Hockey Jihad

I am decidedly not a fan of hockey (or of any organized sport for that matter). What the fact that I live a few km from the Home of the Ottawa Senators mostly means to me is that I have to plan my activities around gametime to avoid ridiculous traffic congestion on the roads and/or in the local restaurants (ok, maybe I'll be a teeny bit grudgingly appreciative that many of the local restaurants owe their existence to the hockey arena).

So, now the Sens are in the playoffs, for the first time in their modern existence. And the fervour of the fans has reached the religious stage, complete with in-groups and out-groups, vestments, and some rather odd rituals, like this one my son observed:

have you noticed the CBC people saying "Go Sens Go" at the end of every conversation?...It reminds me somehow of saying "God is great"

I wonder what they do to the people who either forget, or decline to use the proper rituals.