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Friday 14 November 2014

Does fantasy hockey turn us into bad people?

Probably.

I love fantasy sports. They are a great way to make games you don't care about interesting, a great excuse to watch more sports and a good reason to start hating your friends. I am by no means against fantasy sports, but it's worth noting how they can make us think terrible thoughts.

A good example is the recent sucker punch Dallas forward Antoine Roussel landed on San Jose defenseman Justin Braun. In a scuffle on the ice, officials tried to tie up Roussel and Braun, but just ended up restraining Braun's arms. Roussel took the opportunity to punch Braun in the face.

You can see the full play here:


Normally this kind of sneaky dangerous play would make me angry. Normally, I don't like it when when a player takes advantage of a player in a venerable position.

That being said, Roussel has been great for my fantasy hockey team this year. He is getting time on the power play, has produced on the scoresheet and gets penalty minutes.

I usually would have wanted to the NHL to harshly discipline Roussel, but I was busy hoping he wouldn't miss any games.

In the end, the Roussel sucker-punch actually turned out very well for me. Roussel received a minor and a misconduct, great for my penalty minutes category, and the NHL only gave him a fine so he didn't miss any games. 

Fantasy sports not only have the power to make fans cheer for villains, they can also make us hope bad things happen to players we like.

As an Ottawa Senators fan, I grew up watching Zdeno Chara play. I loved the way he competed, could contribute offensively and defensively and how his size and strength made him tougher than anyone else in the league.

Even though he went to the Boston Bruins, a division rival, I am still a big fan of Chara.

Despite the fact that I like Chara, his knee injury this year activated a cold, robotic part of my brain that understands calculations, not compassion. When I heard Chara would be out 4-6 weeks, I didn't worry about how this injury might affect the career of one of my favourite players. I thought about how I don't have Chara on my fantasy team and this injury could screw over the guy who does have him. That made me somewhat happy.

The hockey gods were clearly angered by my fantasy hockey schadenfreude, because they injured David Backes and Ryan McDonagh who do play on my team. I have not won a fantasy hockey matchup since.

So, while fantasy hockey is a lot of fun, it can turn us into sociopathic monsters who don't care about the welfare of other human beings. I guess sports fandom in general carries that risk. It can be hard not to cheer when a player on your favourite team puts his face in front of puck to defend the net during the playoffs. Also, when a player you like delivers a crushing body check or a devastating punch, if your are like most of us, you are probably on your feet and not sympathizing with the guy crumpled on the ice in pain.

As a fan of sports we walk a fine line. When are we cheering for toughness, grit and tenacity, and when are we just cheering brutally? It's hard to say, and I'm not sure we always know when we cross that line.

Fantasy hockey is a lot of fun though.

2 comments:

  1. Hoping David Backes and Ryan McDonagh don't read your blog - don't want them to know the injuries were actually your fault.

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  2. I saw David Backes in the away dressing room on Sunday while interning with the Jets. He is a really big guy! If he felt his injury was my fault I think I would be in big trouble.

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