Why is the game of hockey always so violent? In this paper, I will focus on the perspective of the male hero in "Bad Boy" and how his violence on the ice rink encourages violence in the sport of hockey.
             When A. J. begins to be more violent on the ice, he gains respect from his coach and teammates. Violence and hockey seem to go hand in hand, and the fans clamor for more when a fight breaks out or a player engages in dirty tricks on the ice. The author shows that in the local reaction to A. J.'s sudden turn of violence on the ice. She writes, "No matter what Lloyl says in the paper, or all the fuss about violence and sports, they love this. It frightened him how it made his heart pound" (Wieler 134). A. J. finds he enjoys it as well, and he enjoys the attention his "Bad Boy" nickname brings him at school and in the community. The book does not glamorize violence, rather it denounces it, but underlying all the denunciation is the clear fact that hockey is a violent sport and the fans love that violence. That begs the question, why is hockey so violent, and why is this violence allowed to continue in the sport? Hockey is violent because the fans love it and the officials allow the violence to continue. The book shows A.J. becoming a minor celebrity because of his violence, and his coach and teammates admire him. In fact, it is his coach who urges him to go after "The Worm" and accrue a 5-minute penalty, which gets A. J. started down the road to "Bad Boy" status. Later, Coach Landau calls him the "enforcer," which shows how he views A.J.'s talents (Wieler 133). Violence gains A.J. respect, but he also feels guilty about his violence on the ice. This is how the author shows that he does not like the violence in the game, and he really is not a bad person. A.J. takes out his anger and hurt on the ice, and gains respect so he continues. He learns about himself as he becomes more violent, and he learns that everyone does n...