Luca Caprio

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My First Blog Post

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

The old saying goes that if isn’t broke then don’t fix it. This is what I think about when I think about superstitions. If you ever watched a very intense sports game or some kind of live event, then surely there is some superstition that has come from these experiences. Think of when there was a Superbowl, and somehow every time the good side scores a touchdown, there’s that one guy who’s always in the washroom. If it works, then it’s not crazy right? This is the same concept for superstitions in the sports world, and it brings much more then luck, but rather mental stability and an ability to play at a higher level.

Body Paragraph:

I chose to revamp my last paragraph because I feel like the feedback, I received from yourself to sprinkle the superstitions examples across the feature story. Having said this, I will change this paragraph by breaking it up in the rest of my three body paragraphs.

The most famous superstition and the one that is most recognized across the hockey world is that of not touching the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl or the Prince of Wales and are awarded when teams from respective conferences reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Exp: I will place this either in my lead or in my first paragraph considering it is the most common superstition and the one that must be spoken about first.

One of my personal favorites is the game of rock paper scissor between Tyler Seguin and Mark Scheifele when the Stars and the Jets clash to decide who is the last person to get off the ice. Scheifele even went on to say that “that’s the fun part of hockey” and I couldn’t agree more (Close 2). I like to think of a little kid watching the game and perhaps being a fan of the Stars or the Jets or even any other team, and just seeing the interaction between these two is really just tremendous.

Exp: I will place this within my third paragraph because I feel like it’s a good place to maybe add an example that is a little bit related to locker room dynamic considering it involves two players.

I feel like showing off their personality is something NHL players are limited to because of some of the older hockey minds and mentalities and how professional they claim the sport to be. Evander Kane is a big advocate of this as he recently expressed his thoughts on this, claiming players should be able to express themselves a little more and market themselves better. I couldn’t agree more with his statements and I feel like these cool superstitions can be a kind of gateway for this to happen.

Exp: This is something I might want to leave in my ending for the simple reason that it leaves a lot open for new discussion on the portrayal of hockey players.

Weekly Writing Challenge #1

Paragraph #1: I have chosen to write about my sub-argument #1 of my outline, which speaks about the difference between an OCD and a superstition.

I was a little curious at the beginning of my research about what possible similarities that could exist between the two, because they do seem quite similar at first glance. However, with a deeper inspection, the point of view changed drastically, and I began to point out their differences. An OCD is in fact a serious health problem, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, and is a serious addiction that needs to be looked at by medical professionals. This is not so much the case with a superstition as it is not exactly in matter of serious illness but rather used as a means to benefit physical and mental performance on the side of a sports game. I would want this to be clarified as all though some may joke on the fact that people with superstitions can be considered to have an OCD, this is not the case as it is a mental health disease that should not be taken lightly. I believe that in many cases some superstitions may be extreme, and that it can annoy others however there is not enough to classify it as such. To conclude, there is no hockey superstition, demanding enough to be considered to be an OCD.

Paragraph #2: This scene was something that I witnessed (#2)

It seemed only normal for me as a little boy to spend my time googling some of the hockey greats of my time. Patrick Kane, Drew Doughty, John Carlson, but the one that stuck with me the most was Sidney Crosby and his famous quote. It felt like that movie that had your favorite actor in it where you just simply couldn’t get your eyes glued of the television. This was me as a little kid watching a special series the NHL was doing on the Penguins. Sidney Crosby uttered the famous “there are probably a few that are borderline crazy, but I guess we’re all crazy in our own way”. He was speaking about the scared hockey superstitions. This moment kind of kicked off my interest into the world of hockey superstations and is part of why I started researching so much on them. This video was found on Jens95 youtube channel, (on blog in sources).

Voice Writing Activity

The Voice: A Hockey Tournament to Remember

PART I

It was a snowy day when I was getting ready to leave for my hockey tournament in St. Jean Port- Jolie Quebec in the region of La Pocatière, and to be honest I would’ve wished for that snow fall later. There’s just something about a hockey tournament that is special, a moment of bonding between teammates that unless you play the sport you wouldn’t understand. At the end of my playing career, I know that those will be the moments I will remember the most, the tournaments. Not the X’s and O’s or how many losses we had racked up that season, but rather the bonds and memories formed in tournaments with teammates. Anyhow, back to the story. I was super excited for what was to come in the tournament this time around because of how well we were recently playing in our last couple games. First game… win, second game… win, third game and the elimination game… out, well so much for that. I never really understood some of the formats these tournaments have, because you can win both the first and second game, but if you lose the third, you’re out. We had to keep our chins high because of how well we all played and so when returning to the motel at around 8:30pm, we decided to begin the long night of fun. The night was filled with beer pong, shots, music, and of course a lot of dumb things that could only be accomplished by a group of immature young men. Even though we had our fun at night, the majority of players and parents decided to leave early in the morning to avoid what they were calling, a major storm. We woke up early, and sure enough while looking outside there was nothing but snow for as far as we can see along with a continuous heavy snowfall. We went and see the women at the front desk, and she informed us that a section of the highway was completely closed for the foreseeable future for the safety of the drivers. So, from leaving at 7am, it went south really quick. 7am became 9am and 9am became lunch time and before we knew it the highway would still be closed at 7pm, 12 hours from our initial hopeful departure time. The biggest problem was, even if we wanted to take alternate routes, it was impossible because they were all closed. Finally, at 9pm, the highway was open, and we were clear to go, but with no ease. It was one of the scariest times that I was ever in a car, I could only imagine what my father was feeling at the time. Driving 60km/h with hazards on, we made our way home at 1am, and concluded a tournament I’ll never forget.

PART II

My father and I left for a hockey tournament in St. Jean Port-Jolie Quebec, in the region of La Pocatière. Hockey tournaments are the single most memorable part of any young player’s hockey career. I probably won’t remember all of the X’s and O’s, or the number of times we lost, but rather the bond I shared with teammates. Our tournament began rather well, as we won both of our preliminary games, but ended abruptly when we lost our first elimination game. In my opinion, tournaments are not planned out in the best ways, but with a record of 2-1 we were out (ousted). We still felt pretty good about our game and so we decided to party for the night at the hotel. The night was filled with beer pong, shots, music, and of course a lot of dumb things that could only be accomplished by a group of immature young men. Most of the team was still disciplined enough to wake up early to get back home. We woke up to the women at the front desk informing us that a portion of the highway used to get home, was closed due to the snowstorm that had developed through the late night. So much for leaving at 7am… because we only managed to leave safely at 9pm. After driving at 60km/h with hazards on for four hours, we finally arrived home at 1am with our greatest fears behind us, and a with a lasting memory of an unforgettable tournament.

PART III

My father and I departed for a hockey tournament in St. Jean Port-Jolie, in the region of La Pocatière nestled north of Quebec City. Hockey tournaments are the single most memorable part of any young player’s hectic career. Not a soul will recall the X’s and O’s on the dry erase board, or the number of times we waved the white flag, faltering to our opponents. Our tournament had begun with great fortune as we came out victorious on our first two outings, however we were ousted in the first game of elimination as our prosperous tournament quickly faded. Upon return to the underwhelming motel that awaited us, it was customary for us young athletes to celebrate all we’ve accomplished with a lengthy night of celebration. We remained determined to wake up at a reasonable hour so we could embark on the tumultuous path that awaited. The lady at the front desk had informed us of an apparent closure on the highway home, leading us to leave fourteen hours after the scheduled time of 7am. The drive left quite the disturbing feeling among drivers and passengers, as the roads were filled with the hissing of the snow like sand in the dessert. Vehicles moved at minimum velocity while the hazards were flashing as far as man could see. The obstreperous drive finally came to an end, and all the players and coaches were safe at home with their families, only lucky to have withstood the cataclysmic storm behind them.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

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Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
What topics do you think you’ll write about?
Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

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Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

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