I’ve been a “Hockey Mom” for almost a decade, and a “Hockey Playing Mom” for nine years. You’d think I’d have the terminology down. Yet every time I hit the ice I stumble across some new insight into the often cult-like world of hockey.
Prior to a recent game, Coach Curti sent an email. We were down several players and knew it would be tough. In an effort to fire us up, Coach wrote “Bring the foil.”
At this point I would like to remind you that I am a middle aged mother of three. “Bring the foil?!” Aluminum foil is incredibly versatile. Many uses popped into my mind. If your turkey is roasting too fast, you could cover it with foil. I saw a metaphor there, but suspected Coach Curti was not calling us turkeys this time.
In the movie Signs, the brother Merrill wears a tinfoil hat to keep the aliens from hearing his thoughts. The concept of the foil hat also dates back to 1927, where metal caps were worn to block telepathy in a short story called, “The Tissue-Culture King.”
Hockey is filled with superstitions. Wearing a tinfoil hat to keep the opposition out of your brain made absolute sense to me. So I grabbed my Reynolds Wrap and prepared for the game.
For future reference, the Hanson Brothers are not just a boy band from the 90’s, and “foiling up” refers to covering knuckles with foil as a way to prepare for a bloody fight in Slap Shot.
Foiling up with the Hanson Brothers
Imagine my confusion when I looked around the bench.
Apparently I need to get out more.
Desperate Ice Mom 
You’re so good! So what is the foil for?
I just changed the text that explains it to appear before the picture. It’s a silly reference to Slap Shot where they wrap tinfoil around their knuckles before the game to prepare for a fight. I still think wrapping my head would be more effective.
That’s really funny!
Thanks. I took a little teasing on the bench, but it still makes me laugh. 🙂