Comments on: The Final Countdown

By: Timothy Waldorf

Timothy Waldorf — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 03:21:35 +0000

Incidentally, there a lot of crazed fans like that. You'd almost think they were actually there skating on the ice as part of the team.

By: AmazingAdrian

AmazingAdrian — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 00:42:00 +0000

In reply to @chigaze. In the United States, the opposite is true. After the strike during the late 90's, Cable television dropped Hockey coverage entirely, and now you almost never see any sign of the sport. Maybe once in a blue moon, if you walk into an international restaurant or bar during the playoff season, you -might- see a game or two. I think they still show hockey during the Winter Olympics but only because they're obligated too. Otherwise even soccer has priority over sports puck games.

By: The Unknown FB

The Unknown FB — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 08:21:22 +0000

In reply to Amber. Feh to you I say; full-contact badminton is the blood sport of kings.

By: @muinamir

@muinamir — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 06:39:19 +0000

In reply to Josh Shoberg. Rest assured, a lot of us did. Freakin' Canadians and their B movie afternoon specials...

By: Josh Shoberg

Josh Shoberg — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 02:44:04 +0000

Please tell me someone else got the Rowsdower reference.

By: Evilscotsman

Evilscotsman — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:27:27 +0000

In my house its not Hockey Brain its Sports Brain and I am the one who suffers the most from it in others and the least from it in myself. As most people in the US know during Thanksgiving and Christmas there are always Football games on,… we have family over and without fail they change the channel to football,…usually while I am watching something else [I dislike football]. This time of year its Baseball, and the same thing happens,….family comes over and changes the channel to Baseball [heck it happened just the other day I had found a channel playing "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" with Zero Mostel followed by the original "The Producers" and right in the middle of Forum my Aunt come in and changes the channel without asking or anything then got mad because I changed it back but its my house not hers]. Luckily no one here is a Basketball fan or I would never get a chance to recuperate from Sports Brain issues. The only sports I will actually watch occasionally are Hockey [I will check on the score and watch a few minutes during commercial breaks or something] and The Olympics [will just flip over occasionally to see how the US is doing overall I do not really watch the Olympics].

By: melanie

melanie — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:35:55 +0000

Oh man that is totally how I feel. I only attend sports parties for the chips and French Onion dip.

By: Kristin

Kristin — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 11:05:02 +0000

OMG. Somewhere on the internet (probably Spoonflower) there are reams and reams of printed fabric with Wil's face on it. Some fan girl rolling around after hours in the factory on the piles and piles of imprinted cloth. It's a delicious vision.

By: Tom327Cat

Tom327Cat — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 08:10:15 +0000

The gall of you people is quite appalling! To insult the pastime of others brands you as being just as bad as those who insult yours. The name of the sport is Curling and you should call it that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling

By: Nephaline

Nephaline — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 05:40:15 +0000

My former brother in law was insane. He would often miss family gathering (birthdays, holidays), so he could watch hockey games on tv. Constantly cheering and screaming while he watched by himself (we could overhear), until he was hoarse. We asked him to tape games and watch them afterwards but was refused because "Then my cheers won't count!"

By: Nephaline

Nephaline — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 05:38:11 +0000

In reply to @musicchan.

Try living in Winnipeg and having to hear 10 + years of "Save the Jets!" "Bring Back the Jets!"…blah blah blah. Back when the Jets were leaving there were downtown marches at lunch time protesting (many of my co-workers went)…and weird grassroots fundraising that probably went into some fat cat's pocket, since it made no difference.
When the team came back, it was "oh great, now more of this hockey crap!"

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 04:33:28 +0000

The entire game lasts 90 minutes, which is separated into 5 quarters, each of which are 17 minutes, except for the second quarter, which is 22 minutes. The visiting team is allowed one extra player on the field in the first, second, and fifth quarters, provided that said player comes from a disadvantaged upbringing. The point of the game is to get the puck into the opponents net goal or through the face slits on the goalie's mask. Each goal is worth 1 point, except if you're skating backwards, it's worth two. Goals are also worth two points if there's less than 2-minutes left in the quarter (except the third quarter, in which case it's one minute and 47 seconds) and the goalie has had less than four beers in the last 16 hours. This is of course assuming you're playing in the U.S. Otherwise you have to use the metric system (One metric point is equal to two and a half metric pounds, which is equal to 18.555552 penny farthings which can be redeemed at all participating McDonald's locations). Violence is expected, and allowable violence includes hitting, smashing, smacking, and crunking. Prohibited violence includes hitting with malice, smashing with malice, smacking with malice, and crunking. People found guilty of these abuses (called 'fouls') will be given a time-out to think about what they've done, during which time they also have to write an apology letter to the player they hit (with malice). If the referee feels that the player is really sorry, he's allowed back into the game. And that's how you play hockey.

By: hijinksensue

hijinksensue — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 04:22:44 +0000

In reply to anxietyjunkie. That was Wil's wife Anne.

By: anxietyjunkie

anxietyjunkie — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 03:28:52 +0000

I love that the guy filming had come armed with a kazoo, just in case. 😛

By: SourJane

SourJane — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 01:56:16 +0000

HOCKEY!!! <3

By: The Borgified Corpse

The Borgified Corpse — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 00:58:22 +0000

I'm not a hockey fan but I understand the sports thing in general. As a result, I accept Wil Wheaton's declaration of war when he wore an LA Kings jersey at this year's Phoenix ComicCon a couple of weeks after the Kings eliminated the Phoenix Coyotes from the Western Conference Finals. Oh yes! It's war! And there will be sand! (I figure sand is the only natural resource Phoenix or LA can stand to part with.) http://wilwheaton.livejournal.com/740103.html

By: @antiavenger

@antiavenger — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 22:55:40 +0000

I'm more of a casual hockey braingineer. Lucking out that the Rangers are good and the Devils just lost. But mostly into the footballs and the futbols (and, yes, they are two different things). But hockey braining is a good thing to do. I don't even know where to start with it.

By: @musicchan

@musicchan — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 22:38:02 +0000

In reply to Lode. A talking cow!

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 22:17:07 +0000

In reply to hijinksensue. I completely forgot you did that one.

By: Lode

Lode — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 21:30:57 +0000

In reply to @ScotianSky. Hey, I live east of Montreal!

By: @ScotianSky

@ScotianSky — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 21:11:56 +0000

In reply to inkedgeek. I would totally drink that. At least Edmonton HAS a team, do you know what it's like living east of Montreal? There's NOTHING out there, except cows, lots of cows.

By: kingofmadcows

kingofmadcows — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 20:53:18 +0000

Fools! Do you not see the hand of the trickster god Loki in this "sport" you call "hockey?" It is an unholy ritual that will call forth the frozen wastes of Jötunheimr. All will suffer as eternal winter descends upon Midgard.

By: matt

matt — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 20:29:27 +0000

+1 for rowsdower

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 20:01:08 +0000

My team has won many Stanley Cups, but not since I've been alive (guess who…lol.) I too hope to one day be able to celebrate a la Wil. I was a Leafs fan in utero, I was born with blue & white blood, I suffer year after year and grow more & more bitter, but I will never stop bleeding blue & white. It's impossible to explain to non-sports fans, and even harder to explain why you continue to support a team that never ever wins. It just is.

And even though I am still bitter about '93 and always will be, I was THRILLED the Kings won. It was great to see. And it was even more fun to keep returning to FB to see how Wil was coping…LOL

By: cdevon2

cdevon2 — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:48:52 +0000

Of course, it would be easier to play on grass or concrete. However, playing on ice is a little known tradition from original Canadian hockey, played by lumberjacks. Because it was played by lumberjacks, they would all use the most convenient tool to play hockey – their axes. This presented a problem with the playing field. Concrete couldn't be used because the axes would get damaged. As well, taking an axe to the ground was strictly forbidden by Loggerism, the lumberjack belief system. They instead settled on the natural ice found year-round in Canada, except on the July holiday weekend, when they would be too drunk to play.

By: @darkgeek

@darkgeek — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:47:21 +0000

As someone from a hockey town in a hockey state I have hockey brain like crack. My GF has learned to just deal with it but movied just before the finals and I can say my current town is not good for finding a place to watch the game which sucks. Also as this seems to be important I am a Badger fan then a Admirals fan then finally a Blackhawk fan.

By: jeff

jeff — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:46:21 +0000

ROWSDOWER!

Just rewatched MST3K "The Final Sacrifice" this last weekend!

By: Amber

Amber — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:31:42 +0000

Psht. Curling is where it's at.

By: @autojim

@autojim — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:25:02 +0000

In reply to Mr C. You have a point. Detroiters at that time just had more practice burning their own homes and businesses down -- Devil's Night, don'tcha know. :)

By: @SewUnicorn

@SewUnicorn — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 19:24:13 +0000

In reply to kschenke. Blackhawks fans unite!!! :)

By: kschenke

kschenke — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:59:27 +0000

In reply to King Zilch. Also ask them when halftime starts.

By: kschenke

kschenke — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:58:01 +0000

In reply to @ohheh. Apparently the newscasts were also disappointed no one was rioting. Because if there's one thing we need, it's another LA Riot. ..... -_-

By: thevoxpopuli

thevoxpopuli — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:56:37 +0000

I've been a Kings fan since '94 or so. so everything Wil did and tweeted could just as easily have been me. Except he has the jerseys and I'm too poor for that. So I was wearing my HE Doctor Is In shirt and using it's good luck charms. As for Sports Puck brain. You should check out these old ads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0RYhAKC6ZU

By: Rin

Rin — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:53:34 +0000

I've suffered from hockey brain since I was 14. My cat actually recognizes the sounds of a game and leaves the house.

By: BowtiesAreCool

BowtiesAreCool — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:49:32 +0000

Rowsdower!

By: Thevideostoreguy

Thevideostoreguy — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:43:48 +0000

Wil Wheaton is why the LAPD went on tactical alert following the Kings' win. Accept no other explanations. They say Johnson, the new guy, just kinda started sobbing quietly when he heard Wheaton was a Kings fan.

By: pedanticoldgit

pedanticoldgit — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:39:47 +0000

In reply to Greg. I was a member at Kent so it was a cheap bar and restaurant during matches as well. If there's a better way to waste time I've never heard of it.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:32:34 +0000

Blast Hardcheese takes the puck down the ice into the Red Zone Cuba, followed closely by Coleman Francis. He takes a shot, Laserblasting it past Eegah towards the net, but it's a glove-save by Manos and his Hand of Fate!

By: inkedgeek

inkedgeek — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:17:40 +0000

In reply to @chigaze. Pretty sure Hail Gretzky should be a drink of some sort. Molson w/ a shot of maple syrup?

By: Thor

Thor — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:11:56 +0000

In reply to kschenke.

DAT, DA-DA DAT! DA-DA DAT! DA-DA-DA-DA-DA-DA… (repeat) I was at Crew in Chicago when that happened. I can die happy, knowing that I literally spilled out into the street, hugging random gay people and my straight friend who was kind enough to come along with me.

Speaking as someone who likes both eurofutbols and sportspuck canadensis, I approve of you fine people. They, along with amerofutbols, are a particular kind of sport – the kind that involves strategy and planning. I can't watch basketball or baseball – one's too fast to see any strategery, the other is so slow that I can finish a whole beer before an innings is over. At least watching cricket I get to listen to funny accents.

… I shouldn't be allowed to make internet comments while I'm tired.

By: Greg

Greg — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:10:39 +0000

In reply to pedanticoldgit. Cricket is the best thing in the universe. Sure, lots of sports are great. But a cricket match lasts for 5 days! That's a lot of beer. Used to have a season ticket at Lords. I really like beer.

By: CalgaryKeith

CalgaryKeith — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:07:42 +0000

Mystical powers were revealed to Wheaton the day he held aloft his magic TV and said, "By the power of Stanley!"

By: sonicsean89

sonicsean89 — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:04:29 +0000

I've had Hockey Brain all my life. I think it's a genetic disorder, as neither of my parents have it.
I guess we're just mutants with the power to rage out over a sport played on ice.

By: Mr C

Mr C — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:47:09 +0000

In reply to @autojim. how about every LA championship victory or loss ever?

By: David

David — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:29:12 +0000

I've been raised as a Philadelphia Flyers fan from the cradle thanks to my dad, so I understand Wil's excitement. Hurts really badly since half the King's roster are former Flyer players we never wanted to lose. Lemon in the wound is having Ron Hextall finally get his name on the Stanley Cup as a kings coach after years of heartbreak with him as our goalie. I know when the Flyers finally do win the cup I'm going to be much the same way. There's really no explaining it to a non-sports fan, I've tried. All I can do is apologize now for future occurences of sport-tarded jackassery.

By: pedanticoldgit

pedanticoldgit — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:20:18 +0000

I'm English so I only watch cricket. That's nearly as incomprehensible as Baseball and goes on for days.

By: @chigaze

@chigaze — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:18:43 +0000

It's very lonely being a Canadian, living in Canada and not having Hockey Brain. Even worse here in Edmonton where we're expected say the requisite number of Hail Gretsky's while flogging ourselves with our skates every time we miss the playoffs.

By: King Zilch

King Zilch — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:05:26 +0000

Does someone I love suffer from hockey brain? My wife is from Vancouver, so yeah. It's a mild case, though; I don't have to hear about hockey until the Canucks make the playoffs. Then it's chili and hot dogs* every night, which is a sports superstition I can get behind.

You want to troll a hockey fan? Refer to the stick as a "club" and the puck as a "ball" and watch their head explode.

*Though not chili dogs, for some unknown reason.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:51:33 +0000

So will any of the proceeds from the plushie sales go to "Hockey Brain Research?" And before you ask, using the money to buy beer for Wil (and of course yourself, as it would be alienating to make him drink alone) to ply him to say Sports Puck related-things does qualify. I'd say even if he says something hockey-related without being coerced we'll call that "close enough."

By: Mr C

Mr C — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:28:07 +0000

In reply to @PBManning. do robots dream of championship trophies

By: @autojim

@autojim — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:27:16 +0000

In reply to Mr C. Clearly you don't remember Detroit after the Bad Boys-era NBA championships in '89-90... we won. And the city lost.

By: @ErraticArtist

@ErraticArtist — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:26:47 +0000

I was once at a local hockey game where the goalies stick flew out of his hands and got jammed in the zamboni doors. Possibly the most memorable hockey moment ever. I get Hockey Brain when the Canucks are playing,but mine subsided early, the Kings beat the Nucks, so I'm glad they won though (plus they have a higher percentage of Canadians on their team, too, so its *like* we sort of half won.)

By: @PBManning

@PBManning — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:26:38 +0000

In reply to @PBManning.

It's just a show, I should really relax.
It's just a show, I should really relax.
It's just a show, I should really relax.
It's just a show, I should really relax.
It's just a show, I should really relax.
It's just a show, I should really relax.

By: @PBManning

@PBManning — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:26:02 +0000

Stupid question; does Hockey Brain increase your susceptibility to Hockey Hair? What's the effect on Grizzled Prospector Syndrome? HOW DO ROBOTS GROW HAIR?

By: @autojim

@autojim — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:25:35 +0000

I may be in Houston now (only a minor-league sportspuck team. But then, when I think "Houston", "Ice Hockey" isn't what springs immediately to mind, so that's okay. That goes for Dallas (don't tell Stepto), Phoenix, Anaheim, San Jose, Tampa, Miami, Nashville, Raleigh, Atlanta, and, yes, LA — any city south of the Mason-Dixon line, basically), but I lived in Detroit 1990-2008, so I got to experience several Stanley Cup wins by the Red Wings — and I understand Hockey Brain.

I'm not really into stick-and-ball sports — I prefer auto racing (NAPCAR is a weapon of last resort only. I'm currently girding my loins for this weekend's 24 Hours of Le Mans, and I spend actual money to work as a course marshal and compete as a driver in races) — but hockey has sufficient quantities of speed and degree-of-difficulty (every time I've ever attempted ice skating, it was very hard on my elbows. Now try to handle a puck and not get creamed into the boards while balancing on skates) that I admire the speed and skill of the top-flight players. When you see someone like Pavel Datsyuk work the puck up toward the net, the speed, agility, and ability to put defenders off their game is art. Or the just-retired Nicklas Lindstrom, quite possibly the best all-round defenseman of the modern era — never flashy, but always where he needed to be before he needed to be there. That's art, too.

Trying to follow it on crappy TV broadcasts is a pain. This is a case where the regional sports networks with their specialist production teams have a leg up on the national networks in terms of quality — the big boys don't do enough games to have the rhythm down.

And then there's Wil… it was amusing as hell to watch things unfurl on Twitter last night. 🙂

By: Music-chan

Music-chan — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:24:56 +0000

Hmm, so this explains almost everyone here in Canada. I always assumed it was genetic, not a condition!

By: Mr C

Mr C — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:03:20 +0000

On behalf of Los Angelinos, i just wanna say sorry in advance for any rioting we might do, you see unlike most american cultures we find a need for blood, fire and destruction after victory AS WELL as after defeat, that said this is the first time our hockey player herd has ever won a puck-ball match by getting more cold-homeruns in their ice endzone

but again, if we riot, i'm sorry, we're crazy

By: hijinksensue

hijinksensue — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:51:38 +0000

In reply to Alex.

http://hijinksensue.com/2011/06/16/this-is-why-we…

By: @ohheh

@ohheh — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:51:07 +0000

Joel's dialog in this comic applies pretty much equally to everyone in LA (other than Wil).
All of the news casts last night were essentially "It turns out Hockey is a thing!"

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:28:49 +0000

Hockey Brain is a serious condition. I had a bout of it a few years ago when the hawks won. It makes me wonder what kind of hulk like beast Wheaton would have turned into when he lost, because that is the other side of the hockey brain coin. If you dont believe me, look up the great Vancouver hockey riot of '11.

By: kschenke

kschenke — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:27:27 +0000

My boyfriend is a sports puck fan of the Blackhawks variety. So much so that after they won the Stan Bowl, the boyfriend blasted the Blackhawks' fight song from my car with the windows down for a week. Whenever he makes fun of euro footballs being slow with most of the match setting up the plays and not actually scoring many points, I remind him that he likes sport puck.