Read It And Weep (Anthony Rizzo)

Fifty Two~ A Good Writer

Hannah

December rolls around and it comes crunch time for the Chicago Blackhawks. There was a lot on the line in December for a team who's season wasn't over until April at the earliest. But being the defending champs and having someone like Patrick Kane who was lighting up the ice the way he was along side his new Russian buddy, the expectations were high. Especially after winning the cup and the off season problems that came up there was a lot for this team to prove.

I head to the United Center really early this morning because the hockey players are pretty good with talking to media before hand when they're not so worked up. After game interviews are more common but for someone like me wants to tell the the whole story it's not just about what happens on the ice. They're before the game, when they go home after the game, pretty much everything outside of the game.

So I hang out and talk to a few of the players, guys like Patrick Sharp and Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook are always fun to learn from. And hockey has got to have the most guys with extensive backgrounds. There's guys from Slovak and Russia and Canada and Finland, even Germany. Pretty much hockey is represented all over the world and everyone's dream is to come to the states and parts of Canada and play in the NHL. I always loved being around professional hockey and learning how guys who are so different can come together to play a game. Some of them don't even speak the same language but they know one thing and that's hockey, and that's pretty cool.

So I sit down with Artem Anisimov who came over this season from the Rangers in the off season. He had been around the NHL for a while and a native of Russia, he centers the best line in the NHL in between the possible MVP in Patrick Kane and possible ROTY in Artemi Panarin. And with those two he doesn't get a lot of face time because he's not scoring multiple points a game or making these incredible plays that end up on sports center. But he's making it so those guys around him can be this incredible. Without him his partners don't get to do what they do and they know that, even if Artem wouldn't tell you that. But I still ask him some questions where he gives me his most humble answers.

"I grew up learning to play the game the right way. Defense first, get the puck then worry about stick handling and sick passes and spin moves. There's no offense without a good defense. So I win the puck battles, I go to the front of the net and disturb the goalie then let them play catch with the puck and do their thing" he jokes.

"A lot of people think you're the best line in the league right now and the stats surely back that up. You three dominate the ice when you're out there and if Q had it his way he would have you guys out there all game. Does that type of responsibility to constantly create chances change the way you play your game" I ask.

"Not at all" he shakes his head. "How I play my game isn't based on how the teams play me. We make them change the way they play to be able to defend us. We make them uncomfortable and stick to our plan" he explains.

"Is there a plan going into games when you have a guy on one side of you yelling in Russian and another guy yelling in english" I wonder.

He laughs as he rolls his eyes. "I have tried to mediate those two a few times but in the end I just let them have at it. By the end of the game they're laughing about it even though it gets tense sometimes. At the end of the day it's still hockey, what they need to know they know. Artemi knows all the important english words and Patrick knows all the bad ones in Russian. They might not get along all the time but they're the best duo I know. They hang out on the road, Patrick takes him to dinner and they watch hockey together. Patrick might get a lot of shit from people for a bunch of different things, but he is a great teammate. He's been in the league for eight seasons, he's 27 years old. He takes these young ones in and he makes them better players. Those two are doing things we never see every single game, and that's only because it's those two. I'm just here to enjoy the ride" he claims.

"You realize in those eight seasons Patrick never put up points like this until you guys came along. And you're the only person on this team who can translate for Artemi. It's hard to imagine them having that kind of success without having you out there doing the dirty work" I insist.

"I'm just doing my job" he smirks.

"Well on behalf of everyone who is watching this season, thank you" I tease.

I wrap up my interview with him before heading up to the boxes. Once I was all set up I walk around for a little and think about the article I wanted to post after the game. I wanted people to recognize the lesser known players and I wanted to tell people how they make teams like this good.

After a while I head back to my spot and see someone standing next to my stuff. "Excuse me" I say as I try to scoot past them and to my things.

"Oh, well pardon me" the man says lowly. I stop and turn to him as he looks me up and down. One of theses days I can walk around up here and not be stared at like I'm the Stanley cup, sadly, today is not the day. "Are you a players girlfriend" he asks me.

"No" I reply trying not to be offended.

"Oh so you're single" he smirks.

"Not exactly" I reply.

"So if you're not a players girlfriend then what are you doing up here" he asks.

I try really really hard to keep this civil and not get kicked out. "I'm here for work, sir. Not for a man or for anyone else, I'm here for me. My job is to run the most successful sports news app in the world right now. So if you don't mind I'm going to get to it" I insist.

"You own The Go Ahead" he gasps.

"Is that so hard to believe" I question.

"No. It's just... you're a girl" he noticed.

"I have been for... my entire life now" I say.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to insult you. It's just shocking" he claims.

"How would I be insulted by that" I ask sarcastically. "You know... I moved out of the tribune hoping people would see me for a good writer. Not "a good writer for a women". Just a good writer, period.

But I can change the way I write and the place I wrote at but I can't change people and the way they think. I'm so tired of trying to get guys like you to understand that sports aren't limited to one gender, anyone can enjoy sports. And it's frustrating because I've worked my ass off to be seen as a equal in the sports world but I don't think it will ever happen. I could be the greatest writer in the world and I will just be seen as a woman who is sticking her nose somewhere it doesn't belong. I'm tired of people looking at me in places like this and saying I'm a girlfriend or a sister. The guys on these teams respect me so why can't people like you" I ask.

He just stares at me as I stare back with increasing intensity in my eyes. I try and figure out why he thinks he knows who I am when he saw me for two seconds before jumping to conclusions.

"I'm sorry" is all he says.

"Yeah buddy... me too."