tonymoschetto.com

The smell of my hockey equipment is offensive to anyone within nose shot. It's the type of aroma that will make any normal person angry. For me, I'm used to it. It's a sign of use, of experience, of sweat and of love for the game. The funk will never go away. There's no chance that my elbow pads will ever smell like they did the day I got them. The smell never goes away, it's always there. Sometimes, I lay my equipment in the driveway and let the sun dry it out. During the cold and wet months, I bring my gear into the back room and place the soggy parts onto the heating grates. Then I close the door. Dry equipment just dulls the smell, it lowers the intensity, but it's there. The only way to keep the smell out is to buy new equipment frequently. Unfortunately, I can't afford that lifestyle so I'll just deal with my smelly hockey equipment. I've gotten used to it. I think my luck is somehow infused with the smell that lives inside the materials that make up my gloves, pads and helmet. It's a large part of it, really. If you take out the smell, your luck runs out. The mojo that you've accumulated after all the years is gone, cleansed forever from the gloves, elbow pads and jock straps of life. My smelly hockey equipment lives with me, it will never escape because it doesn't want to escape. The very meaning of its existence is to be a horrific smell amongst my equipment in my hockey bag. We will never part. The smell is like herpes and married with children combined because you'll never get them out of your life for as long as you live. I've learned to live with it. I'm proud of my smell, hopefully you're proud of yours.