[1080jibber]

Originally Posted by bukdez

lmao... Canadians? violent? of course... afterall we are human... but there will always be more violent canadians in hockey, simply because there are more canadians in hockey in general...

I dont excuse what Bertuzzi did, but i blame the NHL as much, if not more than him, for creating a league which propagates this type of action... In a game in which physical contact is a given a certain amount of aggression is expected, but due to the extreme dangers involved in hockey (i.e. sticks, sharp skates, and pads which rival some kevlar vests) it seems the NHL has allowed fighting to go on in order to prevent cheap-shots... some would argue that had Moore dropped the gloves, he'd be fine right now, but that shouldn't be the point... guys like Gretzky needed guys like McSorley to defend them, it's this violent tit-for-tat attitude that inspires these desperate acts of violence... it may be too late now though, as over the past couple of decades violence has become part of the game, it may be irreversable now...

But why is hockey so violent? Some say that slumping ratings in the 70's and 80's prompted expansion into the US, where the hard hitting aspect of hockey was more appreciated than the finesse aspects... (not a jab at the US, btw) hockey responded, it gave the fans what they wanted, i guess we should be careful what we ask for... sometimes we get it, and more...

Do you live in Hamilton