By JAKE POTTER

The Triangle, a sports Mecca? Sure. Give me 10 kids, an orange ball and a TV camera and I’ll be set for life.

But “redneck hockey?” You bet. Consider me a fan.

In full disclosure, I’m merely a fan of hockey in passing. I would occasionally back the New York Rangers or Philadelphia Flyers, but with living legends such as Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros wearing your team’s jersey—or sweaters, as they are called in the National Hockey League—it’s easy to root for them.

But to pull for a hockey team in the South? Most people here have never even skated on ice, for Pete’s sake!

That’s okay, though. I think many NHL traditionalists, better known as Canadians, are apprehensive of the cultural assimilation that’s going on in the league right now. But one year removed from an ugly strike, I think the Carolina Hurricanes might be the best thing to happen to hockey since the Miracle on Ice, or at least since the Mighty Ducks movies were discontinued. After all, the ‘Canes now stand just two victories away from winning the 2006 Stanley Cup!

What is it about the Hurricanes that has drawn the ire of naysayers? Maybe it’s the tailgating going on outside the RBC Center before games. I don’t know if this phenomenon exists in the frozen tundras where other teams reside, but barbecuing with a crowd of “Caniacs” dressed in hockey sweaters, shorts and flip flops like it’s an N.C. State football game sounds fun.

Perhaps it’s the fact that two of the most dynamic players in the league right now, captain Rod Brind’Amour and goalie Cam Ward, are representing us “rednecks.” We need to get these guys dropping “y’all” and “I reckon” in the press room immediately.

I have heard of Buffalo media-types interviewing Raleigh natives about hockey, with the results sounding more like an FBI interrogation.

“So, Jethro, what’s your favorite type of moonshine?”

But I think the real source of all of this hubbub comes from the fact that the Hurricanes love us just as much as we love them. Coach Peter Laviolette has invested himself in helping a young girl who lives a few houses down from him in Raleigh. The girl, 6-year-old Julia Rowe, is facing a second bout with leukemia. In response, Laviolette is asking fans to contribute donations to the Eastern North Carolina Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. For a donation of at least $2 at games, fans can get a Hurricanes-red bracelet that reads ‘Relentless.’

Good for him, and for Julia. It’s obvious that Laviolette and his team are eager to commit themselves to this area.

In a league which boasts teams from Nashville, Atlanta and Phoenix, things are certainly changing. It appears to be for the better.

Now what’s with the giant John Deere they drive around the ice between each period?