Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Puck Fittsburgh

I'll get to the weekly topic and creative challenge sometime in the next day or two, because I love love love the Caps coach and as Jordi mentioned I've already done the songlist, but first I feel a rant coming on.

Before I get to ranting I need to preface this with a warning: I know we're going for representation of all 30 teams, but if anyone from Pittsburgh ever joins this site I think they will automatically hate me...and I wouldn't blame them. I tend to lose all tact and levelheadedness when I talk about the Penguins and their fans (you'll see in a minute). Having said that, there are only about 2 or 3 Pens bloggers out there and they're all male, so we're probably okay.

So let's move on to the rant portion of our morning, shall we?

I was at the Capitals-Penguins game last night - you know, Ovechkin vs. Crosby V: The Calder Revenge - and I'm still bitter. Sure, it was an exciting game. Yes, all the young superstars played like, well, superstars. And yes, the NHL bigwigs were probably thrilled at both the way this game was played out and how it ended.

But for me it was the most painful loss of the season. How on earth do you blow a 4 goal lead? How do you dominate a game for 30 minutes and then just fall apart?

Apparently you put on a Caps sweater, that's how.

Now any loss is bad and any loss to the Penguins is worse, particularly like that. What made this game awful, though, is how Penguins fans not only invaded my arena (as usual) but how they conducted themselves once they were there. In my section there were no fewer than 3 fights and a handful of ejections - and that was in the first 15-20 minutes of the game.

I don't know how many of you have ever attended a game here in DC, but if you haven't you should know that Caps fans as a group are pretty tame and quiet. That's not to say the ones who go to other buildings can't get obnoxious, because they absolutely do, or that the fans at Verizon Center are angels, because they're not. They're just boring. Uninvolved. Unmotivated. Fights just don't happen that often here because no one cares all that much - but enter Pittsburgh and suddenly men are hurling themselves over seats to get to some obnoxious guys in yellow and black.

Pittsburgh fans are really an interesting group - you have your usual suburban families and your fratboy-looking fans, and they're usually okay. But enter: the Mullet Squad. You've seen them, right? Dirty mullets worn proud and long, ugly Penguins jerseys under gaudy yellow Steelers jackets, yellow and black jams to complete the ensemble, beers in hand, teeth missing...

Too far?

You'd think so, but I swear I saw at least 20 people who looked just like that last night. You can't make this stuff up - it's truly a sight to see. They're loud, vulgar, obnoxious and exactly what I associate with my least favorite team.

I don't know, there's not really a point to this rant - just some observations. And maybe I'm just bitter about the loss and the manner in which it occurred, and maybe I'll get over it.

Maybe...but probably not.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fleury only had to make two easy saves in the shootout. Crosby's off-target shot was fun.

Jordi said...

I was disappointed with the game... Maybe I jinxed it by watching it. I mean all I do is ruin people's games for them. However when Ovechkin got his SO goal and he was so stoked, his ballerina twirl was hilarious.

CapsChick said...

That shootout was ridiculous - I'm not sure what the coach was thinking putting Green and Clark out there. I was happy for Ovechkin, though - how cute was he!

If you haven't been following that saga, he's been snakebitten in SO and penalty shots for the entire season and part of last year too...

And Jordi is hereby banned from watching all Caps games. :)

Docciavelli said...

Hey, we Pens fans aren't ALL mullet-sporting Steeler fans. I, for one, grew up in Western PA but only really became a Pens fan while in Canada (because Lemieux is God's incarnation on skates).

Sunday night I was sitting up top and saw the fights. I was thinking the same thing--"jeez, most nights you can't convince Caps fans even to clap for their team, but the Pens come to town and they'll fight." I hope Caps fans start to develop a rivalry like this with Atlanta. It could only help around here.

Seriously though, if my team lost a 4-0 lead in the second period like that, I'd have trouble sleeping for a week or so... =]

One more observation--how nice is it to be Chris Clark or Ryan Malone? You could probably put a plodding skater like me out there on a line with Crosby, Malkin or Ovechkin and even I'd wind up with a 40-pt. season.

CapsChick said...

Docciavelli: Don't worry, I know not all Pens fans are members of the mullet-squad - I was very careful to point out that they were a subsection of your fan base and not the entirety :) But you know what I'm talking about, right? Come on, you have to have seen them...

Were you in 417 by any chance? That seemed to be the center of the fighting, and if you were you probably walked by me several times. So far I haven't heard about fights breaking out anywhere else, although my spy network is pretty limited...and you're right, a rivalry like this with Atlanta would be nice. I think it's starting to take shape - we'll see what happens this Friday.

No trouble sleeping whatsoever, but thanks! You be sure to let me know how you sleep when the Caps beat the Pens in February... ;)