Can I Root For Michigan Hockey?

Wow! Can you believe it, a team of college students wearing those proud winged helmets, in the final stretch of the season, and still favored to win the National Championship! Sounds great right. Well it is great. But for your typical Michigan fan, the names Billy Sauer, Kevin Porter, and Chad Kolarik don't quite mean as much as the likes of Mike Hart, Chad Henne, and Mario Manningham... that is if they have even heard of the #1 ranked Michigan Hockey super-stars.

Yost Arena, the home of Michigan Hockey holds 6,603 of the most raucous, dedicated, and maize blooded Michigan fans in the world, which is a mere six percent of the Big House. But trust me, those six thousand plus fans are much more intimidating than any crowd I've seen march through the gates of Michigan Stadium on Saturday afternoons. I myself have only been to one hockey game at Yost in my life, I had fun, but, obviously haven't made it back since. With Hockey not being as prominent of a sport around the rest of the country, you find that most of the dedicated students who follow Michigan Hockey are from within the state, and grew up watching the likes of Steve Yzerman and the "Russian Five," win Stanley Cup's for the Detroit Red Wings.

But for the rest of us who never cared about, or for that matter even thought about hockey, is it wrong for us now to want to get in on the fun? I was raised to hate Duke basketball, Yankee baseball, and Dallas Cowboys football; raised to hate the perennial forces in most sports, and raised to always hate front-runners or fair weather fans. So while we die hard Michigan football fans fear being labeled "band wagoners," which is essentially the closest thing to traitor you can call a fan in sports, how can we resist getting excited about the possibility of seeing one of our glorious teams that rock that beautiful maize and blue winged helmet win a national championship? Who knows when we'll have another opportunity to.

Can you blame us Californians, New Yorkers, and Floridians for wanting something to cheer about here? But my real question, which I am posing to all of you loyal Michigan Hockey fans is: are you going to embrace the new Michigan Hockey fans, or are you going to chastise them for being fair weather fans? Because as I said, those six thousand plus that sell out Yost Arena every night are the most intimidating Michigan fans I have ever been around in my life. I don't want you guys calling me ugly, or telling me to put my mask back on... because that is hurtful. But seriously, Isn't this how you build up Michigan Hockey's fan base for future generations to come? But I understand that it is hard for those of you who have stood by the Wolverines through thick and thin, to watch as fans come in and bask in the glory that ought to be yours. So I bid you to let me know, can I root for Michigan Hockey? Or should I be ashamed for even thinking that I can?