Halted Rivalry

            On Monday night, I was watching the NHL (National Hockey League) Network when there was an urgent news update. The game that was currently on TV was changed, and a new game came onto the screen. It was the Dallas Stars – Columbus Blue Jackets game. At that moment, I saw one of the scariest scenes I have ever watched on TV. Stars’ forward, Rich Peverley, had just had a cardiac emergency during the first period of the Stars’ game. He had just finished a shift on the ice when he collapsed on the bench. The team doctors and medical staff, as well as a few doctors from the crowd, were called to the scene and were able to get Peverley safely off the bench and into the tunnel (the hallway that leads from the locker room to the team bench). After what seemed like an hour, it was announced that Peverley would be okay. Here is an article that includes a video of the entire incident.

            What surprised me most during the incident was the reaction of the players and the fans. I mean, let’s face it; hockey fans are, in general, sometimes not the nicest people. I have been to many games where fans yell extremely rude comments at players and give them a hard time for missing a shot or losing the puck on a power play. The fans came to see a hockey game, and rather than being impatient when the incident happened and the game was stopped (like I feared some of them would be), they were just the opposite; they actually “remained nearly silent for ten minutes” after the emergency until the announcement was made that Peverley would be okay (article). When the game was cancelled completely later that night, the fans were not upset. They were able to recognize that the safety of the players is far more important than the game itself.

Even more impressive, however, was the way that the actual players reacted. Hockey is, without a doubt, one of the most violent sports played, and these two teams do not usually get along well. The players are accustomed to always smashing each others’ heads into the boards as hard as they can and being as physical as possible with their opponents to try to wear the other team down. Many times, players from the Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets have even gotten into fights with each other. So, during the emergency, when the players actually put their hostility aside for awhile, I was pleasantly surprised. During the video (in the article), the commentator says “the two teams have actually come together.” Below is a picture from the video that shows this happening.

This clearly reveals that not only did the players forget about the rivalry, but that they actually came together as a group to discuss the issue. A situation like this, where players on opposite teams talk to one another, normally never happens (aside from trash talking). Their communication during an event like this shows that even though they are opponents, they still have a tremendous amount of respect for one another and can still come together in support of a player, even if that player is on the other team. I was really proud that the athletes and fans of my favorite sport were able to handle a situation like this with such maturity and respectfulness. It says a lot about them, and I just wish that when problems like this occur that effect the entire world, our nations would unite like the Stars and Blue Jackets did.

There are way too many issues in the world today that are not being solved because there is a lack of teamwork between nations. For example, with a problem like global warming, when one nation is making an attempt to resolve it, other nations are not contributing to the effort and are just making the situation worse. If we work together, we will be able to fix our issues much more quickly and efficiently before it is too late. The two hockey teams both knew that something horrible had happened, so they worked together to make sure that Peverley got the medical attention that he needed. Without their unity, Peverley might not be here today.