Title courtesy of our favorite No Sabo kid, Auston Matthews (at 1 min. 11) - We want to say that the proper saying is Felices Fiestas, but hearing him say Feliz Vacaciones will always get a laugh from us.
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Season's Greetings, friends!
We’re here for the very last time in 2022!
It’s been a big year for the both of us on many levels, and we’re proud that we are here, almost a year later, still writing To Hockey, With Love. It’s a fun personal project for both of us, so the response was more than we ever expected, and we’re grateful that people read our work!? The mind boggles.
Earlier this week, we sat down to reflect on the past year writing the newsletter, and it was really interesting to see how much our perspective on hockey has changed. As contradictory as this may seem, we actually watch a lot less hockey now, but it’s also been the most fun we’ve had with it in a while. Engaging with hockey on a more macro level has allowed us to learn and explore different parts of the sport that we may have never looked at otherwise. Like honestly, who would have thought that we would have Strong Opinions on the Arizona Coyotes? Watching a game at Mullet arena definitely wasn’t on our bucket list last year.
Looking at hockey through a more critical lens has also made us think about what we want to bring and get from the sport. We’re more conscious about how we engage and consume content. It’s really forced us to think about what we offer when we share our opinions. Are we offering anything new? Are we reducing harm? A few times, we’re halfway through an article and realize that this isn’t what we really need to talk about. It’s made for a much healthier relationship with hockey and has made us stronger writers overall.
Finally - and most importantly - writing this has been a testament to our friendship and our trust in each other. Half of the time, we’re laughing and talking while working on this, but there are also a lot of interesting conversations and learning.
We have a lot of things we want to do for 2023, and we hope you all stick around to see them!
But for now, we want to tell you how much your support has meant to us for the past year. (Spoiler Alert: It’s a lot.) Thank you for sticking with us and following our work. We honestly couldn’t have done it without you.
Top 10 of our best work!
If we could, we would have put all of them since we can’t pick favorites. However, y’all did it for us with your views and likes. We can’t thank you enough for the enthusiasm that you all have shown toward our work. Here are the top 10 THWL articles of the year, so you can revisit our best work.
Top 5: Long-form articles
Top 5: Other Thoughts
We hope this holiday season is treating you well, and we wish you warmth, joy, and tranquility for the new year ahead.
With love,
Gaby & Perrye