How the Insanity Began!

A little background for you. I’m not a sports fan. I’ve never really enjoyed watching games on TV, except tennis with my husband and his best friend because there’s yelling and booze involved! And, going to game, no thanks. I’d rather be reading.

Then I became friends and critique partners with Samantha Wayland. She writes steamy ménage and M/M romances, with hockey players, that are amazingly well written and I couldn’t get enough. She’s an avid Bruins fan and suggested I watch a game. I scoffed. No thanks. I’ll stick to my books. But, then I caught a Bruins game on TV, and the speed and grace that the players have zipping around the ice when every time I’ve tried to ice skate, I manage to sprain my ankles, was awesome to watch. The pure skill in moving a rubber disk in and out of their own feet and the other players on the ice, as they skate from one end of the rink to the other. I was hooked. Baseball and football bore me, but how can you get bored when you are constantly watching the puck?

Then came the fights. Now I’m a historical romance lover, and I love a good duel, which is exactly what these men do. They stick up for their teammates. If an opponent wants to target a smaller guy on the team, his burly teammates will jump in. They have a little conversation with their opponent, drop their gloves and try to get in a few good hits before the refs break it up. An old-fashioned duel at it's finest.

I watched a few games, continued to marvel at their speed, toughness, and amazing skill on the ice, and I was obsessed. I would tell people that I was watching hockey and they’d say, it’s because of their hot bodies and great butts. It made me insane. Have you seen all that padding? How am I looking at their butts when they're on the ice. Do people say that to female fans of football or baseball, when the players’ figures are displayed in tight fitting pants? No, of course not.  But hockey…I must only like it for their asses.

Now, don’t get me wrong, they are a lot of hot men that play hockey. I love seeing them in their tailored suits before the games and in interviews, but when they’re covered from head to toe in padding and helmets, that’s when I’m mesmerized. They can even skate backwards….again, sprained my ankles just standing in skates every time!

Typical setup in my living room

So the obsession continued. I started to follow the Bruins, then added in the Penguins, the Hawks, and the Stars. Of course, I had to subscribe to NHL Game Center just to get all the games. 

I went to my first live game in January of 2015. Bruins versus Columbus. It was thrilling to be there, row ten behind Tuukka Rask, yelling at the players that I now knew the names of, hearing their skates scrap across the ice. I didn’t know where to focus so I’ll admit that I missed a lot of the game, just looking around, focusing on my favorite players (Bergeron and Marchand). Again, still hooked.

A few weeks later, I ended up going to a Pens game...in Pittsburgh...see the next post for that ridiculousness. On the drive home, we decided that we needed to experience a home game at all the arenas...all thirty. Clearly we didn’t think this through in our enthusiasm, because I’m not sure if I’m up for Edmonton, Alberta or Winnipeg, Manitoba during the winter. Do they have hotel rooms in the arena so I don’t have to actually venture out into the Western Canadian winter?

The plan is to chronicle our visits on this blog, since it will take at least ten years to complete, and I want to remember as much of each visit as I can.

You’ll also find posts about hockey romance novels, along with maybe some hot hockey player pics. That might not be the entire reason I watch, but I’m not going to lie…it’s definitely part of the appeal.