However, Sean Avery doesn't play the game any differently than did Bob Probert, Terry O'Reilly, Marty McSorley, or any other tough guy from NHL history. While most in the business consider him a liability, a whirl-pool of anger, Avery is actually a PR dream! He brings the flare that brings people to hockey areas wherever he plays. Like prize fighting, the NHL still thrives, and in this economy, survives, on being entertainment. That's why fighting is a issue caught between a rock and a hard place. While the sport can do without the accidental, unpredictable injuries, hockey can't live without the flash and flare of a heavy-weight bout.
But this isn't another justification for violence in hockey. When its side effects spill over into pee-wee hockey areas, causing parents to literally kill other parents, it's a tough case to be made for keeping the boxing in hockey. Sean Avery on the other hand.
Like him or not, Avery plays the game with passion. When he scores goals -- more often than Dennis Rodman making a field goal, or Shaq making a free throw -- he jumps around with the same flare and excitement that Ovechin displays when he scores goals. In the case of Ovechin, it happens alot more often, so we could be sick of it, but the fact is, fans love it. Fans love to see a professional athlete who loves to play the game. While you're watching, you get the feeling they would play the game regardless of how many thousands per game, and millions per year. That's the thing about Avery. When he scores, the building erupts with a jovial recklessness that happens when you're watching somebody do what they love.
This is good for the game. Sporting events in a sense are thrillers, packed with the same drama as say Cry Freedom, or Forrest Gump, less significant to be sure, but nonetheless thrilling. I truly believe that fans come to see Avery for the same reason people listen to Howard Stern: they want to see what he'll do/say next.
Stay tuned. I know you will.
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