I miss hockey (ice hockey that is....)

Well, the Stanley Cup playoffs are on so I'm itching to watch a bit of hockey. It's been 2 years since I've seen a game, live or on TV! I was going to subscribe to the NASN channel here that shows hockey, but didn't like the looks of the playoff matchups, and with most games on at midnight Irish time, I never thought I'd get to really watch.

But last weekend there was a Sunday afternoon 2pm game, which is 7 pm in Ireland. So, I trundled down to the local pub, seeing if I could convince them to put it on the tube. Place was nearly empty, they had some mind-numbing quiz show on the tube, so I asked the barman if they could put it on one of their two large TV's.
What was the response? Hockey....that's a girls game.

No, I explained, it's a fast-paced sport played by real men on a frozen rink with a frozen piece of rubber whizzing about at 100 mph....only one of the toughest games known to man, graceful too! It is a religion in my home country. Entire cities grind to a halt during the playoffs, women are termed 'hockey-widows', and every kid aspires to be the next Wayne Gretzky. I'd be happy to explain the rules to any of your fine customers. Who knows, in time your establishment could become known as the home of ice hockey viewing in north County Dublin!

His response? This pub shows footie, rugby, and GAA, nothing else.

Damn.

But, at least I have the Hockey Night in Canada theme song as my ringtone.