In 222 and 222A disputes are settled with cotton candy, curtains

Fighting has long been controversial in hockey, but in recent years its existence and usefulness has been strongly contested. Many ask, how can a legitimate sport allow two people to viciously attack one another with real intent to harm? How do league executives allow such brutality in such a graceful sport? And, incidentally, what's with all the ice?

The Philadelphia Flyers, and most NHL executives, want hockey to be for everyone, but the club realizes that fighting may not be suitable for all fans and may be driving some away. Because of this the team is offering fans attending the games—mostly parents with small children—the opportunity to be shielded from the often gory fracases.

The organization has offered two family seating sections in the Wachovia Center for some time. Sections 222 and 222A carry this designation and both fans and team officials have been delighted with the results. The family sections offer reasonably priced admission—$10 child tickets and $20 adult tickets. Fans sitting here are usually shown on the JumboTron at some point during the game and the popcorn and cotton candy vendors patrol the area like on safari.

“We have a blast,” said Mike Reynolds, father of 3 young sons who all recently attended the Flyers-Panthers game on March 26. “It’s affordable and most everyone sitting here is courteous and low-key. Oh, and the cotton candy is to die for.”

Most parents, however, choose to sit in the family section for one reason: hockey fights do not exist in 222-222A Wachovia Lane. When the gloves drop so too does an opaque curtain from the rafters of the Center that would make Broadway jealous. The heavy-duty curtain drops in front of the section as well as the adjacent aisle sides drowning out all sight of the ice and most arena sound.

“Originally, the curtain only dropped in the front of the sections blocking the view of the ice. Then parents became concerned over the effects of their children being able to hear neighboring [sections] 223 and 221A cheering the fight on. We extended the curtain coverage up the aisles,” said Flyers public relations manager Tim Kerrton.

“I love hockey and my kids all really love the game, but, frankly, I don’t want my children watching fights,” said Frank Dilinger, father of Caitlyn, 8, and Tyler, 10. “In most movies bare knuckle fighting, which draws blood, will earn that film a rating of PG-13 or PG-14 and the same standards should go for hockey.”

When the curtains are dropped a short video is projected onto the front "obstruction screen" showing a short video—The Greatest checks in Flyers History. As bodies hit the boards and Plexiglas shatters, speakers blare the Guns N’ Roses’ hit Welcome to the Jungle. The entire process takes only seconds and, when the fight concludes, only seconds more to bring the family sections back to game action and away from the video.

"When my classmates talk about the fights from the night before," said Tyler, "I laugh because there is no fighting in hockey. I laugh out loud."

So conscience of the NHL’s brutal fighting that one local giant cable company is offering parental control devices for blocking hockey fights from fans under the age of 21. Parents can now program their TV to block out the fisticuffs with a giant blue blob and replace excited, urging announcer voices with audio of blue whale cries from the North Pacific Ocean.

“The customers spoke and we listened,” said a representative from the giant cable company based in Philadelphia. "That's what we do."