One would think firefighters and police officers would get along well..They often respond together to emergencies, with life-threatening situations requiring quick thinking and great strength..Every year, the New York Police Department and the Fire Department of New York get together in an exhibition hockey game, the Battle of the Badge, billed as friendly, that raises money for charities in the region and the 49th annual game was last Saturday at UBS Arena, home of the New York Islanders..Sportskeeda reports the game is highly anticipated every year and had 17,000 spectators in attendance this year and they saw a whole lot more than hockey..“Numerous fights broke out between NYC’s finest and bravest. Jersey tugs, straight on jabs, and heavy haymakers got the raucous crowd on its feet, hooting and hollering as the city’s civil servants clocked one another on the ice,” reports Silive..Barstool TV was the official broadcaster for game, with ‘Spittin Chiclets’ hosts Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnete doing the play-by-play and interviewing a special guest, The Great One, Wayne Gretzky..Gretzky said during his playing days with the New York Rangers, he used to get excited about the game, sharing a story about being invited to watch one of the exhibition matches..Gretzky said, "I remember being in New York and the police and the fire department hockey players said, 'Wayne, you gotta come to our game. We hate each other.' And I said, 'How could you guys hate each other; aren't you on the same team, saving lives?'".Not on the ice..“With 30 seconds left in the third period, FDNY's John Perreta and NYPD's James Hall dropped the gloves. Perreta came out victorious over James. Paerreta unleashed a sequence of blows before taking Hall down with a big right hand to the jaw,” says silive..But wait, there’s more.The FDNY won both these fights, and the game by a score of 8 to 5.
