Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site dciem.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!jeff From: jeff@dciem.UUCP (Jeff Richardson) Newsgroups: net.sport.hockey Subject: Re: Offence vs. Defence Message-ID: <1539@dciem.UUCP> Date: Tue, 7-May-85 13:40:37 EDT Article-I.D.: dciem.1539 Posted: Tue May 7 13:40:37 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 7-May-85 16:23:55 EDT References: <1537@dciem.UUCP> Reply-To: jeff@dciem.UUCP ( Richardson) Distribution: na Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada Lines: 104 Summary: >>NONSENSE!! I think the Oilers are one of the most boring teams in the >>league. Who wants to watch the Oilers blow someone away 8-3 all the time? >>At least half of the Oiler games are over before the middle of the second >>period. What's so exciting about that? .... >I would think that an educated fan would appreciate the display of some of >the skills which make the game. Of late, only the more defensive of these >skills have emphasized. What Rob and I appreciate about the Oilers is their >emphasis on offensive skills. A well executed offensive combination can be >very exciting even if you know (with virtual certainty) that the other team >is going to lose - but then enjoyment of the game shouldn't depend soley on >winning or losing. Maybe, but remember that hockey is more than just an exhibition of skills. It's a competition. And if there's no competition, it's not good hockey. Therefore, an 8-3 game is not a good game. >>Even 7-6 games are usually boring >>because it's hard to get excited about a goal when the other team will >>probably come right back and get another one, and because games that are >>that high scoring usually contain so much defensive ineptitude that it's >>sickening to the educated hockey fan. ... >Certainly ineptitude in anything detracts from enjoyment but you digress >from Rob's point, which is simply that the offensive play of the Oilers is >exciting. It would be far better to see the Oilers play a very strong >defensive team i.e. the "irresistable force meets the immovable object" >(pardon my pro-Oiler bias :-> ). To me this is far more interesting than >"the immovable object meets the immovable object"!! :-)> I'll admit that watching the Oilers play a team that is strong defensively (and good enough offensively to be competitive) would probably be very exciting, and that watching two defensive teams with inept offenses is pretty boring, but so is watching two offensive teams with inept defenses. >> I'll take a 2-1 game anytime. >>The best and most exciting games of the playoffs so far have been the >>defensive ones like Montreal-Boston and Washington-Islanders. >Excuse me Mr. Richardson, but the final score of the game is no indication >of its entertainment value. That's true, but I've noticed that in general, I've been getting much more enjoyment out of low scoring games lately. >>I'll admit that they've done a lot for the game. Offence appeals most to >>novice, uninitiated fans and therefore will take more people off the streets >>and put them in arenas or in front of their TV sets, which is probably >>good for the game, but true hockey fans appreciate a classic defensive >>struggle. >Thanks for setting us novices straight on hockey! But even you have to >agree that without offense, an opposing team cannot fully show the prowess >of it's defense nor can the skills of a good offensive team be fully exposed >without the strength of a good opposing defense. I never said anything to the contrary, but you practically never see a defence that is strong enough to "fully expose" the Oilers' skills, so their games are rarely close, and that's what makes them boring. You could say that it's not their fault that the other teams aren't good enough to challenge their offence, but the bottom line is that I (and a large number of other people) don't enjoy their games. >Rob's point was simply that the offensive play of the Oilers is exciting >because it is fresh - they are probably the only team today which combines >an excellent offensive squad with a sound defense, rather than the reverse. > Ken Hruday I guess the ideal situation is to have a few great teams of both kinds, but the Oilers' offence is just so great that nobody can compete with it, so they rarely get involved in a real nail-biter, which is the type of hockey I enjoy the most. The Canadiens, on the other hand, play excellent hockey and they seem to be at their best in close games. They are sound both offensively and defensively, and their games expose enough offensive and defensive skills to keep me happy. I know it's not exactly what Rob said, but I'm tired of people saying that offensive hockey is exciting and defensive hockey is boring. The points I was trying to make were: - Defensive hockey can be just as exciting as offensive hockey and sometimes more so, provided you have enough knowledge of the game to appreciate defensive skills. - The competition factor is more important than the skills exhibited. - The Oilers are boring because their games lack competition and are full of goals that don't mean anything. - Offence doesn't guarantee excitement. >P.S. I'll bet you're a Maple Leafs fan! (:-)) You'd be surprised at how many people who live in Toronto are not Maple Leafs fans. (Actually, you wouldn't be too surprised if you saw them play a few times this season.) I'd love to see the Leafs get better so that I could support the home team, especially since they're on TV about 50 times a year here, but I'm not going to hold my breath as long as Harold Ballard is alive. -- Jeff Richardson, DCIEM, Toronto (416) 635-2073 {linus,ihnp4,uw-beaver,floyd}!utcsrgv!dciem!jeff {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!dciem!jeff