Hockey? Here? Playoff Fever Heads South

Person A: Have you heard about the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals?

Person B: Who? What's a Stanley Cup?

A: You know, like hockey with sticks and ice and stuff?

B: Ahh yes, that game they play in Canada. They always put those highlights in between the good stuff on Sportscenter. Should I have heard of the Hurricanes?

A: They're the NHL team that plays in Raleigh. They're in the championships series.

B: Like Raleigh, as in the home of Moo U.? How long has this hockey thing been going on there?

I will fully admit that I'm not the poster child for the biggest Hurricanes fan.

In fact, I'm not really even a year-round hockey fan.

Back in my hometown, there was this guy from Canada in our neighborhood who I made fun of for actually watching hockey on television. My train of thought was, "Fights are good; hockey is boring."

A couple years ago, I found myself starting to watch playoff hockey on the grounds that when the games are important, they are actually exciting.

Fox's blazing puck and rules explanations got me watching a little more. I even learned who Gary Bettman is.

Since then, I have been a moderate fan. I enjoy a moment here or there -- until playoff time comes.

At a risk of giving away my enjoyment of a sport not previously embraced by Southerners, I have occasionally said, "Playoff hockey is actually pretty exciting."

Truth be told, it's addictive.

This past week I found myself in a room full of people cheering vehemently for Carolina's hockey team.

Loud, screaming Carolinians yelling at Ron Francis and Arturs Irbe? Hockey in the South?

The only ice people in the South ever see is in their sweet tea.

It has become a fact that in North Carolina, hockey is the best played sport, at least on a relative level. What other sports teams can claim to have reached the professional finals or even collegiate finals of major sports in Carolina?

Basketball certainly can't hold that distinction this year.

The Hornets are bound for New Orleans after a royal Jason Kidd whipping. Duke, for once, didn't make finals of the NCAA tournament. Carolina's basketball team butted heads with mid- to low-majors and fell flat on its rear.

Football? The Carolina Panthers are still in the rebuilding period after the loss of such all-world superstars as Kevin Greene and Sam Mills. Julius Peppers only satisfied one of their 23 needs.

Think long term ... really long term.

So, with the recent lack of excitement from other Carolina sports, hockey is not that bad of an alternative.

It's fast-paced and fun to watch, and there's frequent hitting.

Like NBA basketball, when there is a break-away, players push and shove the player attempting to score. In hockey it's legal; in the NBA it slows down the pace of play to somewhere between paint drying, grass growing and an Economics 10 lecture.

There were actual lines formed outside of the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Raleigh starting in the wee hours of the morning last week to get tickets for the championship series.

Either people think that their chances to ever attend another Stanley Cup Final game might be pretty remote or they are actually catching the hockey craze.

I hope people are figuring out that hockey is an exciting sport to watch and will continue to support the Hurricanes in the future.

Carolinians are great sports fans. They don't deserve the bad rap of the effects of George Shinn.

On the cover of Friday's (Raleigh) News & Observer, I learned what a Caniac is.

I checked the true test for today's popularity, Ebay.com, for tickets that are now going for $207 and up.

Carolina might have officially gone hockey crazy.

Game two will be played at 8 p.m. today on ESPN.

Cheer on a local team that has a chance of making some more history against a storied team in the Detroit Red Wings.

If you think the Whalers have any chance of winning the Stanley Cup, drop me a line at tompkins@email.unc.edu.