Tag Archives: hockey

Don’t Wake Sleeping Dogs

Nationality: American
Age: 59
Occupation: Psychology Professor
Residence: Forest Falls, CA
Language: English

Text:

“Let sleeping dogs lie.”

Context:

This proverb was performed during a hockey game in the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. It was the third (and final) period of the game, and the Kings (an American team based in Los Angeles) were losing to the Canucks (A Canadian team based in Vancouver) two to zero. During a stoppage in between plays, one Kings player started to nudge a Canucks player. This turned into a scuffle, and the audience roared with excitement.

“That’s got the Kings all fired up,” remarked the informant, who was rooting for the Canucks to win. “You don’t wanna wake ’em up — you gotta let sleeping dogs lie.”

Analysis:

When asked for his interpretation of the proverb within the context of its performance, the informant explained: “The team that’s behind is kind of low energy, just kinda lagging. But if you mock them and disrespect them, then it could add extra angry energy and get them playing a lot better with the increased motivation to defend their honor.”

The use of this proverb compared the team, and by extension, the fans, to dogs who could become aggressive at any moment if provoked. At the game, the rivalry existed on multiple levels — the teams themselves competing to win, the fans vying for their team and against the other team and its corresponding fans, and the competing national identities of Canada and the United States. The undertones of national rivalry were especially strong in the political moment, following the election of Donald Trump in the United States and his ensuing statements on international policy.

Pre-Game Hockey Ritual

Nationality: American (Jewish)
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: April 24th, 2023
Language: English

Context :

JF is a 22 year old college student at USC from Rhode Island. He has been playing hockey since he was four or five years old, and started competitive hockey in middle school. In high school, he played on his varsity team, and became close with all the players. They did a pre-game ritual before each game for good luck, which boosted their spirits in pursuit of winning state championship every year.

Text :

“Before my hockey games, I would have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because Sidney Crosby, who is one of the best players in NHL in my opinion, used to say he ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before each game for good energy, like good vibes. And then my teammates would always play the same songs in the locker room, like Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You and also Chiraq, which its a completely different vibe. They were our good luck songs for the game. So the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and the songs were my pre-game ritual.”

Analysis :

Rituals don’t always have to be for specific cultures or religions, and often materialize in everyday situations. Many sports teams have their own pre-game rituals that they use to get into the right headspace or use for good luck. Because JF idolized his favorite hockey player who would eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before each game, he implemented that into his own ritual and convinced himself that eating that sandwich would lead him to win a game. Rituals are also bonding experiences and often create communities, so JF and his team became really close because they did this ritual before each game.

Superstition: Talking to the Goalposts

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Hockey Goalie/Student
Residence: New Hampshire

Text

“Yeah, I’ve always talked to the goalposts, ever since I was a kid playing in the backyard. I just feel like they’re my teammates back there, you know? They’ve helped me out more times than I can count. As far as what I say to the posts, that varies, but it’s usually something along the lines of helping me keep pucks out of the net. I think it comes from my early days as a fan. I used to be a big fan of Patrick Roy, and he was really superstitious, so I kind of took after him with all the superstition, talking to the posts is a big one. It’s basically my way of giving 110%, I’m asking for the posts to be an extension of my game and not bank shots in behind me.”

Context

My informant, who is white and from New Hampshire, has been practicing this superstition since his early days as a goalie, and learned it from French-Canadian goaltender Patrick Roy. He interprets it as a necessary part of his game, though he also understands how crazy the whole thing sounds. 

Analysis

My informant hails from New Hampshire, a state in which hockey is very popular. The folk group that this superstition is relevant to, however, is the hockey community, in which superstition is common especially among goaltenders. By extension, this is a category of sports superstition. 

My informant’s superstition is a form of magic superstition, in which one takes action to ensure a certain outcome. While it does not neatly fit into a category of Frazer’s sympathetic magic, there are elements of contagious magic, as my informant views the net as an extension of himself and wishes to manipulate it even when separated from it. Or, perhaps, one could argue that it is similar to homeopathic magic, as my informant imitates the act of allying with a sentient force with the hope that such a bond will both be formed and be productive. This is also imitative as my informant emulates Patrick Roy in an effort to attain his great abilities. Either way, my informant’s practice strongly adheres to the idea that people engage in superstition to gain control or greater understanding of the uncontrollable world around them. 

Beyond Patrick Roy, the origins of this superstition are unclear, though, mostly due to Roy’s greatness, the superstition has certainly become canonized among goalies. 

Humboldt Broncos Bus Crash Remembrance Tradition

Nationality: USA/Canada
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Boston
Performance Date: 4/2/22
Primary Language: English

Context:

Informant NR was visiting family in Canada on the anniversary of a bus crash that killed 16 and injured 13 more, mostly players on the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team on April 6th, 2018. The crash was widely publicized and became a major topic in Canada. In the years since, NR says that many Canadians have started wearing hockey jerseys on the day of the crash to commemorate the dead and injured that were players on the team.

Main Piece:

“Everyone in Canada on that day wears a hockey jersey. I remember, one time we were, um, spending time with family in Hamilton, and we just happened to be in town on that day, and I remember, we did some sort of like, house tour, and this like lady who was apparently normally very fancy and like, put together, she was wearing a jersey as well., and like, she was the realtor.”

Analysis:

Hockey is a very popular sport in Canada, and the tragedy of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash really shook the population. Though there is a trend of folk speech disrespecting or making light of tragedies that are pushed as serious topics by national media, this practice moves against that trend. This may be because the victims were largely children, and because the sport of hockey acts as a uniting force for the country. The tradition is also very accessible, as many Canadians already own hockey jerseys for their preferred teams, so many do not have to purchase any additional materials to participate in the remembrance.

This national remembrance custom stands out to me because of the rising trend of insensitive or crude humor as a response to tragedy after the rise of mass media. In Of Corpse: Death and Humor in Folklore and Popular Culture, Peter Narvaez examines this phenomenon, illustrated for example through the internet memes surrounding the September 11th terrorist attacks. One theory he concludes with is the idea that mass media, by instructing everyone to care deeply about all major events, even those that had no connection to them, spurred an opposite reaction of humor jokes at the expense of those who suffered the tragedy. What is interesting to me is that this reaction does not seem to have happened in response to this tragedy. My analysis of this is that the victims, mostly teenaged hockey players, who had no fault in the driving accident, are very much aligned with the Canadian cultural ideal. They were generally of a privileged race and gender, and played Canada’s most popular and beloved sport. This endears them to the rest of the population, since even if they didn’t know any of the victims, they probably do know a teenage boy hockey player, or someone who used to be a teenage boy hockey player. The Canadian mass media succeeded at invoking sympathy for the victims of this tragedy because they were so relatable and emblematic of the Canadian establishment.

Pondy

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: United States
Performance Date: March 20th
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The informant: “I’d always play pondy in the winter, I never played hockey though”

Background:

The informant grew up in a small, midwestern town on the Great Lakes where winters were always below freezing and lakes were of easy access. The informant’s high school also had a very competitive hockey team. Hockey was ingrained into the town as something all kids would play for at least a year, according to the informant.

Context:

The informant was telling me about her hobbies she had when she was younger.  I thought she played hockey, but the prior quote is how she corrected me.

Thoughts:

This demonstrates a piece of folk speech that has been created to differentiate one activity. Outdoor hockey is exclusively known as pondy while indoor, rink hockey is just hockey. From context clues, this word is easy enough to understand which lends itself to being used by young kids out playing games. Pondy also implies a sort of casual play to the game instead of competitive hockey. It is interesting to see the same sport be defined by its location through a colloquial expression.