drinkTHEkoolaid Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Generally Speaking (not in every case obviously) but it seems that hockey players conduct themselves much more professionally and hold themselves to higher standards than football players. does anyone else agree or disagree? give me reasons why you feel the way you do? This is just my opinion and i'm curious to see what others think as well... bring on intelligent debate! in my .02 cents i think the vast majority of hockey players were not coddled along like young football stars are. hockey players remeber their parents waking them up at 5am in janurary when its 5degrees outside to go to practice on a saturday morning. They seem much more appreciative, down to earth and humble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slothrop Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 However the dumbest athletes are hockey and baseball players - by far! Few have any college education (no matter how superficial) and they, as their sports demanded, traveled a lot in highschool. Ryan Miller is an exception to the general rule. Baseball players are probably dumber than hockey players. Just a logical observation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glass To The Arson Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 However the dumbest athletes are hockey and baseball players - by far! Few have any college education (no matter how superficial) and they, as their sports demanded, traveled a lot in highschool. Ryan Miller is an exception to the general rule. Baseball players are probably dumber than hockey players. Just a logical observation. I think hockey players have better street smarts Football players have to be smart to earn these degrees but sometimes I wonder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Generally Speaking (not in every case obviously) but it seems that hockey players conduct themselves much more professionally and hold themselves to higher standards than football players. does anyone else agree or disagree? give me reasons why you feel the way you do? This is just my opinion and i'm curious to see what others think as well... bring on intelligent debate! in my .02 cents i think the vast majority of hockey players were not coddled along like young football stars are. hockey players remeber their parents waking them up at 5am in janurary when its 5degrees outside to go to practice on a saturday morning. They seem much more appreciative, down to earth and humble. Keep in mind there are many more NFL players. I think our perception of them is tainted by a small handful of players. Look what happens on this board .. we focus on Marshawn Lynch's bad judgement and behavior not on the guys like Brian Moorman who are doing great things in the community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PastaJoe Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 However the dumbest athletes are hockey and baseball players - by far! Few have any college education (no matter how superficial) and they, as their sports demanded, traveled a lot in highschool. Ryan Miller is an exception to the general rule. Baseball players are probably dumber than hockey players. Just a logical observation. Not having book smarts doesn't make one dumb, just less educated. There's plenty of people who went to college that are dumb. The difference between hockey players and some football players may be that hockey players usually come from two parent families with middle to upper incomes, which is necessary to fund the equipment and travel required for top players. Some football players come from urban areas where they grew up around negative influences, and had single parents (no father figure) to provide positive male role models. So some football players have more social issues to overcome. Some do and mature, and some don't and end up in bad behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cugalabanza Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Let us not fail to mention perhaps the most cantankerous of sporting gentlemen, those belligerent purveyors of badminton and croquet. I certainly do not envy the poor chap who encounters a rowdy gang of badmintoners returning from their after dinner cognac. These rambunctious lads will not hesitate to unleash a devastating flurry of incisive witticisms upon an unsuspecting fellow simply for the deliciously wicked merriment of it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 A guy I know who coaches youth hockey and scouts for some teams says almost all hockey players have used steroids to heal an injury quicker, but that's it. Regular steroid use by hockey players would be deadly (according to him) because of the high-stress aerobic nature of the sport. Your heart would simply give out. That's why he says steroids are perfect for baseball. All you do is stand around most of the game. PTR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 A guy I know who coaches youth hockey and scouts for some teams says almost all hockey players have used steroids to heal an injury quicker, but that's it. Regular steroid use by hockey players would be deadly (according to him) because of the high-stress aerobic nature of the sport. Your heart would simply give out. That's why he says steroids are perfect for baseball. All you do is stand around most of the game. PTR I've heard that using amphetamines in the lockerroom is still quite prevalent. I forgot which team it was, but in the lockerroom there was "leaded" coffee and "unleaded" coffee. Not so subtle. I think amphetamines are the dirty little secret of the NHL that everybody sorta knows about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Some good points all around. for the most part, hockey players come from much different backgrounds. They are typically middle class and upper from backwoods towns in Canada and Europe. They are less well known and aren't given the star treatment. Football players, on the other hand, are from mainly urban areas with a higher poverty rate. However with stations like ESPN broadcasting high school games, they become stars at early ages and are given star treatment. A lot of them are celebrities before they turn 20 years old. It is a whole different world for them. Also as someone else pointed out, 90% of football players are good citizens. However the media loves the flashy stories. Warrick Dunn will never receive as much press as Pacman Jones. This also helps to explain why the NHL has few recognizable players. In the media's eyes, they are boring and lack personality. That doesn't make for good news stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Some good points all around. for the most part, hockey players come from much different backgrounds. They are typically middle class and upper from backwoods towns in Canada and Europe. They are less well known and aren't given the star treatment. Football players, on the other hand, are from mainly urban areas with a higher poverty rate. However with stations like ESPN broadcasting high school games, they become stars at early ages and are given star treatment. A lot of them are celebrities before they turn 20 years old. It is a whole different world for them. Also as someone else pointed out, 90% of football players are good citizens. However the media loves the flashy stories. Warrick Dunn will never receive as much press as Pacman Jones. This also helps to explain why the NHL has few recognizable players. In the media's eyes, they are boring and lack personality. That doesn't make for good news stories. It also doesn't help that many of the NHL's superstars speak broken English. Ovechkin has all the personality in the world, but you can't really understand anything that comes out of his mouth. Also, he's ugly as sh*t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 also keep in mind that Hockey is not as popular a sport as NFL, MLB and NBA, and as a result, not on the top of the media's watchlist......just my initial guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 It also doesn't help that many of the NHL's superstars speak broken English. Ovechkin has all the personality in the world, but you can't really understand anything that comes out of his mouth. Also, he's ugly as sh*t. You ever hear Max Afinogenov? Oh man. I will say this. Chicks love hockey players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopsGuy Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I've heard that using amphetamines in the lockerroom is still quite prevalent. I forgot which team it was, but in the lockerroom there was "leaded" coffee and "unleaded" coffee. Not so subtle. I think amphetamines are the dirty little secret of the NHL that everybody sorta knows about. I remember that story. It was baseball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I remember that story. It was baseball. D'oh! I'm losin' my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 maybe you should put down the bottle...or try smiling... D'oh! I'm losin' my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 also keep in mind that Hockey is not as popular a sport as NFL, MLB and NBA, and as a result, not on the top of the media's watchlist......just my initial guess That's a big part in this one. Hockey players get to fly under the radar. Yes, their sport is far less popular, but football players also stand out far more in a crowd. Even the largest of hockey players (other than someone like Chara) would be dwarfed by the size of most football players. There's definitely something to the different culture of the players though too. Just looking at some of the stories that float around out here in Boston, every sport has their scandals, but the hockey ones do seem to be less violent as a whole. The typical hockey moment involves alcohol and stupidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SageAgainstTheMachine Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 maybe you should put down the bottle...or try smiling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 A story from a few years back illustrates the point of the original post. The Florida Panthers used to play in the Miami Arena. The Miami Arena was a great place to watch games, but in a pretty rough neighborhood. When the Panthers were still playing their games there, a mother and daughter went to a game. After the game, they discovered that they had a flat tire. As time wore on and the parking lot emptied, they got more and more worried about their safety. Ultimately, they were alone in the parking lot (because all of the fans had left) until a couple of Panthers -- John Vanbiesbrouck and someone else happened to come by. This is the point in the story where one probably could predict what most [insert name of sport] players would do. In this case, Vanbiesbrouck and the other guy changed the woman's tire themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 My guess is that NHL players also generally grew up in relatively wealthier and stable home situations. Keep in mind that some (not by any means suggesting all or even many) come from very difficult backgrounds where they were regularly exposed to crime and violence. It carries forward in their professional lives. Think James Hardy or maybe even Marshawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 A story from a few years back illustrates the point of the original post. The Florida Panthers used to play in the Miami Arena. The Miami Arena was a great place to watch games, but in a pretty rough neighborhood. When the Panthers were still playing their games there, a mother and daughter went to a game. After the game, they discovered that they had a flat tire. As time wore on and the parking lot emptied, they got more and more worried about their safety. Ultimately, they were alone in the parking lot (because all of the fans had left) until a couple of Panthers -- John Vanbiesbrouck and someone else happened to come by. This is the point in the story where one probably could predict what most [insert name of sport] players would do. In this case, Vanbiesbrouck and the other guy changed the woman's tire themselves. I really think the majority of athletes would do the same thing. People jsut pay more attention to the ones that don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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