Follow Paul on Twitter: @paulstewart22
I had a great time joining with old friend Terry O'Reilly, who wrote the foreword for my "Ya Wanna Go?" autobiography, as special guests of the Worcester Railers' ECHL team at a recent game. I donned my old Quebec Nordiques jersey and, along with Taz, dropped the ceremonial opening faceoff. We posed for photos "recreating" our Thanksgiving 1979 bout from my NHL debut game and, with both my NHL referee jersey and Nordiques jersey on display as well as Terry's Bruins sweater, signed dozens of copies of the book and reminisced with fans.
Also recently, I did in-game concourse meet-and-greet and book signing appearance at a Harvard game. The Harvard fans graciously forgave me for the double whammy of being a longtime zebra and a UPenn kid to boot. All kidding aside, it was a great time.
All in all, the reception to "Ya Wanna Go" has been outstanding; for which I am extremely appreciative. Recently, though, I spoke with someone who expressed concerned that I am "promoting fighting"; an image the person felt was incongruous both with the direction of today's game as a whole, and also with my recent U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame induction being based much more on my work within the officiating profession (first American to referee 1,000 NHL games) rather than my identity as the only American to both play and referee in the NHL.
I understood and wasn't angry. However, I disagreed with the premise on both personal and philosophical levels. In the first place, I have never hidden the fact nor am ashamed to have made it to the NHL as an enforcer during my playing days. I knew how to play hockey, too, and I played both as a forward and a defenseman at different junctures, but I was under no illusion that I was being employed for my skills. I was there for my toughness, and I prepared for my job accordingly. I knew whom I was likely to have to fight, and I how I would strategically approach that fight (for example, I fought Taz or big Dave Hanson differently than my approach for a smaller tank-like opponent such as Stan Jonathan).
As a referee, I understood the role that fighting had in the game of that era in regulating the temperature of a game. I knew the backdrop, and the personalities involved (such as which guys where likely to instigate battles that others would have to engage on their behalf). I knew when enough was enough, too.
As a supervisor and, later, a director of officiating and league discipline, I also know how the game has changed over time. It is our job as officials to keep the game fair and keep it as safe as possible, but we need players and coaches (and parents) to take that seriously, too, and to show respect for the game and one another. The same Rule Book applies to every team in a given league.
I realize that dropping the gloves happens much less even at the pro level, and the role that I used to perform during my playing days is all but extinct. Is that a good or bad thing? Cases could be made in either direction, and I certainly am well aware of the physical, emotional and mental health issues that have surrounded the off-ice lives of many of my brethren. I haven't escaped unscathed myself, as I have detailed in past blogs and in my book.
Here's the thing: Although an official's jersey is black-and-white for good reason (it either is or isn't a penalty, it is or isn't a goal, it's onside or offside, etc.), the world itself and the sports we play have many, many shades of gray. There are no one-size-fits-all answers.
I am not ashamed to call myself a fighter, both on and off-the-ice. Toughness isn't a bad thing in and of itself. That may not be a politically correct way of thinking. However, I would argue that the concept of fighting is one that most people philosophically embrace in certain contexts.
For example, the NHL has its Hockey Fights Cancer program, which I can attest firsthand does a lot of good for a lot of people and families. As a cancer survivor myself, I will tell you than going into remission involves putting up one hell of a fight and it requires a support system around you of people who help you to stay tough and keep up the battle when your energy and resistance is at low ebb.
Cancer isn't the only thing for which it takes a fighter's mentality to survive. Let's look at some examples from beyond the realm of sports. To be clear, I'm NOT comparing these concepts to hockey. Rather, I am interested in the broader idea that there are things for which the vast majority would agree are worth fighting to maintain. My thoughts on the subject scatter far afield, and are stream of consciousness, but the notion of fighting as a natural phenomenon and also how it is viewed as a construct of society is fascinating to me.
By way of warning, I have had close friends, teammates both my playing days and my officiating days, listen to me trying to explain my thoughts on this topic and they'll say to me, "Cat, I will never understand what goes on inside your head. What does THAT have to do with what we are discussing?" On some levels, it has nothing to do with it. But on other levels, it's all interrelated.
We all believe in the fight for the protection of our freedoms, although the meaning therein differs very widely (and those differences are the cause of might strife and battle of their own, sometimes for the better and sometimes not). We fight for our beliefs and principles, whether verbally in discourse or in the political realm through our power to vote. Whether in litigation or in business negotiation, society typically values those who are tenacious and, hopefully, ethical.
When our family's well-being, especially our children's, are at stake, do we value those who would simply back down and watch them get victimized? No, in these situations, we value those who stand up for them at all costs. Even if one is normally inclined otherwise to be placid or to seek compromise in lieu of a confrontation, there are limits.
In a broader picture, why do even people who dislike the thought of military action under most circumstances still believe strongly in the need for a strong, well-trained and well-equipped military? Essentially, it boils down to providing for a common defense (as per the language of the U.S. Constitution). Actually, all of the ideals espoused by the U.S. Constitution and the constitutions of other democratic nations -- “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” -- do not come without a fight to establish nor do they continue to exist without ongoing fights to maintain.
Within nature, the fight is not just a human condition. Animal life and even plant life has mechanisms to fight for their own survival and species perpetuation. Simply obtaining nourishment, surviving the elements and natural predators is a struggle. The species than cannot adapt become extinct. That's been a truism over billions of years.
In an everyday sense, one need not be violent to be a fighter. What's more, some of the least likely people to physically fight are those who've spent their lives training their minds and bodies. One of the most fascinating aspects of the Asian martial arts to me is that true mastery is a path to harmony rather than an exercise in showing off fighting prowess or exerting dominance.
Here is a simple but symbolic example that is of interest to me as someone whose college degree is in Asian history: Famous Chinese film maker Lau Kar-leung (Liu Chia-liang)was a lifelong hung gar kung fu master in real life, as was his father. Although he professionally directed films with all the exaggerated staples people associate with Hong Kong movies, the real life Lau tried to explain the difference between cinematic martial arts and real-life martial arts in subtle ways within his films.
In the film Legendary Weapons of China, a crowd of onlookers stands and applauds a public martial arts demonstration in the town square. The fighters show off all sorts of fancy-looking but ludicrously impractical "fighting techniques" complete with over-the-top animal screams and facial histrionics. In the meantime, the film's protagonist, a bona fide master, moves silently and calmly through the crowd. He is dressed the same as everyone else in the crowd, calls no attention to himself but walks with a confident and serene look.
Moving this discussion back within the hockey realm, it would have been wonderful to achieve that rarefied status where your toughness is so universally apparent that no dare one bothers you anymore. Alas, while I named my dog after Gordie Howe, I was myself no Gordie Howe. I was tough, and I did get to a point where many would leave me and my teammates alone, but there's always someone tougher.
I was a better referee than I was a player. But that's 100 percent fine by me. I felt just as comfortable ending a fight and defusing tensions as I did being a combatant.
Officiating is a noble profession; nobler, I'd argue, than my "old job", because now I was fighting (there's that word again) for the game itself and not just fighting in the interests of a team on the ice. Either which way, incidentally, it takes mental as well as physical toughness. Being an official requires a whole lot of mental discipline, too, if one is to be any good at it.
I may be nearing my 66th birthday, but I still have plenty to fight for. The battle for which my greatest passion lies at this stage of my life is the battle to promote more recruitment of officials on the basis of ability (regardless of nationality, gender, etc.), better support systems, improved coaching and more uniformity of hockey rule books from league to league. That is something that is the best interests of the game itself.
*************
A Class of 2018 inductee to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games. Today, Stewart is the director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
Visit Paul's official website, YaWannaGo.com.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
Join the Discussion:
»