afx: My dad was from Chicago and my mom was from Detroit, so I had the benefit growing up of listening to the whole ‘Hawks v. ‘Wings rivalry and all that entailed.
My family hails from the Midwest, so all my cousins were hockey freaks and my growing up in the SF/Bay Area never got me into the whole hockey mindset. I do like the Sharks, though I concur with a buddy of mine who claims the best hockey is played in the NCAA.