How come some people try so hard to have fighting banned from the sport of hockey? In a society where violence has become an every day occurrence, why focus on a sport that has involved fighting for nearly a century? Most do not understand the respect opponents have for each other. There are different reasons two players will drop the gloves in a game, but hardly ever with the intention to hurt one another. Hockey, like most sports, is a traditional game that has evolved but not changed. Fighting is a part of hockey that has always been accepted and should continue to be accepted for the existence of the sport.
Tradition is a very important factor in many sports. Any athlete who is competitive in a sport will tell you never to alter tradition. In a game of hockey, you can usually bet on seeing a fight as a thrilling tradition. For some players, entire hockey careers can depend on being the enforcer of a team. On a team, there are the goal scorers, the defensive players, the goaltenders, and then we have the scrappers. If fighting were to ever become extinct in hockey, there would be no place for the scrappers. Most people would not give a second thought to the whereabouts of fighters because usually they aren't as skilled. However, what most people do not know is that enforcers spend just as much time training to be good fighters, as top players do to score goals. Everyone has a role on a team, and if you take someone away, the team falls apart. It is even a possibility that when a tradition as big as fighting is tampered with, players will quit on behalf of those who would be out of a job. Of course, if there are no players, there is no game.
Players are obviously the most important part of any sport. However, where would any sport be without supportive fans? In the case of hockey, there are quite a few people who pay the painful price of tickets and are dependant on seeing an exciting game.