Tonight I had the grand privilege of being able to watch some real, live hockey here in Singapore. (Thanks, Seb!)
It was a bit odd: trek all the way out to the west side of the island to watch teams from all around Asia battle it out on the ice for … just some tournament fun. Well, hey — I did get to see two ex-NHL players, too. Incidentally, both play for the same team and they left me thinking they must get pretty bored…
Aside from the sheer novelty and fun of watching some hockey in the tropics (including the crazy mist coming off the ice due to the heat, even in an air-conditioned mall), I got to catch up with my friend Seb, who was playing for the Flying Farangs, a team based in BKK. It was such fun chatting with him and hearing his crazy stories. Seb always has great stories. Tonight I was entertained with tales of riding camels in the desert and living in a remote town in South Korea.
But tonight’s truth is about being hockey literate.
When I first arrived at the tournament, I paused to watch through the window. It took me a full minute for my brain to register, “OH! We’re watching THIS. Right!” It was probably another 4 minutes for my brain to fetch everything it could from the memory annals about hockey. I couldn’t find the puck right away, and then I was distracted by the guy body-checking this other guy. I was not focused. But within a few minutes I was back on track and fully into the game. Another 30 min later and I was shouting (not too loudly, but still) things like, “Move! You’ve gotta pass it to him, don’t just keep it!” and “How did you lose that? Keep it outta there!”
It took a gooooood 10 minutes for my brain to become hockey literate again.
It reminded me of a conversation I’d had not too long ago with a colleague who was asking me about hockey (“Is it true all Canadians like hockey?”). One of his most concerning questions was about watching the game. He is an avid sports person both as a player and a spectator. He asked, “How can you follow the puck? It’s just so hard to keep your eye on.” I had told him the story of Fox’s blue puck disaster, and how Canadians just basically threw up on it. I bascially said, “You know what? When you grow up watching it, you just become accustomed to watching it, and following the puck becomes pretty natural. You don’t have to think too hard about it after a while.”
Well, tonight, I had to think hard about it for the first 15 min of game-watching. After that, I was totally fine and back to “normal.” But it would be a lie to say this is a skill I have that has never dissipated.
I had to retrain my brain and eyes for those 15 minutes and remind myself where I was.
“I am watching a hockey game. A HOCKEY GAME! PAY ATTENTION!”
And it came back. Quickly! And I enjoyed watching.
But I imagine it is so hard and boring and … too fast, maybe? for the uninitiated. It takes practice to learn how to watch the puck in such a fast, hard-hitting game. Because after today, I sympathize. Those first 10-15 minutes involved some serious concentration. Then it was fine and I was relaxed and shouting at the players and chill chill chill.
Another truth: tonight felt like a place transformation. I did not feel like I was in Singapore. I was surrounded by WHITE people. It felt very bizarre. And we sat in Chili’s afterward, also with mostly white people.
I’m sure it was a fun weekend for all involved. I had a great evening tonight, Seb, and hope we can do it again soon!
