Fight! Fight! Fight! Hey, This Aint Hockey.

So, a basketball guy walked into a hockey arena...

As the crowd began filing in around me, I noticed a buzz in the air. I could sense the anticipation. Were these fans anxiously awaiting crisp passes, powerful slapshots and sprawling saves?

No.

Suddenly, the jumbotron lit up. Loud music shook the arena. (Thank goodness it wasn't the ubiquitous "Welcome to the Jungle") And, a clip of two guys punching the daylights out of one another got most of the crowd to their feet. The clip revealed highlights from the Minnesota Wild's recent road trip. The "highlights", in order:

1. Fight.
2. Fight.
3. Fight.
4. Scuffling that preceded fight.
5. A punch to the face.
6. Some guy got pushed in the back of the head.
7. A bunch of hard hits (some penalties).
8. Three highlights of goals scored. (along with text joking, "Oh yeah, some goals were scored, too").

The gal pal and I giggled as we watched the bloodthirsty crowd around us oooh and ahh over every punch. Then, we laughed some more once the game began. The big checks and angst during any scrum garnered more genuine excitement than any of the swift passes or nifty teamwork that directly preceded any of the home team's five goals.

The loudest cheers erupted when Derek Booguard, the 6'8" local goon, jumped over the boards. No, he isn't the Wild's best player. In fact, in four seasons, he has only two goals. He gets on the ice for one reason only -- to fight. As he circled the rink, using his stick to poke and prod anyone into an altercation . . . the crowd ate it up. The visiting Avalanche did not. Nobody took the bait, and Booguard left the ice to a few boos of disappointment.

By the end of the game (or, by the time we left sometime in the third period), it was clear what drives the average hockey fan: Goons being goons.

Now, imagine you're at an NBA basketball game. And instead of highlights preceding the player introductions to amp up the crowd, there are only clips of fights and hard fouls.

How long until the same folks who eat up the hockey culture began calling the NBA a league full of thugs? And, sometimes, maybe, just maybe... are these same folks quick to label somebody a "thug" just because they are a slightly different hue?