I disliked Brad Marchand for a long time. He was a dirty player, he was in the penalty box all the time, he got suspended on the regular. You know when I started enjoying him? Lickgate. Marchy went on this bend where he just... licked his opponents' faces. And hockey fans LOST. THEIR. MINDS OVER IT. From 'Omg, it's so gross,' to 'he's basically sexually assaulting them' (which, really? Getting licked and/or your ass slapped is basically Tuesday night at the club for most women), everyone was yapping about it. Journalists posted on Twitter that his coach told Brad to stop- Brad cheerfully denied that. When asked why he licked certain opponents, he was just like 'IDK, he's cute you know?' So not only did it annoyed the other players (and Brad leans hard into his pest reputation), but he got to also stir the homophobia soup that is the NHL, so win-win!
Anyway, someone was explaining to non-hockey friends who Marchy is, and it reminded me of why I stopped hating the guy, and learned to enjoy the rat boy.
