Yes. We're hockey fans.
My relationship with sports has historically been superficial, typically along the lines of "Go Local Franchise from Wherever I Happen to Be Living Right Now." By some happy accident, I've found myself much more interested in hockey than I ever was in football (Tennessee), basketball (Kentucky) or baseball (Los Angeles).
Sure, strictly speaking, I am rooting for the Local Franchise. But I feel I'm in good hands; they won the Stanley Cup last year and are in the second round of the playoffs this year. The cast of characters is becoming recognizable, both on the ice and in the taverns we frequent. Before, just going to a place where there would be alcohol and friends was a reasonably good time. That a game might be on at the same time was largely irrelevant.
Now, my new-found emotional involvement with the teams on the screens has increased the intensity of those experiences to the point where I actively look forward to them. I've even gone so far as to participate in the customs of the natives.
Paul has been asked to judge a contest involving comics, which is another thing I'm looking forward to. Aside from the feeling of legitimacy it brings to our labor, it's an opportunity to generate some real ill-will toward us (by "us", I mean Paul. I'm not involved with the judging in the least). After all, nothing brings out someone's inner hater quite like being told that their stuff simply isn't the best thing ever.