I Bleed Blue

Tonight it all begins again.
Tonight we start to dream again, to hope, to cry, to hold our breaths as every second counts down.
Every whistle, every face off, every horn.  Every broken stick and check against the boards.
It starts all over again.

The team is ready.  They want it.  Every player has spent the entire week posting how ready to fight they are.  The fans believe again.  We've all mended our broken hearts over the summer and are ready to bleed once more. 

It's games till 6am.  It's heart stopping overtime.  Those can't-look shootouts.  It's the tag on my keys.  It's getting my jersey out once more.  It's the cap I wear and never give up.  Stats and write-ups and scouting reports.  Call-ups and injuries and trade deadlines.

It's all back.  And we're ready.

This is NEW YORK RANGERS hockey.
#superaggressivefb doesn't realise what he could be in for...

#LETSGORANGERS

LGR!

Fair warning announcement:

Tomorrow is the first National Women's Hockey League draft day in the US

I am hugely excited for the NWHL starting this year.  I firmly believe there should be more representation of women in professional sports.  I believe women's sporting leagues should recieve equal billing to men's leagues, especially at top level. 

Every 5 year old boy in the UK KNOWS he can be a footballer (soccer) if he wants, no questions asked.   5 year old girls deserve to know they can be hockey players, footballers, rugby players, scientists, car mechanics or boardroom executives.  Every 5 year old boy should know he can grow up to be a princess and have a fairy tale wedding if he wants.

These women train hard, potentially harder than their male peers have to.  They are just as skilled and dedicated.  I can't wait to see them play.

I freely confess, I don't know much about women's hockey.  I don't know who the players to watch are, who the upcoming talent is, what rivalries I should love to hate.  Even in the internet age coverage of women's sports is usually just not that accessible or broadly available.  That is a failing in the sporting world.  The NWHL is a great step towards trying to fix that

As a New York Rangers fan, I will be supporting the New York Riveters when the 2015-16 season starts in October, but I am so unbelievably excited for the entire NWHL as a whole.  My passion and enthusiasm is for hockey.  Not men's hockey.  Hockey, pure and simple.   I intend on bringing that same passion I have for the Rangers to anything that gives me an excuse to watch even more top level hockey next season.

Let's Go Riveters!

(For more information on the NWHL go to nwhl.co)