Petty Interaction (Olli Maatta)

P.

                 

Hockey.

Something I love to watch but could never imagine myself playing in a million years.

Personally, I'd rather sit in the stands and cheer for my city's team. Stand up and dance when a player scored a goal or boo with the other fans over a bad call, I loved the environment and atmosphere of hockey games. However, I never appreciated the sport in its entirety until the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009. Seeing the exhaustion, desperation, and celebration mixed together, I finally understood the skill, agility, and passion hockey took. I respected our home team and was thrilled that we had made it to the finals. I was even more ecstatic when we won the cup several games later. There was no place like Pittsburgh that summer and the following seasons.

However, it wasn't until 2016 when I went to a game and a petty interaction with an unexpected player changed everything.