�Perhaps the hardest part of being a fan of anything is what others think of what you admire. Fans of television shows, musical artists, actors and actresses probably deal with the bashing from other and critics alike.

How die-hard the group is and how long it has been going on are all factors in how severe the bashing actually might be. Some things are phases, such as the current (stupid) Gen-Y BackStreet Boys vs. N'Sync. Or ones that have lasted longer such as Star Wars vs. Star Trek.

But in the world of sports, there are the home-rivals. New York Mets and Yankees. Chicago White Sox and Cubs. Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. Of all these sports, hockey is no exception.

The longest rivaly in pro sports is actually between the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

�In anycase, this chapter is meant to focus on my rivalry among other hockey fans. Although "rivalry" might be too strong of a word, during my high school years I had a group of people that we would talk to a lot, and more often than not, about sports. Eventhough I have not kept in touch with them since graduation, it was perhaps the best time for hockey (we'll just neglect the fact that it was only a year ago).

�Sure they made fun of me because of my team choice, but at the same time, they really respected it. The fact that one was a huge Chicago Blackhawks fan really let sparks fly between us. We all made fun of each other's respective teams and players, but that was perhaps the way we respected each other.

Outside of high school, there wasn't much to be said about hockey. None of my close friends remotely cared about this ever exciting world, so what did I do? Went to an online chatroom about hockey of course! I will admit, I became addicted to the chat room, for reasons that it was a novelty and more importantly, other Red Wing fans. Now that the novelty has worn over and entering college where there are plenty of others, there is no need to be online so much.