10 Reasons to Watch Hockey

Living in Philly for the past few years has taught me a few things. First, I learned that riding public transportation is the best confidence boost ever. Seriously ladies, ride the subway and see how many sketchy guys hit on you. It's not a great place to meet guys or get dates but as for confidence it does wonders.

The second thing I have learned is that hockey is really fun to watch. Growing up in Baltimore hockey was not really a big sport. I never really paid much attention to it. But Philly is obsessed with hockey. And in kind of a scary way, their playoff slogan is "Vengeance Now." So I thought I'd give it a try (to avoid any scary encounters) and it turns out that it is really fun to watch. So here's a quick list of reasons to give hockey a try. By the way I support the Capitals, they're closer to Baltimore. Plus they have Ovechkin. (See reason 4.)

10. HDTV: Now you can actually see the puck which makes watching the game more fun and more enjoyable and plus, its much easier to figure out what's going on.

9. The Post Goal Celebrations: Men on skates jumping and piling on top of one another. Falling, cheering, stick-waving, screaming. Even if you are not a fan you can't help but get a little excited at their enthusiasm.

8. Playoff timing: March Madness is just ending and baseball season is just starting. The playoffs are the perfect thing to get excited about. I'm not that into the NBA, but if you are then you probably have to admit, you can never have too many playoff games to watch.

7. Fights: Everyone likes a good fight. What other sport expects fights every game. Plus its on skates. Come on, two guys with big sticks fighting on ice skates. I shouldn't have to sell this one too hard.

6. Power Plays: One team is playing a man down and the other team has a way better chance of scoring. It's like being in the red zone with the team on defense missing a key player. Everything gets more intense in this two minutes.

5. Playoff Beards: During the playoffs, the players don't shave and grow "playoff beards." Its a great mix of ridiculous superstition and tradition. Plus, guys with beards are hot.

4. Alexander Ovechkin: He's young, he's exciting, he plays with incredible passion, and scores a lot of goals. Seriously, if you're going to watch one game it should be a Capitals game to see this kid skate. (He'll be with the Caps for while since he signed a long, ridiculously lucrative contract.)

3. The Hits: Watching guys on skates slam each other into the boards is fun and exciting. And its legal in this sport. These guys are tough.

2. The Speed: These guys are going full force the whole time. A goal could come at almost any time and the team that wears out first is usually the one hanging their heads at the end of the night.

1.The Skill: Sprinting on skates with a small object that you are trying to score while other guys are hitting them and knocking them around. And somehow they still manage to pass, skate, and score. It's just impressive.

This sport is fast, its physical, it takes a hell of a lot of skill, what else could you want from a sport. So give it a try. Take a chance and watch some hockey. Its the playoffs now, what better time to start. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait till next season to see Alex the Great.