why Hockey in Canada is so important?
92777
Hockey's so important in canada because it's the one sport they can call their own.
993061
1. Most cups - The Montreal Canadiens.  Second - I'd guess the Red Wings, \n2. The Summit Series was played between the Soviet Union and Canada sometime in the early Seventies (1971?)\n3. The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto.\n4.  No idea, guessing 50%.\n\nI was born and raised in Mississippi and live in South Carolina.  And as for why hockey is played in the South......\n\nBecause it is a fast paced, exciting game that has broad appeal among many sports fans, including those of us in the South.  Hockey combines two great Southern sporting traditions.  It has the finesse and skill of basketball and the violence of football.  (You could also argue it now has the speed of NASCAR since they did away with the two line passes and other rule changes)  And it's not like we stole hockey from you.  To the best of my knowledge, only one Southern team (The Atlanta Flames) have ever left the USA for the greener pastures of Canada.  Canada, on the other hand, and through a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, poor fan support and a weak economy, has lost the Nordiques, The Jets, and almost lost the Oilers.\n\nThe point I'm trying to make is, don't be greedy.  Share.  The expansion of hockey is good for the sport and can only help benefit the teams that remain in Canada.  We're very proud of our Hurricanes and it was a great series.  The Oilers played tremendously and almost gave us more than we could handle.  Some of us may have been fair weather fans before, but success has a way, for good or for bad, of converting people.  And more hockey fans, regardless of where they live, is a good thing.  Right?
915111
Tundra is a good place to play hockey\nDeciduous forests are a good source for hockey sticks.
602179
Hockey is a great sport for juniors. It teaches them teamwork and fairplay. It is a little expensive, but the game pays out more than you spend.
1094518
The same reason that those little African teams and Iran don't make the Olympic hockey field.  Soccer is not the national sports passion of Canada like it is in these other countries. Soccer is a sport that took root in these countries long ago and is also inexpensive to play. All the poor children in these places need is a ball and some other kids and they can play.  You see the kids playing in the streets with makeshift goals. Soccer is also about the only entertainment that these kids get.  They can't afford bikes, Playstation 2's, or even tv's.
579055
Brian Leetch (D) is from Texas - a place that sees ice about 6 hours out of the year.  He won the Conn Smythe Trophy back in the early/mid-90's.\n\nPhil Housley (D) grew up in So. St. Paul, Minnesota.  I knew him personally.  His Dad and my Dad were in Vietnam together.  He is one of the best defensemen of all-time.\n\nI see what you're saying... hockey is a sport dominated by Canadians and other foreigners (players outside of North America).  Look at the Minnesota Wild.  Only one player, Brian Roloson, is from the US.  Hockey is Canada's national sport, and consequently they will breed a majority of the players in the NHL.
935377
A lot of it has to do with tradition - the same reason Americans love baseball, and Canadians love hockey; soccer has been the traditional and national sport of most countries in the world and children are raised in an environment of soccer fanatiscm and reciprocate that in adult life.\n\nAnother aspect is that soccer is the most inexpensive sport to play. Hockey, football, etc. all require expensive pads and the likes, whereas soccer is dirt cheap, so poorer nations and people can afford to play it.
324639
So that the US could practice beating a team without even trying. We need to practice too you know. Canadian Soccer HAHAHA :) thats funny, but Hockey well thats a different story
319016
It's a sports and cultural thing north of the Mason Dixon line and an entertainment thing south of it. In the original six NHL cities and across the Northern tier, they are all cold weather climates where you actually get a pair of skates handed down from your sib's and get a hockey stick as a gift for Christmas. Your shin pads were often a catologue from a department store. \n\nFor markets like LA, Dallas and Miami .. it's all entertainment. This is a choice for those dollars, verses clubs, movies and other sports options. Not that they are our are not viable markets for the entertainment ... but you'll never run out to your back yard, strap on skates and play shinny across a frozen lake or pond.\n\nIt is actually a regional sport and will remain so until an athlete or a team is so powerful that they capture the imagination of the marginal fan. Some say Gretsky could have ... because he was in that class with Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson.
211967
it most assuredly is the most important sport because not only is it played on ice, it combines features of the sports of soccer, football, and basketball into one sport, how could you go wrong?
760760
It's the last of the true sports. / It's the best sport in the world. No matter who your team and what your fan-status.... most of us here can agree on 1 thing.... Hockey is, by far, the best sport on Earth.
412389
Its not violence. Really you think that???? Thats silly. They are trying to get the puck if that means to slam your oppenent into the wall then so be it.  Just like football when you tackel. There is alot more violence out on the streets we should worry about b4 hockey.\n\nHockey is the coolest sport, it goes to show how much a team really cares about their team mates, when someone gets checked then a fight breaks out its cuz that persons teammates are like H*ll no you ain't taking a cheap shot on our guy.\n\nGuess you gotta love it to get it.
625812
Well, soccer isn't popular in the U.S., so why would a varient of it be popular?  I think it's amazing that ice hockey became as popular as it is in the U.S., and unless you're a die hard fan of it, in the U.S., you vaguely know that it even exists.
753865
Firstly, you need to define what an international sports event is!\n\nIf it's an event between India and other nations, then India does as well as any other country.\n\nIndia has a long and well documented history of success in sports such as cricket and hockey, and interest in a diverse range of events [1], but such international matches rarely get (a) large scale television coverage and (b) massive advertising promotion that raises awareness.\n\nSo what you may be asking, is why India does not do well in high-profile sporting events that are covered by the western media, to which the answer is a combination of cultural, economic and (even) climate differences that makes different sports popular in India.\n\nA member in India could ask the same question, for example, of the USA, which is not well known for it's cricket.
725050
Its is conscidered the greatest game on the planet earth. "It is the fastest, coolest, most intense game you can play." It builds charactor and teamwork skills. Its great for a pick-me-up as playing a hardcore fun sport like hockey boosts you "feel good" endorphins and gives you that on top of the world feeling. \n\nHope this helps a bit!
700953
Hockey is for real athletes and competitors....fighting in hockey isn't fighting just to fight...as emotional a sport as hockey is fighting is usually used to spark a team and get your fans and teammates rallied up. Sometimes fighting occurs to send a message to the opposing team or player in particular. By no means is hockey a "retarded sport" , it's just not like others where you can be a cockey shit talker and get away with it.  If your going to run your mouth on the ice you should be able to back yourself up because it's not like football or basketball where opposing players sissy slap each other uncontrolabally. That pretty much sums it up.
1055458
Agreed.   \n\n\n   Without a venue to vent frustration in a high paced physical game like hockey, there would be more incidents of stick swinging and potentially more violent injuries.  \n\n  Fighting is not really 'allowed' but tolerated and penaltized.