The writer, comedian and musician Dave Hill discusses his new book The Awesome Game: One Man’s Incredible, Globe-Crushing Hockey Odyssey (Doubleday Canada, 2023), with Joseph Planta.

The Awesome Game: One Man’s Incredible, Globe-Crushing Hockey Odyssey by Dave Hills (Doubleday Canada, 2023). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Awesome Game

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Dave Hill joins me again. As we learned in his previous book Parking the Moose, which he was on the podcast with back in 2019, Dave’s grandfather was born and raised in Canada. So, it makes sense that Dave has always been fascinated by hockey. He explores his obsession with the sport in his latest book, The Awesome Game: One Man’s Incredible, Globe-Crushing Hockey Odyssey. It’s a fascinating book that has Dave wondering why hockey isn’t as popular as it should be in the United States. He also looks at his own experience with hockey, as a child, as well as a fan today. Cleveland, where he was born and raised, had an NHL team briefly, and today he doesn’t root for Ohio’s Columbus Blue Jackets. I’ll ask him about his allegiance to his hometown team, the New York Rangers. In one chapter of the book, he takes us to an evening watching the Rangers and Blue Jackets facing one another at Madison Square Garden. He also takes the reader to Poland and to Kenya, where he finds hockey stories and experiences that are just delightful to read. And he writes about hockey hilariously that this book will be fun for all sorts of readers, even those who think that there are four quarters to a hockey match. Dave Hill is a comedian, writer, and musician. He has written for sundry publications including the New York Times, the Paris Review, Salon, GQ, McSweeney’s, and many more. He is a regular contributor to This American Life, and the host of his own radio program, The Goddamn Dave Hill Show on WFMU in Jersey City. This new book is published by Doubleday Canada. We spoke eight days ago. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Dave Hill; Mr. Hill, good morning.

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