Class is in Session

I sure hope I am in the right room...

You see, I am an avid sports fan. If the game involves some sort of battle, be it a clash of physical prowess or crafted strategy, I am there and I am entertained. The sport I live for is soccer. The sport I might very likely die while watching is college football. I have, thus far in my almost 23 years, made valiant (and occasionally successful) attempts to compete in organized soccer, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, badminton, and fencing. Throw in the pickup games of football at recess or with my older brother along with that time he and I thought we could luge down a wheelchair ramp on a Radio-Flyer and I contend that I have experienced an acceptable gamut of sports, both popular and a bit on the fringe.

And then comes hockey.

I adopted this sport as my winter sport in 2000 because, in America, professional soccer is a summer sport and I had yet to tap into the geyser that is European football (an obsession with which I have, by now, become about chest-deep). 2000 was the year Columbus, Ohio saw the premier of the Bluejackets--their brand-new NHL franchise. Before this time I engaged in a flirtation with the sport and the Detroit Red Wings, as I was growing up outside of Toledo, Ohio and "Hockeytown" was both close by and quite successful. But in 2000 a decision was made: hockey would become perhaps the spectator sport for me. Unlike my other athletic ventures, I have never had the experience of playing this sport in a team setting. My aforementioned brother and I would roller-blade around the blacktop and zoom embarrassingly weak wristers even more embarrassingly past each other, but never has belonging to hockey team been an experience of mine. Therefore, this sport became special--and, for me, quite misunderstood.

So now we arrive at the purpose of this course. As a graduate student at The Ohio State University, I am doing my best to broaden my horizions and take in as much of the academic experience as I can. My grandfather has graciously given me the remainder of his tickets for the OSU Men's home season, which I intend to use to finally learn something about this game beyond the jargon I have picked up from "Miracle" the CBC. This blog will serve as a place where I can post my notes from all the lectures and labs. It is my sincere hope that anyone who happens by will join the conversation, answer some questions, and help me to understand this sport which I have been watching for years in ignorance of its nuances. (Not to mention significant ingnorance of the more obvious matters, I am sure.)

Therefore, without any more ado... Welcome to Sport Studies 221: Advanced Studies in Hockeyology. The syllabus presents a semester of courses which will take place mostly on weekends and evenings. We will have visiting faculty from around the country, and I would encourage you keep up as best you can and get the notes from a friend if you should miss a day or two. I'm praying there won't be a final, but you never know. Like the deflected puck from a one-timer, a test might land in your lap before you have time to protect your beer!