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Stanley Cup: The Pressure To Win In Professional Sports

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Stanley Cup: The Pressure To Win In Professional Sports
In every sport, teams play for a chance to make the playoffs, and have a chance of being champions of their respective leagues. In the NHL, 82 games are played to determine the 16 teams which will get a chance to procure the Stanley Cup, one of sport's most iconic trophies. Just to make the playoffs is an accomplishment in itself, but winning the Stanley Cup is something that any winner will forever remember. Cup winning teams endure tons of pressure, pain, and stressful situations but in the end any player will tell you it's worth it. The Stanley cup is the hardest trophy to win in professional sports because it requires a huge amount of skill and the physicality takes a huge toll on players. In sports like football or basketball, players are constantly running, which is much easier than skating. With hockey, skaters are constantly skating on an icy surface on a blade that is 3/16 inches thick. Skating in hockey is like balancing on a balance beam (simile), one wrong move and the player is out of the play. This requires a great deal of skill. Also, a hockey player must be very agile to evade opponents attacking the puck carrier. On top of that this is all happening at a very fast pace. The game is played at a pace so fast that one second too slow …show more content…
In the NHL, the postseason is played at a very high level for almost two months, and the playoffs can hit players hard (Personification). With the higher tempo, a huge amount of physicality is expected. When a team is in the playoffs, they are usually playing games every other day. This means that they are constantly get banged up from the hard open ice hits or the constant checks along the boards. During the playoffs, hockey is all out war. A team isn't done until the final seconds have elapsed and you have secured your fourth win in the series. Any player will try to make an extra hit if it will help them strive to reach their goal, the Stanley
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