President Barack Obama's devotion to hoops may be unparalleled for a Commander In Chief. This past week he hosted a delegation to watch his hometown Bulls take on the Charlotte Bobcats, and his attention to courting the casual sports fan during the election certainly didn’t hurt his popularity or limit watercooler talk in any way. It was a great plus in the run, and certainly got him just a little more notice in casual conversations than any of his opponents.
So it was with some interest that a large number of members of Congress took to the ice this past week for the Congressional Hockey Challenge, held at the Verizon center in D.C. The work of Monumental Sports and Caps owner Ted Leonsis to ingrain hockey into the culture in Washington has been nothing short of amazing, and the rise of the Caps in value and in the national scene (bolstered by both their young Russian star Alex Ovechkin, and their presence in both the NHL Winter Classic and HBO's 24/7) has helped continue to transform the Capitol District into a hockey hotbed, centered around their NHL franchise. While softball, baseball and even hoops games amongst celebs and politicians are pretty much the norm, the scene of hand selected elected officials taking to the ice with any kind of skill level, even for charity, is a pretty rare site. Celeb leagues are even scare, and while some may done the skates and pads (Dennis Leary, Cuba gooding Jr. etc.) full teams in serious play are as haphazard as, well, snow in L.A.
That is what makes the Congressional Hockey Challenge such an event, a rarity that cuts through the clutter of the casual celebrity event in athletics. It has sponsors offsetting cost and putting dollars in, it raises money for a very good cause related to the sport (The Fort DuPont Hockey club, which brings the game and its healthy lifestyle values to kids in D.C.) and it really gives some boldface names a serious chance to have fun, mix it up and showcase their skills. Would politcial boxing be just as fun and draw a crowd…hmmm. OK maybe not a good idea. What is a good idea is the Lawmakers vs Lobbyst format, giving those who write the laws and those who push for the laws a chance to showcase some very serious skills on the ice and support the cause. The event also has the full support of the media and the Capitals, who use it as another reason to expand and draw interest in all things hockey in the region. That support can also translate behind the D.C. area when attendees and even casual fans who come to support leave and take the feel good notion of hockey in the Verizon Center back to their hometowns. Maybe they are not Caps fans right away, but they are probably bigger supporters of hockey, which leads to all kinds of ancillary benefits for a sport which has made huge strides in recent years in the public consciousness, but is still a distant fourth in the eyes of most of the United States to the other major team sports.
Is it an event that can be replicated easily in other NHL citie. Probably not. After all one would probably be hard pressed to find many cities where you could suit up a team of pols to effectively take the ice (save hockey hotbeds like the Upper Peninsula and the Midwest and probably New England). However it's uniqueness is what makes it so effective. Could you do volleyball in Southern Cal, or play a larger scale, semi-serious baseball game with the format in many citie.? Probably. Hoops could also be a possibility, especially with POTUS support. However to see the pols lace up the skates and take to the ice three years in a row is definitely unique, and certainly worthy of both the Public and private support it receives. A really good idea and a great boost for the game, those playing and for the homestanding Caps.
