NHL: Hockey Players Are Just Like the Fans in More Ways Than You Think

With the tragic and untimely passing of Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard, I felt I needed to vent out my emotions.

I would be lying to you if I said I didn't cry after hearing the news. In my relatively young career of covering the New York Rangers, I spent the past offseason attempting to learn the in's and outs of the team.

Little by little, I realized that players were more than goal scorers, shot blockers and puck stoppers—they were human. They got sick, they took time off to play with their kids and they were human.

In this age of social media, it is very easy for the fan to complain. Twitter is one of these outlets.

IE: You have got to be kidding me. That useless piece of crap is being paid how much over how many years? We could have passed on this bum and signed X player. Damn is my G.M. stupid.

That piece of crap bum you just bashed is a father of two and has a loving wife. He tries his hardest game in and game out to perform on the biggest stage in his profession. He goes out there and tries to do something to make the paying customer remember that experience.

The first professional hockey game I attended was December 3, 1999. It was at Madison Square Garden and the Rangers played against the Montreal Canadiens. Guy Herbert was in net and I brutally repeated his name as it spelled but not how it is phonetically understood. Point being, the Rangers went on to win that game because Hebert made some great saves.

I had a great first live hockey experience because of him.

In light of Derek's death, we the fans need to reflect on this. This was a a 28-year-old man. He was in the prime of life and has left a family behind. He will be deeply missed because he was an extraordinary person. He was a charitable man who gave back to his community and his country.

It is time to realize that hockey is more than a game It is full of men and women who work their hardest and that hate to make mistakes. We should never joke about them in an extremely negative light. We may criticize them to the end of time, but at the end of the day if we laced up a pair of skates, chances are we would't be able to do a better job ourselves.

I am guilty myself and would like to issue a public apology. As the season has wound down, I have salivated at the prosepctive free agents the Rangers could possibly sign. In this fantasizing and anticipation I have nonchalantly said, oh we can buyout player X and send player Y to the minors.

I know it is a part of the game, but in reality I am outwardly hoping for a player to lose their job.

As fans we all do these things but it sometimes takes a tragedy like Boogaard's to make us realize what is really important. We will all go to bed tonight, wake up in the morning and will go on with the rest of our days.

People like Derek Boogaard are in a better place and we should do everything in our power to honor him and the game he religiously loved and dedicated himself too.

The next time you want to rant in an angry blog, post on facebook or tweet ill words against a player, realize that they are no different than you and I and that they deal with the problems that the rest of the world does.

With that said, Rest in Peace Derek Boogaard and God Bless You and your family.

R.I.P Derek Boogaard 1982-2011.