One of the cornerstones of growing up in Canada was playing hockey. Playing hockey is not just a game that Canadians play but it is part of the culture and the ideals of Canadiansociety and something that both men and women engage in.

Since I was oldenough to walk my father took me down to the local ice rink to go skating. I can still remember floundering around the ice at the ripe age of 5 and smelling the cool crisp air coming off the cold rink. Ever since that day I played hockey every chance I could get.

 I came from a poorer family so getting to play hockey on a team and on the local ice rink was just too expensive. Playing hockey was not cheap you have to buy a helmet, gloves, shin guards, elbow pads, mouth guard, chest guard, hockey pants, jersey and of course a stick and skates. I played on the neighborhood outdoor rink. Helmets and shoulder pads were optional. A pair of gloves and shin pads got you into the game. A well advised player would also wear a mouth guard. The mouth guard was not so much for the flying pucks as it was the flying fists.

Scraps, as we call them in Canada, were not uncommon on the local rink. I have fond memories of my first real hockey scrap. I, and many of my compatriots will agree that drawing first blood on ice is a rite to manhood in Canada. I became a man on the local rink when I was 15.

 Matching up against a neighborhood 18 year old I squared off and put up my fists for what would be a defining moment in my life. We both fought hard. I remember the hot flush and the searing pain as the skin under my right eye was torn open. I refused to quit and eventually the referee had to separate us. As the referee escorted me off the ice, my father watching in the stands went to wait at the car.

When I got to the car, he handed me a hot chocolateand told me he was proud of me. I had fought like a man, not given up. We reminisced at how I had first started on that ice, unable to stand. And how today, I had left the ice, bloodied and bruised but still standing.

Hockey taught me that with work and perseverance, no matter what the odds, fight hard and live like a man.

Matthew J. Gordon
(English Lecturer, Language Center)