hockey

a few days ago i was at a city-league men's hockey game. the ages of the men on bf's team range from twenties and late teens to mid-thirties or forties.
i noticed that as soon as they could take the ice and start warming up, most of the younger guys were shooting all over the rink, skating and passing pucks. the older (taller and larger) men stayed mainly by their box, stretching. eventually, they, too, were skating and doing drills, but it was funny to see the immediate age separation. the older players were well aware of how they'd feel later if they neglected their stretching.
later, during the second and third periods, i saw that the slimmer (younger) players were the ones sprinting down to help defend their goal, while the older and larger players slowly skated after them, trailing by half the rink-length. by the time these men passed the halfway mark, the puck was usually on its way back to their offensive side and they turned around to head back, only to be passed by their sprinting teammates.
it was easy to picture the older men continually caught in limbo, not able to reach one end of the rink before the puck changed sides and was off to the other end.
i also learned a valuable lesson. don't wear a thong to a hockey game, especially to a rink with no heaters and metal bleachers.