// NHL Lockout Troubles
It's really annoying, isn't it? Why can't these people settle a simple problem? Can't you give us hockey back? You jerks! Why!? I miss the hockey! You greedy players!
Shut up! Calm down! Is it really the players fault?!? Not completely, but still, let’s look at this...
You’re a NHL hockey player and you’re pretty good too! You were fourth in team scoring last year, and you were a key factor for your team's success. How much money do you want? $1,000,000 a year? Yeah rite!
Now think of this. You wake up to your family in your house, have just enough time to have breakfast with them, and then it is off to the ice rink for your morning practice. So it's like going to work, you get to see a bit of them before you go, that's okay. You work yourself pretty hard at the rink, so you’re a little tired after. You do some extra things with the team off ice and your well into the afternoon. You have enough time to maybe eat dinner with the family, and then its game time. Your coach is putting a lot of pressure on you because you’re a key player but haven't been getting many goals lately. So a lot of pressure is on you to do well. You step on the rink and look at the thousands of fans looking at you, watching every move you make. Does that not add some pressure on to you? You play an okay game and you win! Yay! That feels good, but you have just had a long day and a hard game and now the media wants to talk to you and a crowd of people surround you, giving you no room to breathe. You get home at maybe 11 or 11:30 and your kids are probably in bed so you don't get to see them. That sucks! To top it off, your going on a road trip tomorrow, and you won't be back in town for a week. Only when you get home to repeat the same cycle over again.
These people don't save lives, but they live hard ones. They have to put the game above everyone and everything. They've sold their soul to the fans; they have almost no free time. This job isn't easy, so it's understandable for some of the salaries.
So before you go calling the players greedy, think about that.
17 Comments:
First of all, the players aren't running their own team into the ground. The players had come forward with a proposal to cut there salary 24%, and that still didn't cut it!
Second of all, sure there are jobs that are just as hard or more stressfull, but let me ask you this...
Does a business man have to take long road trips? Yes, but on those road trips, does everyone in that town want to see him fail? Does he get body checked into the boards? Does he have everyone in the media watching him, waiting for them to screw up?
I don't think so.
There is something we have to face, no matter what we do or say nothing will lower or change the salaries. Something up there tells them they are worth that much and I don't know why. Maybe if I was in the NHL i might know but I don't think it's all that fair we call them selfish.
matt...
i can't read your post. i'm about halfway through and it's making me gag.
the life of a hockey player is not labourous, it's not stressful, it's not pressured. Your ass isn't on the line every day, your bills are more than looked after, and your future is well taken care of. To say that you won't work for a million dollar salary: you're overrated. Get a grip.
NHL: tell you what, pay me $12/h and I'll do ANY JOB you could possibly think of. Who knows, I may even do some ice time and save you big bucks. Truth is, there are players who will settle with less money: they grasp the larger picture. They're the people worth tailoring.
It all really depends on your personal preference towards hockey and whether you're an analytic or emotional person. I, as most of you know, am an OVER emotional person. And so I'm siding with Matt. But I am analytic at times as well (or so I like to think), so I can understand what Andrew and Kelsey mean.
Being a hockey player is tough. Being anyone in the public eye is tough. Yes, they've got all the cash and the fame and the outrageous something-hundred/thousand thread-count linen sheets... but they're real people too. They have real needs and real emotions and it's tough. Like Matt said, they have sold their entire lives to the public, to people like US.
But true, there are other people who work hard and are paid much less and probably deserve more than the hockey players are making. But that's life. It's unfair. It's ALWAYS unfair. Not much to it 'cept that.
I feel sort've like a jerk, putting my two cents in so late in the game (no pun intended). But y'know, it's hockey. I miss it. :'(
And this is a bit irrelevant, but I just worked a sixish hour shift, starting at 5 PM and ending at 11:15 PM. When I got home, it was 11:30 PM and my brother had already been sleeping for an hour and a half. I actually kind of miss not being able to talk/hang with my brother after school, at home and such. How cheesy of me.
Hey Andrew, I'll hire you for a hockey player $12/h. Say you become a star all of the suden, you can make that 12 bucks 24. You saying you not going to take that?!? By this time your ego will have gone to your head so much you'll be saying "yeah I am worth that much".
And yes, a hockey players life can be hard at times. It still is your dream job, but you still have to go through crap.Yes the bills are paid for, yes there are jobs out there that work just as hard, but these players do get worked.
And why are we calling the hockey players greedy? How much do soccer, basketball, football, baseball players make? Just the same amount as hockey players.
And need I remind you they offered a 24% pay cut? Yet it was rejected. At least the players are trying here.
Another thing to Andrew's post...
"the life of a hockey player is not laborious". Are you saying that a hockey player doesn't need to put any effort in anything? They don't have to skate hard for the puck, work in practice or anything? Hey, that's true! If your playing the all-star game!
"the life of a hockey player is not stressful". Having played one hockey game in front of a real crowd, I had a group of fans who kept taunting me, telling me I sucked, that I was no good. That was stressful because I couldn't do a damn thing. No lets add that group of friends and multiply that by a couple thousand. Did I also mention the constant nagging of coaches? I can relate to this topic very well and it's a stressful thing. To say you can play a game care free is pretty amazing.
"The life of a hockey player is not pressured". Not pressured?? You have an entire city that is telling you to do well or we hate you! You screw up and we'll never forgive you! The pressure can kill a player! For example, Dan Cloutier in the playoffs...
"Your ass isn't on the line every day". Most of the time it is. If you’re Naslund you’re expected to put up a good effort and get a goal. That's expected of him, and Bertuzzie, and Morrison. They expect their key players to come up big. They don't come up big you’re getting lectured from the coach. You do well, you get the night off, until the next time there's a game. Another example, in Tampa Bay, the coach was mad, telling media, pissed off at the play of some of the greatest stars in the NHL.
"Your bills are more than looked after". I agree, in fact you might as well go buy another car.
"Your future is well taken care of". I used to agree with this until watching a special on after retirement. Some players didn't know what to do with their life, so they started doing drugs and destroying themselves. For some players it is very hard, but for some so I can't back this statement up 100%.
Oh yes, and the players that work for a low salary work for a low salary for these reasons...
a) They are not a star and usually play on the third or fourth line
b) They don't contribute in a big way, but are still a key player to their team
c) They KNOW they are not worth that much or the GM doesn't think he's worth that much.
Oh, if you think I'm siding with the players, saying that it's right to get $7,000,000 a season, then you’re wrong. That is ridiculous! Nobody should get paid that much money! But they do, just like every professional sports player in the world, and nothing in the world will change that. I have just learned how to except the fact
Okay, the last comment obviuosly comes from a point of view who doesn't know hockey... who cares if they screw up???
Kelsey, Kelsey, Kelsey...
Oh yeah, I was always told that you should love your job! I mean, God isn't going to set us up with a job we hate would he?
Hey K,
If the players screw up, then they're obviously not gonna get paid. Their performance is directly related to the amount of money they make, so it is VERY important to care if they screw up!
And this is quite the post, Matt, I agree. It's good to stir up some conversations/debates once in awhile. Keeps things interesting. Don't you guys agree?
Steph, sorry to say but your a bit off on the last comment. A player gets payed if your screwing up or scoring.
But, who has ever screwed up here? I'm sure we all have. And how does it feel when we screw up? It doesn't feel very good does it.
Now what if you screw up and your entire team loses because of you, how would you feel?
If a player continues to screw up there are options Steph. He can be traded to another team, or released into free agency. When your a free agent, your not playing hockey and your not getting paid!
And no it isn't getting personal, but a lot of people just judge the book by it's cover.
Even with movie stars and famous bands, they don't have it easy either, but they still get paid millions of dollars.
matt,
in order to understand the comment i made earlier, you need to know what it is to be pressured for real, to have real bills to pay, to be forced into the workforce for fear of hihger powers beyond you.
The father of five children, who goes out to work the mines at 5am, comes home to a dinner uncooked at 7pm, cooks dinner for a family of 7 (after working 14 hours), then has to entertain his children before he hits the sack at 12am for a four hour sleep.
his pressure is real: he has mouths to feed. his job sucks, he will come home covered in mess and he works a long day, and if he does screw up, he will likely be fired, he cannot rely on things that do not relate to his work ethic (like popularity or stardom, or a contract for that matter). He never rests. He's never on a plane travelling anywhere. His job is not competetive, but repetitive.
This is the real labour. These are real people. Hockey players play hockey. PLAY hockey. They play. To say someone is "worth" more than another is outrightly fecesious. Someone who PLAYs for a living should be happy to play for a living, and shouldn't be so disgruntled that his highest paying job on the continent is receiving a pay cut.
Regardless of the global world of sports, seeing that this person makes this much and soccer players and basketball players and all of everyone--I don't give a crap. They need to come off their high horse and join the rest of humanity with their regular struggles.
Not only is Kelsey's opinion biast, but so is yours. You do not even consider the side of multiple GM's who are facing bankrupcy, in an economic system that isn't working because of GREED.
I've always stood against the "Great Canadian Hockey" as an ideal for everything it stands for: violence, poor sportsmanship, and of course greed. This game that people play on a frozen pond is overrated, and has aided in the warping of our society from that which was moral and respectable to something that has taught young children to be monsters.
Too many NHL players, and NHL enthusiasts are not only in denial, but also in some fantasy land where money grows on trees. Get a real job. Quit whining.
I have never said that these players are "higher" or "more important" then anyone else. Yes people live lives like that, and yes it is far more stressful then any hockey player could probably imagine, but that's not my point. My point was simply trying to point out is that every part of the game isn't fun. They deal with stress and problems as well. Is it just the same as the person in your example? No, not even close. But you can't say that they don't deal with stress or presure.
Second of all, the players are greedy, and I think everyone in the world can agree with that, except for the players. There is nothing we can do about that! Nothing!!!! They will never get off the high horse, they will always make millions of dollars.
The players association has tried. May I say AGAIN they offered a 24% Pay cut! If Your making 6 Million dollars, they lose close to 1,440,000 bucks. Set aside the fact that these are higher numbers and they are selfish, that is still a lot of money! No they can only have 2 cars instead of 5. Again my point is, LOOK WHO IS TRYING HERE!
What have the GM's proposed? Why do GM's lose money? No fan interest! The Pheonix Cyotes have pretty much a no name team with low salaries adn there losing less money then they were last year, when there was hockey.
It's all about the fan interest.
How is hockey violent? Because of what Bertuzzie did? Or just because they fight and hit each other? If it is what Bertuzzie did, he put a bad mark on the game and was only one player! Fighting has always been apart of the game, and there is nothing wrong with a scrap in a game.
Canada loves hockey, and it is are sport. It's just a small amount of people like you who don't enjoy it for what it's worth. Not that it's a bad thing, people can have their own opinion, but hockey is an awesome sport. So sorry if Canadians are taking pride in something there very good at that for most people around the world find a lot of fun
What???? poor sportsmanship?????? Say that again! How!?!?!?!?! How can you honestly say that????? How is hockey warping our society??? Because they see Bertuzzi know some guy out? BUT WAIT! They also saw him cry on national tv!
Hockey isn't turning kids into monsters! I would like to see one good example. Some just get to involved.
Have you forgot about the good things "Great Canadian Hockey" stands for? It's fun! Kids don't play it and come out saying "wow, I want to kill someone". I've played hockey for half my life, and I'm not greedy, I never smack people in the face, and I definitly have good sportsmanship skills.
To come out and say "hockey it stands for: violence, poor sportsmanship, and of course greed. " then it's personal, because I play the game, and the game is an important part of my life.
In the words of Tie Domi "If you don't play the game, then don't comment on it"
matt, now your comments are simply unintelligent.
these idioisms you readily quote in a defense to shut me up are simply proving my point: hockey is good for nothing. If Domi can throw words around forsaking our right to freedom of speach, and then to have highschool kids take his words seriously... this is EXACTLY what i'm talking about.
unless you have a some real perspective to bring to discussion, i would suggest you stop sympathising based solely on the fact that you also play hockey. it's a losing argument.
how is this a losing arguement? You just said hockey is good for nothinng which it obviously isn't. Point out why it's good for nothing again, cause last time i checked they were stupid reasons.
Players are not the only people to blame in the lockout, back that up again for me.
Why can't I take players seriously? Have you even answered half my questions I've given you.
You have to understand that your comments are coming straight from a person who doesn't like hockey. So let me ask you a couple questions...
1)What is this lockout even about?
2)How is hockey destroying are society?
3)What part of hockey do you hate here? What part of the violence do you not like.
As far as I can see this arguement is no where near from over. I just ask questions and all you say is "your comments are stupid." instead of avoiding my question by some comeback answer it directly with evidence.
This started as a simple lockout conversation but you have brought it outside into the entire topic of "what is hockey good for". I am simply defending hockey here.
no, you've turned it rediculous by making victims of the purpetraitors.
life is bigger than hockey. get over it.
i have answered all of the above questions, but it is you who avoids the issue. i'm done.
teehee. Andrew spelled something wrong.
Here's what I'm going to do...
I'm going to continue to keep my same opinion on the lockout, the players, and the GM's
I will always think of hockey as a great sport; probably the best sport there is. Yet, I will admit it has it's flaws, but it still entertains me; if i'm playing it or watching it.
Remember how we used to watch cartoon movies and the bad guy would want to take away something that the kids loved? Like summer vacation or chocolate? He always looked at the bad things when he never realized how much joy and pleasure it actually brought to the children, even if it had some kind of a flaw. Well, i'm just going to think of Andrew as the person who wants to destroy hockey because he thinks it's horrable, when he doesn't realize how much fun it is to play and watch.
But don't worry! The good guys always win!
And so ends a pointless debate, with nothing proved, and we continue on...
that was kinda fun!
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