http://bleacherreport.com/articles/100282-should-fighting-be-allowed-in-hockey
Do you think fighting in hockey should be allowed?
Is tradition more important than safety?
Should there be more regulations and rules about fighting?
Would viewership go down if fighting were banned?
Do you think fighting in hockey should be allowed?
ReplyDeleteI think fighting should definitely be allowed in the sport of hockey. One of the most exciting events in hockey is when two players, who clearly don’t like each other, drop the gloves and fight each other. I think if you took fighting out of the sport, the rating for hockey would go down drastically. Also, if someone gets cheap shotted, it is also safer for someone to just fight then for the players to hit each other unsafely. It is also a tradition in hockey for there to be fights on the ice. It adds a different element to the game and further more sports in general. No other sport allows/encourages fighting.
Is tradition more important than safety?
I think if you want to preserve the sport of hockey, tradition is more important than safety in that aspect. It is similar to football, if you took out the violence, ratings would surely go down. The same goes for hockey. The tradition of hockey has fighting at the forefront of its sports. This aspect separates hockey from so many sports and is a reason why people watch the sport.
Should there be more regulations and rules about fighting?
I don’t think there should be more regulations about fighting in the NHL. NHL players rarely fight these days to begin with and the refs are very careful with regulating the fight. They have consequences for fighting with penalties where you have to take time off. Also, most of the fights are pushing and shoving, and rarely are big punches being thrown at each other.
Would viewership go down if fighting were banned?
I think people would definitely stop watching hockey if fighting was banned from the sport. Fighting rarely happens in the sport but the anticipation of a fight keeps the sport interesting. Also, people love watching fights and it would be similar to the regulation of football. If there were regulation for football and the violence was restricted, people would definitely stop watching the sport. I feel like that would happen to hockey if regulations were applied for fighting.
I personally do not think fighting in a sport (especially hockey) should be allowed. This is because it is putting players in danger. The hockey players go throughout their games on slippery ice that has potential to crack their heads open if they fall. The phrase "safety always come first" is always relevant. Distancing farther away from tradition has happened in many other sports, and the rules should be changed. I do not think regulating and having a referee would have a big impact on fighting in games. The purpose of a fight is to hurt your opponent. If they are considering eliminating (or trying to eliminate) the violence and injuries that come out of the fights on the ice, why don't they ban fighting in games all together? As said in the article, banning these fights could cause the players to act aggressively towards the opposing team. For example, a player could potentially hit another player with his/her stick out of frustration. However, at every game the referees should be focusing on penalties. Overall, if fighting were banned, the amount of people who would watch and view hockey games would completely decrease. These fights draw attention and the crowds become riled up. Many people attend hockey games specifically to see their teams fight.
ReplyDeleteI think that fighting should be allowed in hockey because it has always been allowed in the sport and has become a tradition that excites the crowd and draws in fans. In this case it isn't the fact that it is a tradition, but that players are going to fight regardless of rules against it; it isn't just the NHL that gets in fights, the MLB and NBA all have rules against fighting, but if there is a dirty shot or heated tempers players will fight regardless of rules. It is hard to put regulations and rules on fighting since it has always been an unspoken tradition of hockey, the only rule that I could think of is making a bigger penalty for fighting. I don't think that viewership would go down because fighting is a uncommon occurrence, but it would definitely take away from the physicality and action of the sport.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it certainly puts hockey players’ safety in danger, I believe that fighting in hockey is an essential tradition of the sport. Fighting in hockey has taken place since the start, and many hockey fans view it as a way for the players to get out their natural frustration on the ice. For many, fighting keeps the game real and alive for viewers, and encourages the competitiveness between the two teams. Shane House, the author of this article, stated perfectly, “Fights allow players to relieve frustration on the other team in a mediated environment. Anytime that one player has a distinct advantage over the other opponent, the referee steps in to stop the scuffle and separate the players”. Now, not to say that it is obviously a potential issue in terms of the players’ safety, I believe that often times people are cautious when they fight, and do not intentionally try and harm the other player to an extreme degree. Although there have been instances of fights going too far, I think that fighting is simply a result of the players wishing to release some frustration on their opponents to increase the fire of the game. In extreme cases, I believe that people should recognize and acknowledge when something is becoming too much on one’s part. As a fan, you can clearly distinct whether or not a fight is a light expression of emotions, or intentional extreme violence against another player. WIth this, I completely believe that there should be some more regulations and rules about fighting put in place. We must be careful not to make this a tool of unfair bias against one team, but rather keeping player’s safety in check. I don’t think that we should stop the fighting completely, because as I mentioned before it is a foundational element of the game that makes it such a unique sport. But, in instances such as the March 2004 game between the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers, where the game involved fights that involved non-enforcers and ended with an NHL record 419 penalty minutes. This game was an extreme circumstance, and certainly should have been looked upon as such. On this topic, I certainly believe that viewership would go down a bit if fighting were banned. Personally, I would continue watching the sport simply because at this point, I am dedicated to my team and do not find fighting as a necessary part of the viewing experience for me. On the other hand, I know many family members and friends that find fighting to be one of the most exciting aspects of the game, and one that makes it more exciting and raw than other sports with heavy regulations. I’m not sure if overall viewership would go down, because I think many people are dedicated to their team and have grown to simply love watching the sport, fights or not. At the end of the day, it depends what aspect of the sport certain fans find the most entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI don’t want to make any enemies here but this entire discussion seems ridiculous. The author is literally stating that fighting allows hockey players to take out their aggressions and should remain a part of the game because they have been allowed to fight in the past? What? Do basketball players not get frustrated? Don’t tennis players get frustrated? I know for sure that students and teachers get frustrated. Are they allowed to fight? But hockey players are because well they just are. This is absurd. It’s not boxing, which I won’t watch, but they get to fight like it is. Which is why I won’t watch hockey either. Fighting is not sportsmanship, unless it’s boxing I guess, but then I choose not to watch. Can someone explain this sentence to me: “Fighting also keeps players from hitting the star players who can’t defend themselves, the same way a grinder or enforcer can.” How does fighting keep some star from being hit? Doesn’t fighting get people hit? I’m lost. There’s no way tradition should be more important than safety. People used to smoke traditionally and now many more people see it as disgusting. There are tons of rules and regulations and warnings about it. Same should go for hockey. If viewership drops so be it. That’s the way society works. Smoking has dropped off and football viewership is dropping because ideas evolve. If hockey dropped off the planet because they couldn’t fight, then good riddance.
ReplyDeleteI think fighting in hockey should be allowed. I think it's just as much a part of the game as shooting the puck is. The game would not be dull without it, but it definitely would lose a lot of its soul. I don't think tradition is more important then safety, but then again hockey itself is not a safe sport to play in the first place. Fighting which is big for tradition in hockey does not add that much more danger to the game. As I said I don't think they should regulate fighting it will only lead to controversy because of how big fighting is to the players and the fans. I believe it would hockey is interesting because of its sense of danger. If they ban fighting the sport that thrives off of danger and toughness will lose a huge part of who they're.
ReplyDeleteI think that fighting in hockey should be allowed. It has been apart of the sport for as long as I can remember and is part of the tradition of the sport. Hockey is by far the most aggressive proffesional sport. When you put 20 people on ice that are allowed to hit eachother, those athletes may or may not get angry. I think that in order to change the rules about fighting you have to alter the rules on hitting. Alot of time athletes are trying to make legal hits but it ends up being very dirty.
ReplyDeleteI do not think tradition is more important than safety but I do not think safety is an issue in this case. Hockey fights may look very dangerous to the viewer but often times result in minimal injuries. I think the way current fights are now in the NHL are pretty suitable for the league. The referee does not wait long to intervene minimalizing the risk of injury. I definetely do think though that viewership would definetely go down if fighting were no longer apart of the sport. Not all people watch hockey for the excitement of a fight but it adds an excitement factor to the game that many fans enjoy whethere they realize it or not.
I think fighting should be allowed to exist in modern day hockey because not only has it always been aloud and changing the rules now would not automatically go over well, but it makes the sport more interesting to watch both on tv and live. I do not necessarily believe that tradition is more important than safety, but not being able to fight definitely takes away from the emotion and anticipation from the game. However, if more rules and regulations existed surrounding fighting I do not think the fighting would just stop. If someone is heated, a punch might still be thrown here and there. I do think if fighting was banned the ratings would go down but not drastically. Fights do not happen on every play of the game and I think taking out the few fights would not change the viewership of the sport a lot.
ReplyDeleteI do not really follow or watch hockey but I believe that fighting should not be allowed to be a part of hockey as this very unsportsmanlike and could cause serious injuries to those that are involved. Fighting is not a good way for problems to be resolved and scuffles in other sports often lead to severe penalties and fouls. When playing sports, the most important things are to have fun while being safe, so safety is much more important than tradition. I believe that if fighting is a thing in hockey, there definitely should rules and regulations or at least a referee monitoring the fighting so that no one gets severely injured. I just think it is kind of dumb for people to actually throw hands and square up in a competitive sport game. If viewership declines due to this, than so be it. I just think fighting in a professional is dumb considering that people can watch UFC or boxing matches.
ReplyDeleteGiven the fact that fighting in hockey is part of tradition, it should absolutely be allowed. With that said, however, safety does need to take greater precedent in these fights. Players should be able to have physical encounters with one another, but the referees need to do a better job of getting in between these fights before they become too serious. While some would suggest rule changes, they should not be enforced. Overall, it is difficult to truly regulate the rules in a legitimate fight, and implementing them would just lead to "cheap shots." Moreover, referee interference is still enough. Lastly, banning fights altogether would lead to a decrease in viewership. People enjoy watching hockey fights and the tradition that it is associated with. By taking them away, fans would not be as intrigued to watch.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do not follow or watch hockey, I believe that obviously fighting is an apparent tradition and should unquestionably be allowed in the National Hockey League. Tradition isn't essentially more important than safety, although when it comes to the point where someones life is at danger or someone can be severely injured that is where the line should be drawn and a referee will get involved by concluding the fight. If a fight were to get very seriously that is where the referee would stop it although that would and should be decided by referee discretion rather than anything else. There definitely should be regulations and rules when it comes to fighting although as I said previously, these regulations and rules should be met and enforced by referee discretion due to the fact that a fight could start and end quickly which won't get the crowd going but will make these games less entertaining. Finally as I get into the viewership it is not only apparent and evident it is inevitable that not only the viewership but the attendance of fans would see a significant loss due to the fact that if one of the best traditions the league still has is to be banned the entertainment aspect goes completely down the drain making people not is intrigued or wanting to watch a hockey game again.
ReplyDeleteOne of the drawings of watching Hockey is the physicality. Watching a fully grown man on ice-skates flying into another resulting in a huge collision is possibly one of the most amazing things to view. The fights on the other are something that people who don't even like hockey to watch. There are definitely negatives to hockey fights like setting bad examples for kids and showing that punching and being physical with each other is okay, is not good. All though when you become a certain age you realize that it is actually not okay, and if you play in High School you know that if you fight you won't play anymore. I think that the fighting is relatively safe with lots of rules having to do with the fights.
ReplyDeleteI do think that fighting in hockey should be allowed because its entertainment and the players like fighting too. The refs have fights very under control, so when fights get out of control the refs can brake the fights up most of the time. Also, fighting isn't essential, so players don't need to fight if they don't want to. Tradition isn't more important than safety, but when the people who are actually doing the fighting (the players) enjoy doing it, why should they have to stop. I don't think there should be more rules about fighting because players don't necessarily have to fight, so the players who do fight know the restrictions and are aware of the current punishments. I do think viewership would go down if fighting were banned because fights are what so many people hope to see when they go to games, so if they ban the fights, many people won't get to see what they would love to see happen.
ReplyDeleteI think fights should be allowed because it keeps the game cool to watch. Fighting has been in hockey for a long time and keeps the games interesting to watch. Some people may think tradition is more important than safety. There should be some kind of regulation when fights do break out. Fights keep players in line so someone cant just do a cheap shot and not be able to fight back. Viewership would probably be effected if they didn't allow fights anymore. Putting more rules onto fighting doesn't make sense. There are already rules in place. The ref decides what he wants to do when a fight happens. Until someone dies because of a fight in hockey then they shouldn't change the rules that are in place as of now.
ReplyDeleteI think that fighting should be allowed in hockey, as it is an exciting part of the game. Fights during a hockey game is a main reason that some people watch the sport, and I think that getting rid of the fighting would be taking away a traditional aspect of the game. These fights do not occur very often, so it is not like it is a real issue to the sport.
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand the safety aspect of fighting, I do not think that it poses a real threat to most athletes. Yes, fighting is not great, but it is a very rare occasion and is something that most of these guys know how to do in an effective manner. So, in this case, I think that tradition is more important.
I think that adding rules and regulations is never a bad idea. While it may have an impact on how natural these fights are, I think that any way to make something safer for those involved is important. If adding regulations means that fighting can still be allowed in hockey, I think it is something to seriously consider.
I think that viewership would definitely drop if there was no fighting. There would be many people who would stop watching the sport without fighting because it is something that adds character to the game. Going to a hockey game live and watching a fight break out with your own eyes is something you cannot really experience anywhere else. Taking away this experience will take a lot of fans away form the sport.
I think fighting in Hockey is huge. It makes more people want to watch the games, as well as an increased in viewership. I think it should be allowed. I do not think that putting the player in a very serious fighting situation should be allowed, however I think keeping the fights under control is ok. If individuals feel that they would like to ban all fighting in the sport, shouldn't it be ban in all other sports as well. Sports like football, rugby, and basketball, all have fights, some may not be as serious or intense as hockey, however it is in fact all part of the game. If the fighting was ban from the game I do believe that less people would go to the games, and less people would watch them on tv. Many fans watch or go to the hockey games to watch the players fight, and taking that away would be very negative to the sport, the fans and the players. I think that the fighting is safe in the game if there are lots of rules having to do with the fights and being able to stop a fight if taken too far.
ReplyDeleteFighting in hockey should be allowed to an extent. Many people come to the games specifically to see the tension and fighting between players and teams. Safety is absolutely more important than tradition, however, the fights are not all that unsafe. Players are usually only bruised, and it is rare that players break any bones. No players have ever died to date. Tradition takes precedence in this situation due to the somewhat safe nature of the fights. The regulations in place at the moment have worked for nearly 100 years. There is no need to redo, as there. Viewership would absolutely go down. Many fans follow their teams, but only enjoy the games because of the rough atmosphere. Fighting is a key part of the sport and should not be removed from the game.
ReplyDeleteDo you think fighting in hockey should be allowed?
ReplyDeleteYes, it’s a unique part of the game that I believe that it monitors the game and lets players let their emotions out in a controlled manner rather than dangers checks and hits on the ice. Fighting is one of the most entertaining components of the game of hockey, and if you eliminate that aspect it could draw talent away from the sport and decrease revenue for the sport.
Is tradition more important than safety?
No, but in this case I can see the argument in how fighting actually makes the sport of hockey safer. The reason being it fighting doesn’t cause serious injury unlike boarding, big on ice hits, and cheap checks. Fighting controls the emotion of hockey and lets players have an outlet for their aggression.
Should there be more regulations and rules about fighting?
I really do believe that the NHL has a perfect balance of rules and regulations to fighting in today’s hockey. I really believe to keep hockey as entertaining as possible they must not change rules unless god forbid someone dies in a fight.
Would viewership go down if fighting were banned?
I know personally I wouldn’t watch as much hockey if fighting wasn’t a component. Statistics support my opinion viewer shit goes down when fights don't occur.