December 20, 2003 8:16 AM

This week's sign that the Apocalypse is upon us

Gladiators on ice: Hockey fight show coming to tube?

It's definitely a unique idea that's not been attempted before, which makes it interesting. I'm curious what kind of reaction it gets from the public.

- Chris Semrau

You've no doubt heard it before- "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out". Now someone has come up with the "brilliant" idea of eliminating the hockey game altogether. Why not? You can buy DVDs of hockey fights on the Internet...who says you actually need a hockey game??

They say there's only three times when hockey fans will rise from their seats during a game -- when there's a great goal, a great save or a great rock 'em, sock 'em fight. It's that philosophy Brandon-based promoter Darryl Wolski is banking on to sell his unusual idea of a pay-per-view hockey fighting tournament to the sporting public.

That's right. No nets, no faceoffs, no goals -- and definitely no gloves.

"People stand up when there's a fight," Wolski said Friday. "This is something that's never been done before."

The concept for a television show featuring hockey fights first came up about three years ago, he said. Wolski recently decided to run with it after receiving positive initial response from cable television distributors such as DirecTV and Viewer's Choice.

Wolski plans to round up between 50 and 100 pugilists, who will each pay an entry fee between $200 and $250 to participate in the Hockey Gladiators show....

The brawls will last between one and two minutes and a panel of judges will designate the winners. In the end, the master enforcer will take home $50,000.

Wolski said it won't necessarily be the toughest guy who wins, because hockey fights are different from your average fisticuffs.

"You can be the best street fighter in the world, and you can get destroyed in a hockey fight because you have no balance," he said.

Of course, having grown up just south of the Canadian borders, I realize how long, cold, and boring the winters can be, and yes, sometimes you DO have to creat your own excitement. Even so, is organized brutality on skates really something that people will pay to see? Hell, yes, it is, and that is exactly what I find so disturbing.

I love the game of hockey. It is beauty, speed, grace, and athleticism wrapped up together in one of the most exciting sports on earth. Why does fighting have to be an accepted- indeed, even eagerly anticipated- part of the sport? Even our Houston Aeros have used fighting as a marketing tool. The game of hockey is more than capable of standing on it's own merits. Fighting only cheapens and detracts from the appeal.

Think about it for just a second. Other sports also feature violent contact, and yet fighting is both actively discouraged and heavily penalized. Why is North American professional hockey any different? That's an easy one to answer; it's because the NHL's marketing weenies have been too lazy and lacking in imagination to sell the game on it's merits.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on December 20, 2003 8:16 AM.

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