Why is fighting allowed in the NHL?

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jaderock

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Just a guy looking from the outside.

I'll watch the Sharks every now and then, but the game isn't my cup of tea. Regardless, of the 4 "major" sports, hockey is the "least" popular. It's national visibility is on Versus.

All other sports do not allow fighting and suspensions are quick to follow if it does occur.

In the NBA, when it gets to a pushing and shoving match you are T'ed up and possibly ejected. Other players MAY NOT even leave the bench area to "help" or they'll face suspension. Kevin Garnett's shove to an opposing player got him suspended for one game in "defending" his fellow player.

In football, you can't even celebrate or take off your helmet without getting penalized. A sucker punch by a college player got him suspended for what 1/2 year?

In baseball? Charge the mound and a PULL apart ensues. Seldom do punches actually land, but surely a player or 2 will get tossed from the game at the very least..

A "fighting" pool was done a year ago on HI with "keep fighting" as a landslide consensus. Most thought it was part of it's history and the game OR a needed and justifable element of hockey that keeps things in check OR they loved it for the entertainment. Some stated fighting is what makes hockey stand out from other sports.

To me, everything has it's reasons and eventually things change OR evolve for the better. Look at baseball, designated hitters entered the game that hadn't changed before in it's history, but now it's loved by most except for the dying "purist."

In football, year after year, "dirty" and injury prone type of tackling/blocking are changed. No clotheslines, chop blocking, no leading with the helmet, etc.

This past 2010 Winter Olympics the hockey games were exciting as heck without any fighting, so why is it necessary in the NHL?

When will fighting be banned, if every?

CAN the NHL survive and thrive in the future without fighting?
 
I can't say that I'm a fan of the fighting, but I do feel it is a MUCH BETTER way to settle a battle or whatever between players instead of payback later in the game with the intent to injure.
 
jaderock said:
This past 2010 Winter Olympics the hockey games were exciting as heck without any fighting, so why is it necessary in the NHL?
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The NHL does not consist of a small group of teams with only the most elite players playing.

I don't think the supposed lack of popularity of hockey is due to fighting in the game. I think that (especially in the US), many people just didn't grow up with the game.

Personal preferences....that's all it is.

I hope the NHL strives to be the best it can be, not the best of them all. I think that the majority of people who play and/or enjoy watching hockey have no problem with fighting. So why take it away?
 
Howe1850 said:
I can't say that I'm a fan of the fighting, but I do feel it is a MUCH BETTER way to settle a battle or whatever between players instead of payback later in the game with the intent to injure.
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this is the first thing that came to my mind, except i also enjoy watching the fighting, very entertaining
 
If it werent for fighting then there would be no consequences for giving Ovy a head shot and turning him into Lindros. Fighting is a physical game, accept it.
 
Well when 2 guys drop the mits they do and it is over.. I guess waiting and having your pitcher throw a 100 mph fastball at the guy who hit a hr is a better way.. Football has been less fun to watch now that you cannot even touch the QB.. My team the Pats is responsible for that and everytime Brady even gets tapped he is jumping up and down.. Very seldom do you see 2 stars going at it.. It is usually done by 2 guys who drop em and it is resolved. I do not see a problem with that. If you want to get rid of fighting then get rid of the hit bats man or throw out every pitcher who does it intentionally or not..
 
Hockey is the only sport where you can't run out of bounds and are playing up against a wall or solid perimeter.

I would rather players fight then hit from behind, stick out a knee or take off a head with an elbow and risk severe injury.
 
bamlinden said:
The NHL does not consist of a small group of teams with only the most elite players playing.

I don't think the supposed lack of popularity of hockey is due to fighting in the game. I think that (especially in the US), many people just didn't grow up with the game.

Personal preferences....that's all it is.

I hope the NHL strives to be the best it can be, not the best of them all. I think that the majority of people who play and/or enjoy watching hockey have no problem with fighting. So why take it away?
Click to expand...


It used to be like that and there was still fighting. Hockey is an extremely passionate and fast sport. Things happen. There are more stoppages in baseball, basketball and football. Have you ever actually timed how long the ball is really in play for football? Its like 4-6 minutes of actuall running for them, the rest of the game is all huddles and crap.


The fact that people dont play the game growing up is HUGE. Look at a couple other sports from around the world. Cricket, HUGE. Do you understand it? I know I dont. Soccer, HUGE. Do I like it? No. Rugby or Aussie rules football, HUGE.


I guess I am trying to say that if you dont really get the game, and I mean really understand the game, then you will have problems with parts of it like fighting, which, if you havnt guessed by now, I am in favor of keeping.
 
Hockey is simply the most ultimate sport, built to reward attrition and pure hardwork. 100 mph shots, bone crunching hits, speed acceleration and stop-on-a-dime-play that would make the football combines look like a peewee camp. Nevermind the fact that they play over ice and thin blades of steel.

There is nothing wrong with fighting in sports. One huge reason why it is ok in hockey is that you are in fact on ice. You cant throw a punch nearly as hard while standing on ice as you can, say, on a basketball court. Ive seen more vicious punches in the NBA than any hockey game. In hockey, its all about balance and style, even when youre throwing your fist at someone.

The purpose of fighting in hockey is not to hurt or kill someone, it's to swing the emotion and momentum to your team.

Ever watch a "good" fight? It isnt the one that has the KO punch, its the fight that lasts for 3 minutes between two purebred athletes that comes in a 1-1 game at the 10 minute mark of the third period.
 
I guess there isn't one real answer why fighting is punished less in hockey than other sports, I do find it entertaining most of the time and it does seem like a good way to excite the rest of the team and hopefully energize them to play better.

On a side since you mentioned other sports, isn't it odd that in baseball they all can throw a ball yet none can throw a punch? With NBA players being charged for posession of firearms and being accused of having guns in their lockers it's probably a good thing basketball is very strict about fighting. If they weren't games would end in a shootout and I don't mean the kind that happens after 5 minutes of OT in hockey.
 
Why?

because it is part of the game.

Why do they allow 3 pointers in basketball? Why isnt a homerun worth 2 runs instead of 1? Why is a touchdown 6 points? Why.....

because its part of the game.
 
I think fighting... and for that point, all 'intent to injure' plays, should be removed from the NHL.... but I don't think the NHL would survive. There is an ellement of the Roman Colloseum every time the gloved are dropped or someone gets a head shot a centre ice from a shoulder!


Although international hockey and the olympics haven't suffered from a lack of fighting....
 
Hockey is a tough sport.
Fighting has always been a bit part of Hockey. If it is taken away, they might as well take the puck away with it.
 

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