Two hundred feet by eighty-five feet of ice are the dimensions and components of my best friend. My best friend is there for me on predetermined nights and never breaks plans. Together, we share moments of great success as well as mutual feelings of disappointment. Yes, my best friend is the game of hockey and it has surprisingly human characteristics.

I can not quite diagnose the reason for my incurable passion for hockey but I do remember its origins. When I was about seven years old, I would watch all the girls in pink skirts jump rope and conduct daily gossip sessions. I, too, wore pink, but something separated me from these social butterflies. I did not find it cute to constantly ridicule others or discuss other people's lunch contents. After several attempts to befriend my belittling classmates, I gave up on trying to join their slumber parties. Around this time, I had laid my eyes upon something exquisitely graceful on television. I had caught a glance of a National Hockey League game; a New York Rangers game. The rest is history.

There is something about hockey that is just so esthetically pleasing. I awe at the precision the stick has to make with the puck to send the puck flying across the ice through obstacles and the swiftness with which the goalie grasps it with his glove at the other end. At the same time, hockey is played at a speed faster than most games and is a true test of endurance. Hockey has influenced the way I handle personal responsibilities. I view everything I do as a stride to perfection with an adventure mixed in for the ride.

Everyone has that one special friend that never fails to brighten up a day after a stressful time at school or work. The New York Rangers has been that special friend to me. Even though I have met few Rangers in person, I have become connected with them over the years. I have adapted their fiery determination in games into my school work. Likewise, my trips to games at Madison Square Garden are always unforgettable events. I love the atmosphere at the games. It is an amazing sight of several thousand fans exploding in cheers for a common cause. It is the simple things like these that make life worth living for.

Hockey has been more than my best friend, it has been a cultural guide. The New York Rangers team, much like the city of New York, consists of people from all over the world. I have made it a personal mission to expand my cultural knowledge in order to better understand the Czech, Finnish, Austrian or Swedish backgrounds of my favorite players. I have read books about their home towns and tried their native cuisines. I even tried to master dozens of phrases from each of the languages in hopes that I can one day utilize them. The commercials on the Madison Square Garden channel always focus on the diversity of the New York Rangers team. In a humorous manner, comedian Bobby Granger pokes fun at the miscommunication that may arise in such a diverse locker room. The funny accents in the commercials remind me of my own accent when I try to master foreign phrases. I also have met interesting people and some of my closest friends at hockey games and cultural forums. Evidently, hockey has revolutionized my life.

As I continue to interact with people, some will look at me in shock when I tell them that hockey is my best friend. I never regret making this statement because I can not imagine my life any other way. Hockey is more than a game on ice, it is a lifestyle deeply rooted in my heart. Behind the broken noses and bloody lips, hockey is a gateway to the world at large.