Video: Steve Downie Tries To Kiss Andrew Ference in Bruins-Lightning Game 6

By Ryan Hadfield in Bruins, Featured, Now!, Video ⋅ May 26, 2011 at 11:49pm ⋅ Post a comment

There’s a million reasons to love sports. You can love it for the rivalries. Maybe, you love it for the thrills; or subconsciously, because everyone loves to complain, you may love sports for the lolls. Some people love sports for the tradition, kind of like a holiday.

The natutre of the beast is unpredictable. It’s not dubbed “March Sanity”, it’s called “March Madness.” This proclivity towards impulse drives the popularity of sports. Like I said, the list goes on and on. Everyone has there reasons. Professional and collegiate athletics was reality TV, before reality TV was invented. It has shock value, plots, and sometimes, unintentional comedy.

Perhaps the most recent example of unintentional comedy in athletics occurred during a scrum between Tampa Bay forward Steve Downie and Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference Wednesday night during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. The antagonist, Downie, was undeniably trying to goad Ference into a penalty, by getting in his face.

What occurred afterwards, as tensions escalated, was something you only see in sports, bars in Faneuil Hall at roughly 1:35 in the morning, and your local middle school dance….

This isn’t the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last, two people involved in the heat of battle talked trash to one another and appear to give us a moment often found in a late-night Cinemax movie. Ravens Coach Brian Billick was a much more aggresive suitor with Rodney Harrision. The two engaged in a verbal battle from a thrilling come-from-behind victory on Monday Night Football for New England during the infamous 18-1 season.

Harrison had the last laugh that night. Hopefully Ference and his teammates can say the same Friday night after Game 7.

About Ryan Hadfield

Ryan Hadfield is the author of the weekly Sports Media Musings column at Sports Of Boston. Hadfield is known as one of the top sports media critics in Boston. He also contributes to Boston Sports Media Watch. In November 2011, Hadfield helped launch the new SoB Point Taken blog featuring his podcasts & musings on sports, media and culture. Follow Ryan on Twitter.

Tags: Boston Bruins, Eastern Conference Finals, Rodney Harrison, Tampa Bay Lightning