Tag: icehockey

Bloganuary: Without sports life would be dull

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What are your favorite sports to watch and play?

Bloganuary 2024

I was always good at sports in school. My favourite was Finnish baseball (pesäpallo). It’s almost like baseball but doesn’t have a pitcher in the middle. I can’t explain it, so go and look at what it is. The other sport I liked was ice skating, but I haven’t done it in 30 years or so. I also did slalom skiing, but the same with that. The last time I did it was in 2011, but my mother got sick in 2012, and we didn’t do it anymore. I still have the gear but don’t know if I will ski again. I started to ski when I was 6 years old. We went to Lapland once a year to ski for a week. We had a cabin that my dad owned with some of his friends. When he sold his part of it, we went to a hotel. We went to Lapland for at least 30 years. It took about 13 hours to drive to the North of Finland. We won’t do it again because it’s tiring and stressful. Those were good times, though.

Now I only watch sports on television. My favourite sport is ice hockey. I’ve been to my local team’s games several times. Sometimes, they show their matches on the free channels, but I mostly listen to the games on the radio because if you want to watch ice hockey, you have to pay for them. Fortunately, it’s free to watch when Finland plays in the world championships and other international tournaments. I only follow the Finnish ice hockey league, so no NHL for me. Unless they show games with Finnish players. Watching ice hockey on site has a unique atmosphere. It feels like you’re with people with the same piece of mind. In Finland, there could be more noise in the ice rink, like in the NHL, but the fans are the only ones keeping the noise here. Without them, the rink would be quiet. But still, the atmosphere is different when you watch it at home. Watching sports on-site isn’t cheap, so all you can do is watch on television. But that’s better than no sport at all.

It is difficult to think what life would be like if there weren’t sports to watch. I also like to watch sports with excitement. I used to watch Formula One, but it has become boring. Consistently, the same teams and the same drivers win. All of my favourite drivers have retired, too. They also don’t show the races for free anymore. It has been like that for at least 10 years. My life used to surround it. I couldn’t do or go anywhere when there was a race weekend. When all of that stopped, I felt a relief. So, in a way, they did me a favour: the TV people and the people who make the rules in F1. I was free of all the restrictions that the sport had on my free time. I still plan my weekends on what sports are being shown on TV, but it doesn’t matter if I miss an event or don’t see it from the start. Watching motorsport like F1, you need to see the beginning because that’s the most exciting part. Some say motorsport is not a sport, but they don’t know how much the drivers do training during the off-season and how much strength they need to make it through the races. Not just anybody can fit into those cars. Unfortunately, with all those technical things those cars have these days, you don’t know who is the best driver.

If the question is, what is more interesting, summer or winter sport? I would say winter sports because there is more to choose from. But I also watch summer sports when Finns are competing. The Summer Olympics in Paris is this summer, so I’ll be watching some of that. Athletics mainly, but maybe something else. As long as it’s Finnish athletes. Supporting your country is the best thing about sports. Perhaps they don’t fight for the medals, but all the emotions that come with it are essential. Without sports, life would be dull. I’m glad I found the love for it. I wasn’t a big fan of sports the way I am today when I was younger. I watched some of it as a child, but that was only because my dad watched it. Now I think I know more about sports than he does. Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I don’t understand sports. A lot of females follow sports and know what it’s all about. It’s like anything in life; studying the subject lets you learn about things. It doesn’t matter what gender or sexuality you are. Sport is for everyone who likes it. You don’t need to understand it, but it helps. I’m tired of hearing some people think girls only watch sports because of the good looks of an athlete. There are those, too, but don’t fall for that stereotype nonsense. You’ll be surprised how much women know about sport. Even more than some men do.

I love watching sports; the only sport I do today is cycling. Everybody needs a hobby they like, and those are mine.

A little less conversation, more action

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two minions figuresNew post, new year. I hope you all had a safe new year. I went to see with my father a fireworks show for children at 6 pm at the park close by. It has become a tradition. All the fireworks are the same so that is all I really need. I stayed at my fathers place the rest of the evening. There was Junior ice hockey world championship on TV where Finland played against the USA. I ended my year with ice hockey and began with it. We lost though. Personally, the new year is just another day. Some people fuss about it but that’s not me. Some years I’ve been to see fireworks somewhere when the new year changes but sometimes I don’t bother. This time it was because of the ice hockey. The everyday life continues no matter what.

That was not the conversation I was going to write about. Living in a world where talking seems to be highly appreciated, is difficult for a person who doesn’t talk much. There’s nothing wrong if you like talking. The problem is more about the quality of conversations. People talk a lot of nonsense. A little less conversation and a little bit more action, please. Anyone can talk but how many can put those words into action? I rather show what I can do, rather than talk about it. When I was in that job interview, I don’t know if my replies were long enough. On job interview tips it says your replies should be about 1 minute or less. I wouldn’t even know what to say for that long. It’s easier to think what to say before but when the interview is on, all those thoughts are gone. I say things that come to mind and later I realise I didn’t mention something I should. Then it’s too late. I won’t be surprised if I don’t get a second interview.

I really feel stressed if other people are waiting for long answers from me. I’m not the best person to give speeches. You can always improve your conversation skills but it’s not easy for a person who only talks when they have something to say. Writing is so much easier because you can think before speaking and then you can delete or add words. Talking to someone you can’t take words back. Once you’ve said them, it’s all over. Especially if the conversation is with someone you will only meet once. Some people feel awkward if there is silent but they just have to get used to it. You don’t need to talk all the time. Even in libraries, you don’t have silence signs anymore. That’s one place that should be quiet but now they have all kinds of programs there. At least in our local library. There are silent places there too but they’re not that many. Whispering is a disappearing tradition. People are having conversations like they were in a dance club. Shouting and screaming like there is no tomorrow. Strange behaviour in a library. Good manners are hard to find.

If there were less conversation and more action, things should actually go somewhere. Especially, politicians. They talk a lot but a very few have any ideas how to make things better. We should this and we should do that but nothing ever happens. What works on paper doesn’t mean it will work in practice. If they have any ideas, it’s always someone who’s gonna suffer the most. All action doesn’t always help. Everything starts with a conversation and it’s only the brave who take action. You either just talk or take the bull by its horns. As long as someone takes the first step and others will follow. Which one will you be, is the question you should ask yourself. I prefer the action because a conversation is forced and I rather follow my own mind then what others expect of me.

Finland are the champions my friend!

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u20fichampions
Source: http://www.worldjunior2016.com/

Yesterday Finnish Juniors won the world championship under 20 in ice hockey. The sport is a big thing in Finland. These are times when we feel really proud to be a Finn. At least those who watch the sport. Juniors proved young people really can achieve something great if they put their mind to it. Hard work will pay off.

I don’t watch ice hockey as much as I like to since it’s not televised on free channels but when it comes to world championships, I don’t miss a match. At least not when Finland plays. These tournaments are always exciting. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. That’s what makes sport in general so exciting. You never know what will happen.

Ice hockey is part of Finnish culture. It brings the people together. And unfortunately with alcohol for some. We win together and we lose together. Finns don’t usually show emotions in public. But boy when Finland wins, there’s no stopping. No matter how cold it is outside, a championship win makes us all warm inside.

Next time it’s time for the men later in the year. It’s been a while since Finland won a world championships there. Maybe the win for the juniors will motivate others to try even harder.