Day in and day out I, a 21 year old girl, spend my time thinking about a team of guys that play a sport that I have no idea how to play. For those of you who do know me, you know exactly who I'm talking about. For those of you that don't, I'm talking about the New York Rangers, an ice hockey team in the National Hockey League.
Every day and every night I spend my time thinking about a team of 20-something men that play a professional sport. I think about how they don their jerseys, pads and such then chase each other on a giant sheet of frozen water, wearing knife shoes, with sticks all the while trying to get a small piece of rubber in a six-foot-by-three-foot net. Let's not forget that they're trying to kill each other at the same time.
I think about the well being of the players on the ice first and foremost. God forbid Marc Staal gets hit in the eye with a puck again. I would be beside myself.
My brain would tell me to think of every possible way that this could go wrong. It would also lead me to every possible way to think of how I could heal it and make it better from Long Island.
Reality is, I know that I won't be able too fix it and I know that sitting there worrying about it is going to do nothing but stress me out more but I can't help it. I'm a worrier by nature and it drives my family nuts.
Here's me and my best-friend-but-only-one-of-us-knows-it, Marc Staal.
Second, I think of the players off the ice. Are they okay? Is their family okay? Are they taking care of themselves? Are they getting enough sleep? Yes is probably the answer to all of those over-bearing, mom like questions.
Whatever. Again, I tend to worry.
(Sorry, Kreids. I had too.)
Finally, the sport itself is something I slowly but surely integrated into my life as I grew older. Day after day, week after week I watched and listened and learned and found something I can confide in. I found myself in ice hockey. The most ironic part?
I found myself in a sport I have no idea how to play.
Yes. I know. How can I love a sport I don't know how to play? I learned the logistics. It's as simple as that. I know how the game works. I know the rules, I know the positions and I know my team. I just cant physically go out and play the game.
I dedicate my life to a team of a sport that I cannot play. I dedicate enough of my life to this team that I feel like they are part of me. So I made them a part of my life and my body.