It may come as a shock to know that:

I’ve played hockey since I was about 6 years old and still play 3-5 times a week. The two things I can say about my relationship (obsession?) with hockey are-

1. I was born during the best time in the history of hockey. In 1980 when I was really getting into it, we had the Miracle on ice in the 1980 Olympic team winning gold. Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Jarri Kurri were leading the upstart Oilers against the incredible NY Islanders with Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier. And my Blackhawks were really fun to watch too with Dennis Savard, Al Secord, Steve Larmer and Doug Wilson. And then came Mario Lemieux in the mid-80’s. This was arguably the most talented era of the NHL. It was a great time to be a fan of the game and learn to play.

2. It’s probably the most social game I can think of. Even golf, which is designed to be a social experience as much as a game, doesn’t match the camaraderie of a team sport. I play on three teams at the moment – mostly to get a lot of ice time – and I’m really good friends with a number of the guys who I otherwise probably never would have known. Even good buddies who I play with I get to see more of because we play hockey together. Everyone knows how hard it is to get together with close friends as you get older. It’s pretty unique in that regard whereas once you’re done playing football or baseball you’re pretty much done. There are guys on a couple of my teams that are in their mid-60’s! I hope I can keep playing for another 20+ years.