Passionate, defined as, having an intense emotion towards a specific subject. We all have a bunch of smaller passions in life, but only one or two inspires us and drives us to pursue what we are passionate about. I have many passions, hobbies and talents in life. Something i’m passionate about is sports. Sports have always been important to me and in my life. From playing soccer from ages four to seventeen, watching football with all my family friends every sunday for twelve years, and going to hockey games for as long as I can remember.
Hockey is something that i have been very passionate about for a very long time. My dad grew up being a hockey fan as well, so it became a tradition for me and my sister to be fans of the sport as well. Specifically, a fan of the New York Islanders. My dad grew up in the “Dynasty” era, the period of time when the Islanders won 4 straight Stanley Cups. I am so jealous of him that he got to experince that. Ever since I can remember, my Dad would take me and my sister to hockey games and I would have the best time. However, when I was younger the team wasn’t the greatest so I never got to experience the playoff “magic” and that thrill of making a run for the cup.
Since 2016, when the team made it to the second round in the playoffs, they’ve been getting better and pushing for a cup run. In the past two seasons, the Islanders have made the playoffs. In the 2018–2019 season they made it to the second round of the playoffs, and in the first round they swept the team that was predicted to beat them. In the 2019–2020 season, this past summer, the Islanders made it to the Eastern Conference Finals, which they haven’t done in 20 plus years. Sadly, I wasn’t able to experience this past playoff run to the ECF with my family because I was away at college. But I still will never forget the small moments from my small dorm room watching the games on my computer. One memory that stands out to me is when the islanders were in overtime in a elimination game, where if they lose, they go home, and it was in a double overtime. I remember I couldn’t even watch, I covered one of my eyes and used the other eye to look down at my phone and refresh twitter to see if i was delayed. This is just a small example of how social media impacts my passion for hockey.
Twitter is the main social media app that i use to follow sports. There are news accounts, journalists, and reporters that spread information about these sports to the fans. Fpr example, during the off season, players can be traded, sign with another team, or sign an extension. As a very passionate fan of my team, I follow reporters and journalists and try to get updates on my favorite players (contract, injury status, or stats). Twitter is the main source of news because thats where the first reports are made. On trade deadline day, my eyes never left my phone, specifically Twitter. I just kept refreshing the page, hoping for news about teams or anything interesting or crazy.
When the global pandemic hit, it was definitely a scary time. The Islanders were scheduled to play a game in Calgary on March 13th, yet the NHL suspended the season on March 12th. Not having hockey was notably hard for a lot of people, including myself. Watching the Islanders was my escape from problems and drama of the real world. Luckily, the NHL made a plan to resume the season ovet this past summer
Being a passionate hockey fan has connected me to a lot of amazing people. I now know people who have the same passion for hockey and for the Islanders as me and my family. One of the former players of the Islanders was, Robin Lehner. Lehner has a diagnosis of Bipolar 1 with manic phases. In addition, he is a huge advocate for the mental health movement. He is part of the #SameHere movement, which is about stopping the stigma against mental health in the sports industry. This had a huge impact on me personally and the industry as a whole. Ever since Lehner spoke up about the stigma, i’ve been heavily involved with this social movement. I used my social media presence to help raise awareness for this movement. I wrote essays about it, I used the hashtag and posted information on my Instagram stories about it.
My passion for sports, specifically hockey has impacted my life in a very positive way. My love for sports brings me happiness when i’m not having a good day. Watching the Islanders is my escape from the real world.
