“I hated everybody I played against, and they hated me. That’s the way hockey should be played.”
It seems like that’s the way most professional sports should be played.
Monday, Red Wings legend Ted Lindsay who uttered those words passed away at the age of 93 while in hospice care. And that quote was more than just a quote, given the history behind the player that Ted Lindsay was those words were a code that he played by night-in and night-out.
But not to sound like some curmudgeon who doesn’t want kids on his lawn, watches old VHS re-runs of Matlock and berates a Dunkin Donuts employee because the coffee isn’t hot enough, those words by Lindsay are words that should still exist in professional sports today.
I mean don’t get me wrong. There’s plenty in the modern game today that are leaps and bounds better than what fans were subject to in the past. The math associated with advanced metrics, player development the technology. All better.
But a player who truly hated the team he was playing against, that’s something that seemingly lost on the majority of today’s athletes. And before someone tries to misconstrue my words, there’s a meaningful difference between so-called ‘hate’ in sports while still maintaining a healthy respect for your opponent. I’m also not talking real-world hate and the ‘hate’ an athlete may have for their opponent just because they wear a different logo on their chest. A ‘hate’ that’s gone when the game is over, or you at some point find yourselves playing for the same team.
It seems like Ted Lindsay knew this difference.