You would think I am a hockey fan but........ no
I actually thought the whole "all Canadians love hockey" was a total stereotype, since very few people care out in BC (and most of them are Alberta transplants who won't shut up about the Oilers and Flames) but then I lived out in Ottawa and on "casual Fridays" the government office I worked in was a sea of various hockey jerseys and I was stunned. Stunned, I say! People care so much!!!!
We're total fair-weather fans out in BC. Our lakes rarely freeze over, so very few of us grow up skating outdoors, and I think that has something to do with the hockey apathy. It's rather ironic the biggest sports riot in recent Canadian memory was over a Canucks game. I think we just like breaking things more than hockey.
BUT! I wanted to have a character who DID care about sports and DID care about hockey, because you do find those unicorns occasionally out here and due to the lack of care the rest of us give the national past time, they tend to feel very lonely in their passions. And making Joe a man who likes something basic bro-y, which actually makes him very alone, seemed on point character wise.