First is the Worst

I have no idea what I'm up to. This is the first post of my first blog, so I guess I should explain myself...in Q&A format.


Why is your blog called "The Littlest Defenseman"?
I'm 5' 2", and in addition to watching more hockey than I really should, I also play hockey. I've played for eight years and been a de the whole time. My dad, who thinks he's really funny and has coached me forever, was teasing me in front of my sister and said, "Yep, we call her 'The Littlest Defenseman'. She's just like the other defensemen...but littler." If you know him (which you don't...) then you'll know that it was actually pretty funny, that my sister thought it was way funnier than it was, and that he hasn't stopped calling me that since.


Why do you love hockey?
I haven't the slightest idea.
I come from a hockey family. My dad has played since he was a little kid, and my mom always watched hockey. She skipped school waaay back in the 70's when the Bruins won the Cup to go see the parade in town. I'm captain of my high school team now, but won't be playing after this. In fact, I have at most a month of playing hockey left. This isn't the best time to start a blog, then, because in a month I'll be writing emo posts about how I cut my wrists with my skates to make the pain go away. I give everyone permission to A) call me out on it, and B) find it really funny. I'd do the same to you.
To rant on for too long, I also love to watch hockey, and follow three teams rabidly- the Bruins, the Avs, and the Oilers.


How can you possibly root for three hockey teams and live with yourself?
This is the only time I'm going to apologize for my three-timing. It's awful. It's terrible. I'm a really bad person for it and I'm not being completely sarcastic when I say that. I hate myself for it more than anyone else can. But I can't do anything about it. It's too late.
I've always been a Bruins fan (born and raised). The year before the lockout, I started following hockey a little more closely. That was the year that Paul Kariya (then my favorite player) decided to go to the Avs for a year. Even though there was no CenterIce package or anything, I decided to follow the Avs. That was the most openly terrible part of this, because it was so conscious, but in my defense I was hardly out of middle school and it was my first year on my own as a fan.

The Oilers were much more accidental, but also terrible in their own way. During last year's playoffs (I could barely write that for the blatant bandwagon-ry that it implied), I was rooting for San Jose over the Oilers in their series. Since the Avs played the Oilers a lot, I had never liked them much, and I had liked San Jose even before Joe got sent there. The thing is, I didn't like them enough to see a sweep. I wanted a good series. So when the Sharks went up two games to none, I told myself that, for the sake of the series, I wanted the Oilers to win game three. My spirits were still with San Jose, though, until I let the Oilers in a little. Slowly they began to win me over. I'd catch myself and remind me that I wasn't really rooting for them, but I was slipping. When Ryan Smyth got hit in the face with a puck, I fell. I remember thinking to myself, "Oh shit...now I'm rooting for the Oilers, aren't I? Fuck." The triple overtime win sealed the deal.

I've rooted for teams to win the Cup before, then dropped them once the playoffs ended. Everyone does. I wanted Anaheim to win against New Jersey, I wanted Calgary to beat Tampa Bay, and of course I wanted the Avs to win with Bourque before I was a fan of them. The reason that I still follow the Oilers (I figure I can't call myself an "Oilers' fan" for a while) is because of the Finals against Carolina. That week, I had my final exams for school, and only slept 10 hours combined. By Thursday night I was hallucinating and actually heard a hockey game (Edmonton vs. Carolina, of course) going on in my kitchen. It was rough, and the only reason I got through it and got everything done was because of the Oilers and how they battled back to get to Game 7 of that series. I mean, I was so emotionally connected to them because of that week that I cried when they lost.

I guess what I should have said, in MANY less words, is that through some events colliding over the past few years, I'm hooked on three teams. And once I'm hooked, I'm hooked. To dump any of these teams now wouldn't make me more of a fan of the others. I'll write about all three.


Do you have a life outside of hockey?
No, not really. During the winter I go into "hockey hibernation", where all I want to do is play or watch hockey. It drives my friends nuts. For three seasons of the year I see them every day, then all of a sudden I disappear. Because of this, they all hate hockey.

I do see them sometimes, though, so I might occasionally mention them. I'm a movie whore, so I might mention movies sometimes as well. During the summer I'm an intense Red Sox fan, so during the summer I'll write about them.

I'm in the college application process. My top school is the University of Alberta, because I want to study paleontology and be in a place where my friends won't hate hockey. If I get in, I'll be sure to write an annoyingly overjoyed post about it, so get ready!

Thanks for reading, if you did. As you can see, it's physically impossible for me to write a short post. I'm sure I'll chill out sooner or later, right?