My grand mother told me when you are starting shit and/or telling someone to F off to look them in eye. Nana knows best
pops was the same with me, if I was going to mouth off or start stuff up, be prepared to defend myself and be willing to accept what`s coming
I wasn`t a player who really stirred up anything, I was a player who, despite my size, could be found in front of opposing goalies making life miserable for them and the D, I was typically smaller than most at that time but I stood in there and took a pounding.
When I was starting to have back issues at 17, the chiropractor showed my father a few x-rays and highly recommended I don`t continue on with any contact sports as my spine was already in terrible shape from constant crosschecks and hits from behind which were very much part of the game then. I was the dude who got up every time and said not one word to the opponents, almost sure this pissed them off more especially when I came back for more the next shift