On nice things, and why we can’t have them

Imagine my despair at only finding out that Montreal Canadiens tough guy Georges Laraque has a blog now, when he’s forced by his team’s PR policy to take the thing down. Which is too bad, as “people with weird jobs” is probably one of the most inherently interesting genres of blogging.

If you’re not familiar with the concept, Georges Laraque is a man who is employed by a professional hockey team in the capacity of “enforcer”; he’s there not to score, or to defend, but to fight with members of the opposing team.

In general I’m opposed to the idea of fighting in hockey, and although that’s a very unpopular opinion among hockey fans now, I think history, eventually, will be on my side. One day in the 2040s we’ll be watching whatever the 2040s equivalent of Mad Men is, and hockey fights will be among the period-correct barbarities that we’ll snicker at, knowingly. Still, I find the concept of hockey fighting as a sport within a sport endlessly fascinating, and I’ll miss this little window into that world.

Here’s what a professional hockey fight looks like. Note the audio during the replay, where Laraque politely asks his opponent if he wants to “go,” and then wishes him luck. And if you still wonder why this sort of thing is best left to the professionals, there’s this, about which the less said the better.