Hockey Schmockey: I have to learn another sport?!

Last night I was bribed with the promise of food and a few beers to go watch the Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

I am not a hockey fan. I didn't grow up with it. My high school didn't have a team, and none of my family followed hockey. So this whole "Chicago is a hockey city" is a new concept to me. However, the Chicago Blackhawk's success and their presence in the Stanley Cup Finals has created quite the buzz in a town that is divided by north and south sides. Honestly, it is refreshing to see Chicagoans bond together and cheer for the same team. There is just one problem: I don't get hockey.

Don't get me wrong, I am learning more about hockey, and finding it much more exciting than I did at first. So last night as we cozied into our highly sought after booth at our favorite bar, I began the questioning P.I.C. about hockey:

Q: Why does it take twenty minutes between periods?
A: So the zamboni has time to clear the ice.
Follow-up Q: Why does that take twenty minutes?
A: Because it has to freeze ice and it goes very slowly.
Yet another follow-up Q: Why can't they crank up the speed on it?

No answer.

Q: Why can't they make the hockey puck a bright color or put a laser streak on it so I can follow it. I can't see the damn thing.
A: They did do that, awhile back. It looked ridiculous.

Oh.

Q: What does a power play mean?

And so the night wore on.

This is not the first time I played Twenty Questions to learn about a sport. When I was a freshman in high school and became a cheerleader, I realized I had to learn about football. I mean, you can't call for a "First and Ten" cheer if you don't know what a first down is, right? So I would sit with my dad and watch football and pepper him with questions to learn the sport on the weekends.

I might think this exercise is cute. I think the truth is that I have been blessed with extraordinarily patient men in my life.