Figuring out what I wanna be when I grow up.
Oop..I AM grown up...


Saturday, November 27, 2010

Hockey Players Are FREAKING HOT

Rick Vaive (image source)

Seriously--google some other photos of Rick in hockey gear--he was HOT. 

OH, Rick Vaive, how I loved you when I was...10?  Yeah, probably around that time...maybe even until I was 13.  Anyhoo, I was into watching hockey for a brief period of time with my Dad when I was a kid.  Dad and Poppa (my paternal grandfather) would turn the TV up SUPER LOUD during the hockey games, and Dad would actually say the odd, rare swear word.  Funny about the loud TV too, because every time my brother and I turned it up a bit too loud, Dad would turn it down and tell us:  "exercise your ears." 

The team we routed for was the idiot's choice:  Toronto Maple Leafs.  Okay, if you're reading this and you're a fan, that's FINE, but at some point you have to get angry and wonder how they can continue to keep making so much money, and continue to keep playing such LOUSY HOCKEY.  And let us not mention the exorbitant price tag for a ticket to watch them SUCK.  That's all I'm going to rant about hockey, because ultimately, the only time I'm interested in hockey is when team Canada is playing.  I am NOT a sports girl.  Sports = yucky.  If you would like to learn more about Rick Vaive, you can click here
I have to interject for a moment to say that I still have this FLU that I started coming down with 4 days ago, AND I have a fever tonight, AND I'm tired of having DIZZY EYEBALLS, and I'm coughing like crazy, and the ONLY THING I WANT IN THE WHOLE WORLD right now for some reason is a giant bag of red licorice.  Sigh.

On Thursday my little guy had his first school trip this year, and EVER, to go skating!  I was told that parents were more than welcome to come along, because they need as many hands as possible to help lace up skates for the kids.  In the city where I live now, they have done away with all the other smaller skating rinks, in favour of one giant MEGA SKATE COMPLEX.  Kind of exciting, even if it is standing on land where a company once existed that made a whole smorgasbord of chemicals.  Oh, but don't worry, they just didn't dig too deep to build the arena.  ANYHOO...

I arrived before the primary grades got there and that's when I started to realise that a) I myself haven't been skating since I was 18, and b) Jack has NEVER BEEN SKATING.  He's never even had a pair of skates.  Holy Motherly Panic!  So, with my wimpy girl fingers, I did a half a$$ed job of tightening Jack's skates, as well as the skates of a little girl who did not look excited, and who informed me that she is scared of skating.  Geez kid, what--are you ME at age 7?  This is to say that I have never been a sports kid (ie; I sucked at them), but I have to admit, I always liked skating. 

In fact, I have fond memories of skating.  I liked coming to the arena with my Dad, who would lace my skates up good and tight.  If I told him my ankles were drooping inward, he'd lace up my skates SO tightly, there was no way those ankles would wobble.  In winter Dad would sometimes flood our large back yard and make a rink.  We even skated on the super thick ice on top of our above-ground swimming pool one year.  So, skating was fun. 

But, I do have to rant about those heinous white figure skates we girls had to wear instead of the nice, roomy, blocky boys' skates, all you boys got to wear.  Those things always felt pinchy and tight, and your feet were frozen in about 10 minutes.

So, Jack stood up in his skates, and almost fell over.  The kid could barely stand in them, much less walk in them.  By the time we sashayed over to the ice, I was in a wimp-panic about him getting on something SLIPPERY.  "Don't fall on your teeth!!!"  I told him, and, "Fall on your bum!  FALL ON YOUR BUUUUUM!"  And you know, he wasn't great, and he never let go of the rail, but he loved it.  He loved falling.  He loved pretending to fall. He loved pretending to fall while shouting; "whoa!  Whoa!  WHOOOOAAAA!!"  He thought it was hilarious when other kids flopped out.  He hammed for the little girls.  When he fell, he nimbly leapt back onto his feet.  In the last two minutes of skate time, he had the courage to inch along about 30 feet away from me.  When he got off the ice, suddenly he was able to walk with his skates on and not hold my arm or wobble at all. 

What I liked about the trip to the rink was the feeling of nostalgia.  I like the smell of an arena, I like what seems to be the "Canadian" feel of being in a building that houses all those rinks.  I thought it was cool watching the guy cleaning one rink gliding around in his zamboni.  But best of all was the rink I passed by first thing that morning, before the school kids arrived.  There were a couple of guys skating around.  In full hockey equipment. 

INSTANT LUST

I don't know what it is, but there has always been something about a guy zipping around the ice with the hockey shirt, and the pads and the helmet--a guy who can skate really well.  Sometimes as a young teenager, I'd come to see local hockey games at the arena with my dad, and totally swoon over the hockey players:  all sweaty, and horking spit endlessly and foul-mouthed.  Hee hee!  That is, until they got showered and back into their regular clothes.  Yawn.  Then I'd lose all interest. 

Keep the helmet on boys.  It's hot

16 comments:

  1. OOOOhhhh I hated skating as a kid! When the rink opened up in our small town , EVERBODY in town had skating lessons. You know the lessons where everyone got the badge for each level and the "really" good skaters had them all sewed neatly in a row up the sleaves/arms of their skating sweater?

    And all of us trying to practice our figure 8's. AHEM when we were lucky enough to pass to that level....ooooh they looked so good those girls.

    Well I hated my pinchy white skates! My feet were numb.

    I guess must have passed quite a few levels but, must admit running up and down the ailes of seating in my raw blades on cement every class was enough to make my mother(mental) remove me after like the 3rd year.

    I can still remember the smell of that rink.
    And remember that I was a sucker for my annual end of year skating thing...yes a red sucker. with a little styrofoam hat with pink suckers stuck into it, and a red poofed out plastic pink outfit with pink sequins. Ya ,those were the days!

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  2. pfsst!

    I've got more IT Factor in my lil' pinky finger... ;)

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  3. You have a great blog. Rick is (was?) very hot. I'm glad to come aboard. xo

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  4. Well being a fellow Canadian, I understand how you find hockey players to be hot :0) Your blog is a blast.

    All the best,
    Marnie xo

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  5. Berries! That is a great story--it totally captures one of those awkward, dying-inside kid memories. I definitely would have hated skating if I'd had to take lessons. I should do a blog on my four years of soccer in my youth--no wait, next to nothing of note happened.

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  6. Yes, Blasé, you have a lot of charm, but do you have a HOCKEY UNIFORM???

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  7. Hi Robyn! Thanks for checking out my whining. I love when new people join the party. Did you happen to google any pictures of Rick, and just skip over the ones where he's all clean and fuzzy haired with no equipment on? He's not my boyfriend in those pictures.

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  8. Thanks Marnie, and welcome to you too :)
    Is it a Canadian thing? Does that mean American girls prefer football players? Hmm...too easy a conclusion? Oh wait...I lusted after the boys' football team in highschool...but, nothing happened. Typical.

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  9. I'm laughing because as soon as I saw the title to your post, I was all like, "Oh yeah, hockey men!" Then by the end of the post, I remembered that underneat the gear, they are the stinkiest creatures!
    Yeah, keep the helmet on men, and make sure you Febrieze it first!

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  10. ohh!it makes you wonder if they can skate really well, maybe they can do other things really well too.then again, if they skate really fast....

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  11. Benny was there on that trip too! It was his first day back to school after suffering through teh POX! :( Poor kid. Ben loves skating, thanks to Rich working at the arena in NOTL. Cohen just went skating fo rthe first time yesterday. We bought her bob skates. She did very well for her first time.
    As for hockey plays...yum yum...totally agreed HOT! ...and the Leafs dont suck that bad this year...

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  12. Sandra, when I was a kid, my dad used to play goalie for a small league. He told me how stinky guys were after playing hockey. I was fascinated and horrified to learn that deodorant actually "failed" once you surpassed a certain point of sweatiness.

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  13. yeah Paula, now I have the same mental image too, and all I can say is "ew." You're probably right.

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  14. re; the Leafs not sucking yet: Give them time, Steph. Give them time. Yes, I saw Ben there and his diminishing spots. He's good on the ice. Jack asked him afterwards; "Ben, how come your hair's all wet?" Because he was a skating MACHINE!

    That's cute about your girlie skating. I'm going to get my girl on the ice soon.

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  15. I am slightly grossed out at the though of Ben having to sit through the rest of teh day at school after sweating so much! We went skating as a fmaily yesterday adn i could nto wait to get him home and in the tub!! adn yes, his helmet STINKS!! HE tells me, its okay....*shudder*
    Re: the Leafs...I have faith this year...I do I do! they ahve 2 new players that are really good..I hoping tha will make the difference. By why oh why do still love them?? I ask myself this every year???

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  16. I guess that's called "loyalty" Steph. Good for you. Yeah, but I'll tell you what--they MADE the kids wear a coat and mitts and it's not cold enough if you're actually skating around. Add a helmet to the mix, and no wonder the poor kid was sweaty. I said to Jack; "your hair's all sweaty too."

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