The End of the Season
As you may or may not know, I am a hockey fan. More specifically, I am a San Jose Sharks fan. This year the Sharks finished with the best record in the regular season. We won 53 games, lost 18, and lost 11 in overtime. Going into the Stanley Cup playoffs, which started two weeks ago, we were the favorites to go all the way (four rounds of best-of-seven series - they don’t call it the most difficult to win trophy in sports for no reason). Tonight, we were defeated in game 6 of the first round by the Anaheim Ducks.
I’m disappointed, sure. I really thought it was “our” year. Yes, when I refer to the team I say, “we.” That’s how big a dorky fan I am. But here’s the thing - As much as I want the Sharks to win games, win chamionships, because I am a fan and want to see my team win - I want the guys on the team, “my boys,” to win more than anything. I’m not disappointed for myself as a fan, I’m disappointed because the guys I’ve watched for 82 games this season - guys who I’ve grown to like and care about in that strange way people invest themselves in their sports team do - are going home tonight, their season, their dreams of hoisting the Stanley Cup in June, over.
The blaming and finger-pointing started immediately. Commentators after the game were already calling for star players Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau to be traded away. That is madness. Was their play in the playoffs disappointing this year? Yes. As it was last year. The play of the entire team was disappointing. There is something going on with the guys, the culture in that locker room, that isn’t getting the job done. However, we have a ton of veteran leadership in that room - Blake, Boyle, Roenick, Lukowich, Lemieux - these are guys who were brought in to provide additional leadership inside the room. Marleau and Thornton are expected to be the two big leaders on and off the ice, but there is plenty of blame for this loss to go around.
And, while I’m as bummed and surprised as the next fan that our season is over, I’m finding myself extremely irritated with the Twitter posts going around bitching about the let-down. People are saying they’re done with season tickets (I’m also a season ticket holder), sick of the choking, etc. Guys, it’s easy to be a fan when your team is on top. It’s one thing to be disappointed. It’s quite another to be a baby and expect a group of athletes to win just for you.
I know the bulk of this post is of no interest to the casual reader of this blog - people who aren’t insane hockey nerds like me - but the talk of giving up tickets, talk of how the fans deserved a better performance from the team is driving me nuts. I mean, come on! I believe these guys really do love the fans and want to win for us, but at the end of the day this is about them. They want to win the Stanley Cup for themselves more than just about anything in the world. This is their job. They’re far more disappointed than you and I are, trust me.
So, the fairweather fans can go and bitch, give up their seats for next year, and call for the heads of certain players and front office staffers, while the rest of us, the real fans, will be here in October, ready to watch our boys make a run for the Cup again.
