'Hockey....blech. Not worth my time. It's so...lame. What the hell is the point of hockey, anyways?'

About a month ago, this was pretty much my opinion of hockey, the great Canadian sport that involves heavily padded men on sharpened slices of steel chasing a small, flattened chunk of plastic across an ice rink armed with only little sticks wrapped in some kind of all-purpose adhesive similar to duct tape.

The only time I watched hockey was when there was nothing else on television, and even then, I would only watch in complete disinterest before I'd finally settle for something not nearly as boring. But that was before I quite mysteriously, and somewhat disturbingly came to the realization that...low and behold...I find a man in hockey gear SEXY.

Yes, I said it. A man in hockey gear is SEXY.

Now, the only real entertainment I had ever gotten from watching hockey was the fights. One man shoves another, the 'shovee' apparently feels the need to defend his manhood, they circle each other, and then the gear flies all over the place as they begin wailing on each other, throwing punches that would make Ali proud. All the while, I imagine, spouting language I’m sure would turn a drunken dockworker’s ears red. Quite amusing. HOWEVER...the turning point, that one moment I switched from having complete disinterest was April 9th, when I watched the Pittsburgh Penguins hand the Ottawa Senators their own asses.

Now...being from Ottawa myself, you’d think that I’d automatically be a Sens fan...but nope. Never liked them in the first place, and that‘s saying a lot considering I never gave hockey much thought. However, on that night, all my attention was on the Pens. Specifically, on Marc-Andre Fleury.

Now imagine this. I’m sitting on the couch with Pepsi in hand, bored out of my mind and staring at a bunch of men chase a puck down the ice when low and behold, I catch a glimpse of the Pens goalie, all decked out in his gear and looking very much like a hermit crab, shuffling or sliding, I suppose, side to side in front of the net. Also quite amusing.

Now, being just like all the other players, he’s decked out in his gear, you can’t even see his EYES, much less anything else but for some reason, I became fixated on him, and sat there for the entire game, staring, mesmerized as he blocked shot after shot effortlessly. I thought ‘hmmm...he’s damn good...I gotta look him up on the internet later and see if he’s cute’, in typical me fashion.

Yes, I will on occasion watch American Football (that glorious game with all the ‘tight butts’ ) just to see if any of the players are cute (I remember what team he’s on and his uniform number and start there...Peyton Manning very much qualifies) and when I did look him up, lo and behold, he IS cute! And, apparently, so are Marian Hossa and Sidney Crosby (in that particular order...) *ahem* Although, if only not to sound attracted to the team based solely on the sexiness of three of the players, they do play exceedingly good...

So, if only to see if they could pull it off again, I watched their next game, and, to my newfound delight, they crushed the Sens AGAIN. And AGAIN. And AGAIN. At work, I told my colleagues about my newfound and apparently growing love for the Pens, they told me I was nuts, and I just smiled and looked forward to the next game.

Now it’s May 14, and I’ve watched as the Pens have rolled over the New York Rangers and then flatten the Philadelphia Fliers, and I can now say with absolute conviction, that I am now officially a Pens fangirl. I get excited just waiting for game night, I feel a wonderful a thrill every time Fleury saves a goal, grin like an idiot every time either Malkin or Hossa score against the opposing team and jeer unmercifully every time the other team gets a penalty.

I think its adorable how Fleury charges onto the ice before the game, and although I find a French accent...very much un-sexy, coming from his lips, it somehow is. Every time he blocks a shot, I find myself grinning ear to ear and whispering to myself ‘good one cutie...keep it up!’

I’ve got it so bad for the Pens that when I tried watching the game between Dallas and Detroit, I found that I could care less about either team. I wanted to watch PITTSBURGH play. No other team interests me except for the Pens.

If they win the Stanley cup, I do believe I’ll buy a jersey and wear it with a smile. If they loose, I do believe that I’ll still love them and hope they win next season. And I’ll buy a jersey anyway. GO PENS!