some fights do result in suspensions and fines. Hell, Todd Bertuzzi was arrested after he sucker punched Steve Moore in the back of his head. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Bertuzzi#Steve_Moore_incident)
The Bertuzzi-Moore incident is an example of a player crossing the line. Most fights are straight-up, face to face combats-- like honor duels, to borrow romsfuulynn's excellent analogy. What Bertuzzi did was about as dishonorable as you can get, and there are a lot of folks who feel that he should have been tossed out of the NHL completely instead of suspended and fined. He's still playing, but his career is pretty much in the toilette.
It's a not just a hockey game, it is a stylized drama, with heroes, villians, wily old sidekicks, etc.
It also is an evolving drama over a season or many seasons. In the specific case it may have been nothing to do with the game at hand, but a word or comment referring to something in some previous matchup.
Fights sometimes are like duels of the previous centuries - you insult someones taste in waistcoats, and slap them in the face with your glove when you are really challenging the person because of some other incident. Your sister's honor, the fact that they snowed the goalie in a previous game and got away with it - whatever
Another factor in hockey fights is the physics involved are different from other sports, because the participants are on ice skates
The ice is a significant factor. Often the linesmen stand back until they fall down. They have to hold onto each other in order to not have the punch they throw send them skittering away from each other.
And they are wearing extensive protective gear. That's why they "drop gloves" and the helmets come off almost immediately, but also why they appear to be trying to undress each other. Pulling a jersey over someone's head pretty much makes it difficult for them to do anything, plus it provides a ridicule factor....
Roughing (the "aw shucks, they weren't fighting, just kind of fooling around" call) is usually more of a wrestling/shoving match.
(I'm a half season ticket holder for the Chicago Wolves, but I've been a hockey fan for a long time. I used to be all sniffy about fighting, but I've come to understand that it is usually both a stylized duel, and a drama put on to advance the story of the game/season.)
In general you have roles, and players fall into these roles without there necessarily being objective support for them.
Hero, sidekick, anti-hero. Our guy is "standing up for the team" their guy is a goon. (Oh, and teams often develop "goats" too - the "oh, god, why are they playing X" player.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
winterfish
no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 03:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 03:20 am (UTC)I think another name for penalty minutes is 'break time,' as in "I need a break--I think I'll hit somebody."
no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 06:45 am (UTC)It's also a way of bringing energy into a game. If your team is skating badly, or down by a goal or two, you drop the gloves. It gets everyone on the bench energized, and puts the spark back into their play so they can (hopefully) come back and win the game.
But the main reason is pure testosterone. You have a lot of big, aggressive guys beating the snot out of each other with sticks. Eventually, somebody is going to lose their temper, especially if the teams playing are division rivals.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 05:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 06:25 pm (UTC)The Bertuzzi-Moore incident is an example of a player crossing the line. Most fights are straight-up, face to face combats-- like honor duels, to borrow
no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 12:38 pm (UTC)It also is an evolving drama over a season or many seasons. In the specific case it may have been nothing to do with the game at hand, but a word or comment referring to something in some previous matchup.
Fights sometimes are like duels of the previous centuries - you insult someones taste in waistcoats, and slap them in the face with your glove when you are really challenging the person because of some other incident. Your sister's honor, the fact that they snowed the goalie in a previous game and got away with it - whatever
no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 05:38 pm (UTC)I am just beginning to understand the protocols.
no subject
Date: 2008-11-11 03:10 am (UTC)Another factor in hockey fights is the physics involved are different from other sports, because the participants are on ice skates
The ice is a significant factor. Often the linesmen stand back until they fall down. They have to hold onto each other in order to not have the punch they throw send them skittering away from each other.
And they are wearing extensive protective gear. That's why they "drop gloves" and the helmets come off almost immediately, but also why they appear to be trying to undress each other. Pulling a jersey over someone's head pretty much makes it difficult for them to do anything, plus it provides a ridicule factor....
Roughing (the "aw shucks, they weren't fighting, just kind of fooling around" call) is usually more of a wrestling/shoving match.
(I'm a half season ticket holder for the Chicago Wolves, but I've been a hockey fan for a long time. I used to be all sniffy about fighting, but I've come to understand that it is usually both a stylized duel, and a drama put on to advance the story of the game/season.)
In general you have roles, and players fall into these roles without there necessarily being objective support for them.
Hero, sidekick, anti-hero. Our guy is "standing up for the team" their guy is a goon. (Oh, and teams often develop "goats" too - the "oh, god, why are they playing X" player.)
no subject
Date: 2008-11-10 06:42 pm (UTC)