Hockey is fun. Even though it’s normal for a line to play 30 shifts in a game, and fail to score on 29 of them, they go home happy. Is witnessing fun?

In hockey, when you get back to the bench after each shift, you feel really good if you generated scoring opportunities, like you did your job. “Good shift!” says the coach.

When the puck does find it’s way to the back of the net, that’s because you created scoring opportunities, so eventually they start going in. You can’t control when you score, you can just put your team in a position to score as often as possible.

If your line does score a goal, it doesn’t usually prompt a “Good Shift!” response. It’s more like everyone’s happy for you that one went in, because you’re being rewarded for your consistent hard work.

When hockey players feel like they need to score, like it’s up to them, that’s when people use the phrase “gripping the stick a little too tightly”. They’re trying too hard to score, and nothing goes in the net, because they’re focussed on something they can’t control and the stress works against them.

Is witnessing fun?