J's mom just called a few minutes ago to express her excitement over the fact that J attended a hockey game with his brother last night. She is the fourth person to speak to J about this, because you know, it truly is the Biggest. Deal. Eva!

Good gawd. The reaction J has been getting over this single gesture is absolutely hysterical!

J just hung up the phone and said, "Jeez, it's like the eighth wonder of the world that I went to that stupid game last night."

Now, I know this might come to a shock to some of you American folk out there, but I'm gonna dispel a little myth about Canadians for you...

Are you ready?

Okay... here goes...

Not all Canadians like hockey.

I know, eh? Can you believe it!?

In fact, some of us - like J - actually hate the sport.

J has always been very vocal about his lack o' love for hockey. I'm pretty sure it stems from the fact that he spent many a Saturday morning during his childhood getting out of bed at 6 o'clock a.m. so that his family could drive to some nearby town and sit in a freezing arena to watch his brother practice/play.

As a result, J simply hates everything the sport. I mean, he's not a huge sports guy to begin with... but hockey, yeah, it's safe to say he hates it.

He thinks the gratuitous fighting is senseless and sends a bad message to children. "This is how you solve problems - with a series of blows to the face." He can't understand why fighting is praised in hockey, when you can't get away with fist fights to the same violent degree in any other sport.

He thinks the fans take the game too seriously when they scream at the refs until they're blue in the face. We've gone to games with his parents, and all I'll say is it's no wonder they have high blood pressure! My goodness! I still remember how his mother yelled something out one time in such an intense roar, she sounded like that little girl in the Exorcist. I swear her head was about to start spinning.

J also thinks it's lame when the fans proudly proclaim, "We won!" because, *they* in fact didn't win. The fans are not the athletes. All they did was sit on their asses chugging back beer, scarfing down hot dogs, screaming at the refs, cheering at the punches, and then screaming in vicarious glory when "we" win. (I think this has a lot more to do with the overzealous hockey parents, but his rant eventually spills over to all sports fans who say "we".)

Oh lordy... he loathes it. And I get *such* a kick out of him because of it.

I've never been a real sports fan, but I can't say that I personally have anything against the sport. To me, going to an occasional hockey game is just a fun, social outing. I honestly couldn't care less who wins or loses. I simply enjoy the energy of the crowd. Actually, my favourite part of the game is buying the 50/50 tickets, and the audience participation stuff when you can win prizes. I definitely like that the best!

But yeah, J hates the sport... Meanwhile, every member of his family has season's tickets to watch their fav teams play. And even though J and his brother are actually very close, all his life Bro has constantly teased that J doesn't like hockey because he's a "f@g".

Ah yes... All Canadian men must LOVE hockey... and if they don't, they get called derogatory names.

Classy.

I have to say that I'm kinda glad J isn't a hardcore hockey fan like Bro, so I don't have to suffer through endless games on TV for 3/4 of the year. And boy, I thank my lucky stars that I'm not in SIL's shoes. She hates hockey as much as J. Poor girl is constantly hounded by our MIL that she's gonna have to start embracing hockey. For Christmas, as a romantic getaway gift, J's folks got Bro and SIL a hotel room in Vancouver, and tickets to watch the Canucks play. "You gotta learn to love hockey if you're gonna be in this family!" they tell her. As for SIL's two daughters, they are getting brainwashed early, showered with cute little hockey jersey's and hockey baby booties. Poor SIL... I think she married the wrong brother. ;)

Hmm.... and another piece of the puzzle falls into place. Just watching all the pressure that is put on SIL that she must "learn to love hockey"... gosh, it's no wonder J resents the sport so much. I honestly can't imagine the pressure he grew up with.

And so, I tell you this long-winded story so you can understand why it's such a huge freakin' deal that J agreed to go with his brother to the game last night. The eighth wonder of the world. I'm sure his family probably thinks it's going to become an ongoing thing -- the two brothers bonding through hockey. Golly! Isn't it magical!? I'm sure this is something his family has dreamed about for years.

Ha.

If only they were here to listen to J complain for days before the game about how he really didn't want to go. I reassured him that he'd probably have a great time. And then last night he returned home and proved me wrong. Ha. He complained about the bloody fist fights that broke out within the first ten minutes, the crazed fans, the sh*tty parking, the fact that he was squished between two overweight people that were encroaching well into his personal space... Ha. I actually found his little post-game rant very entertaining. But to the rest of his family, J is a HERO!

Hmm...I wonder if this means that they're gonna buy him season's tickets for his birthday?