Personal Narrative: What Is Play

On March 24, 2016 I attended an American Hockey League (AHL) game at the Quicken Loans Arena between the Lake Erie Monsters and the Rockford IceHogs. To get to the game, I had to meet my good friends parents for the first time because we were taking their car up to Cleveland. Ironically, this process felt almost ritualistic, because even though my friend was a female and not a romantic interest, I still conducted my usual nervous preparation for meeting her parents. Aside from this encounter, the game really brought to life the discussion our class had regarding “what is play,” these last few weeks. To start, the game commenced after the players, coaches and trainers took the ice for the singing of the National Anthem. In regards to the frame

In most cases, a player had committed a foul or unsportsmanlike act to cause a stoppage of play. During a hockey game, the frame of play felt jolt-like, with a lot of stop and go. Further, AHL hockey games are traditionally broken up into three 20-minute periods with 15 to 18 minute intermissions in between the first two halves. A large clock and buzzer informed the breakage of the game/frame of play. For the most part, the players, coaches, and referees had their eye on the clock to monitor the action of play on the ice. When the clock got closer to the end of the 20-minutes, the players seemed to move faster to adjust to the ending time or frame. Likewise, the Lake Erie Monsters were ahead in points during the entire game so as the clock headed toward zero, the players tried to keep the puck on the opposing teams side. Often time in sports, players consider this action as “keep away,” so that the winning team keeps their advantage into the next

After the Lake Erie Monsters scored a goal, however, a large foghorn blared and the crowd erupted in excitement. On the other hand, the crowd remained nearly silent during periods of play. When players hit the walls of the ice rink, some fans would bang on the Plexiglas in an attempt to cheer on the players. Though the game was mild with absolutely no altercations between players, the fans continued to chant for fights. One chant, in particular, caught my attention because it seemed very violent. During various parts of the game, groups of people would yell, “hit somebody!!” loudly and with happiness. This reminded me of the conversation we had in class about play acts that engage in