Q & A with the (nerdy) girl with a puck... warning: she's longwinded

I have real-live friends outside of Mickey Mouse and Wildwing, I swear. Cassie's one of them, you should feel sorry for her. Nevertheless, I'm Christy Finn, mostly known as Finny, and I fiddle around on a Ducks-centric blog called Girl With a Puck.

1. Where are you from? What do you do?

I'm a total California girl, though not the bleach-blonde, sunburnt, surfer-girl type popularized by The OC. (That doesn't mean they aren't actually there, but I won't diss 'em since they've done nothing explicitly to harm me personally). I was born and raised in sunny SoCal with a complete obliviousness towards hockey until, *gasp*, The Mighty Ducks films. Don't laugh, I'm serious. What's worse? I didn't actually get into hockey (or the team) until I watched the cartoon of the Mighty Ducks... then I got curious and started to watch the actual hockey team. What do I do? What don't I do? I'm a graduate student studying English literature, and when I absolutely must, I go slave away in downtown LA at a community college where I hold an incredibly boring job as a financial aid assistant. FAFSA, anyone?

2. What's your favorite team? Why?

Ah, the Ducks. I just fell in love at 13 years old with the then-Disney Captain Paul Kariya (big mistake, as he would break my heart into itty-bitty pieces in 2003), but then I fell for the team and the game when I saw it was fast, it had fights, it wasn't easy-come, easy-go. The players had a strength and toughness I admired in men then (and still do), and I wanted to be tough like that (at the time, Xena was a big part of my life and tough-chick attitudes ruled).

3. Your least favourite team? Why?

The Red Wings. The first year I ever paid attention to hockey (the '96-'97 season), the then-Mighty-Ducks went to the playoffs and got swept by the Wings. I wasn't happy, and I hated Scotty Bowman for years thereafter, though I now respect him and can muster up some grudging respect for the Wings, I still hate losing to them. I also don't like the Kings, cross-town rivalry and all that.

4. Your favourite player of all time & now?

Man, of all time and now? Toughie. I'd have to say Teemu Selanne as my favorite of all time because he was part of the Dynamic Duo (Selanne & Kariya) from back in the day when I first fell in love with hockey, and I had the chance to meet him that year. Nine years later, he signed the picture of when I met him at age 14. Everything I've ever read about him and seen from him just speaks volumes about what a class act and community icon he is, and I just admire that. My favorite player "now"--as in "this very moment"--is probably Shane O'Brien because he's a kid that's been impressing me all season-long.

5. If you had to punch one hockey player or member of the NHL organisation, who and why?

This is a little bit of a tricky question for me. I really dislike Mike Modano (aka Madonna) because he doesn't ever stop complaining, and I'm not a big fan or respector of Dwayne Roloson, but probably I'd want to punch the Kings' Sean Avery or the "traitor" aka "prick" Paul Kariya. Avery because he always inspires me to want to fight him with his antics and constant jawing, and Kariya for his disloyalty and prickishness. I've heard the stories, I know he's not that nice, and it sucks because I used to be such a fan.

6. What you'll be looking forward in this group blog.

A sense of community with other female hockey fans! Women can only unite in a way that men seem to be unable to, and beyond that, we may disagree but we're not quite so antagonistic about our viewpoints and I'm a much bigger believer in disagreeing instead of arguing. Of course, this doesn't apply when it comes time to drop the gloves, but I'm glad women can co-exist with differing opinions and prove that a "guys sport" isn't just for guys' enjoyment. Plus, I love being able to chat with other women who are knowledgable about the sport!

7. What you don't like in general?

Spicy food. Liars. Smoking (notice: I did not say smokers, but I did say smoking). Drunk guys who hit on anything that moves because they think they're all that. Girls who are fake. Prickly people. Guys who always sell a dive on the ice. And I definitely don't like the really rude opposition fans (ahem, several--but not all--Kings fans).

8. What role do female fans play in keeping the game alive?

Spreading the fandom to include not just skill and ability but also a player's contribution to a community. Plus, we get to apply the whole sex-appeal thing to the game. Hockey's sexy and female fans can sell that point, generating an appeal to the game for it's speed and it's reinforcement of a more-than-capable-tough guy who'll do crazy things like bleed profusely and still be primarily concerned with whether or not they can get back in the game. Guys like that, who show their dedication, are to me, an inspiration... and my loud mouth and non-stop hockey chatter makes dang sure other people know that hockey rocks my world.

9. What role do female fans play in picking heroes for the community?

Promotion. We have the power to promote to our friends any organization a player chooses to endorse, and we drag along our husbands/boyfriends/fathers/sugar daddies/whoever to make sure they sit through it and support it whether or not they go cooperatively or coersively. Plus, women who have kids have the ability to teach that child to love hockey. As a result, that love will turn to admiration of a player or two and cultivate a desire not only to watch the game, but perhaps even to play and "be like" whoever. Every child (and every woman) needs a hero.

10. Hockey just isn't the same without Wayne Gretzky (playing, not coaching with that possessed, evil look he seems to don so often).

11. If you were on a deserted island, which player would you pick to stay with you? Crosby, Ovechkin or Phaneuf (hey he tried!)?

Not Phaneuf because he's Ryan Getzlaf's long-time rival (and I so heart Getzzy). And despite his great skill, not Ovechkin (somehow, I'm just not that crazy about him). I'd take Crosby because he's young, he's fast, and he has great hands... Heeeeeyyyyy... (interpret that any way you like).

12. The player you'd like to take for a grand night out/a movie/a boring event.

Grand Night Out: Ryan Getzlaf because he seems like the kind of guy who can party... he's always seems to be smiling and cracking some kind of joke. I just think it's cute. Or maybe Ilya Bryzgalov because he reads philosophy books and he'd probably have lots to say about whatever's going on around us.

A movie: Ryan Shannon. The kid is so damn articulate and smart, I'd love to watch a "thinker" movie and analyze it with him. It'd be fun to compare notes because I was an English major and he was an Economics major (hey, they accounced that on a broadcasted game, I did not find that info out by seeking it)--and there's got to be huge differences in how we see the world. I just want to pick his brain.

A boring event: Shane O'Brien because they say he never runs out of things to say and he just seems so fun and just cool with his "fear is not a factor for you" fights and constant "chirping". I find it amusing to watch him always running his mouth and read that on road trips he like to talk. I figure it's got to be pretty interesting, and it'll probably keep me amused for the better part of a boring event.

13. If you could make your own team, regardless of whatever players, what would it be called and where will it be/how would it be like?

My fantasy teams are "Puck Pirates" and "Titans"--the first because I couldn't come up with another name and the second because that's my college mascot and we don't have an official hockey team. I'd probably want the Titans and I'd want it somewhere in SoCal, though I realize that's not advisable or practical or a particularly promising money market. I don't know how it'd be, except that I'd consult TSN.ca's fantasy rankings before deciding on which players I wanted...