Jack Soule - Chosen #1

The ice rink is indeed something of a sacred place. I liked what Pageau wrote about it. It is certainly hard to fit an ice rink into all of Lane's axioms, but two of them apply, along with some ideas from Turner. An ice rink is certainly a place that can be trod upon without being entered. The sport of hockey is very cultured and in my opinion is by far the best sport ever thought up. But there are so many incredible moments in history that hockey played a part in (no small example is the 1980 USA Olympic Team beating the Soviets and pretty much giving Americans hope for the first time, starting our nation down a path toward victory over the communist threat). Many people skate out onto the ice unaware of the passion that lives inside some die-hard fans like myself and players like mark and ryan. The ice rink is also an incredibly good example of ordinary place made extraordinary by ritual. Let's face it - an ice rink is a slab of ice on top of concrete in a big warehouse. But is it extraordinary? Yes - for some at least. The ritual tradition that is characteristic of hockey is rich - throwing hats on the ice for a player scoring 3 goals in a game, throwing an octopus carcass on the ice at a professional level game for good luck, the day-long pre-game routines of serious players, growing a beard for the playoffs (mine is itching as I write!). There is also an essence of a kind of liminality when on the ice. Like Ryan said, you can just forget about so much - you could have a huge thesis paper due the next day and not give a thought to it. You definitely leave behind part of the world and its stresses, but at the same time you don't really go anywhere. Also in agreement with Ryan is the pleasing smell of hockey gear. Most find it appalling when I say so, but I love the smell of dirty hockey gear. My dad plays every Sunday night - growing up I learned to associate the smell with my dad coming home and telling me a long and drawn out version of how his game went (exciting when you're five, but more recently I have learned that those games are not in the least bit fun to watch.) And finally, to me there is nothing like seeing a small, black rubber disc bulge the twine of a net (whether in practice myself or watching the pros make it look easy).