A recent NYTimes.com article about hockey tries to frame stick preference in terms of politics.

Me. I’m not like most hockey players. I don’t have a stick fetish. Or obsess over my stick size, length, curve, nub or prep. In fact, I can go weeks without re-taping my stick prior to games and I’m not territorial about lending mine out to a fellow player in need. Even if I don’t fuss much over the ritual, superstitions and behaviours associated with sticks and stick culture, I do enjoy wielding one. I have my preferences too: I like a light, stiff woody – with some length to it.

Maybe you have a strange stick fetish?