Speed of Lightning! Roar of Thunder! Fighting all who rob or plunder!

(Insert Sandra Bullock movie discussion here)

It seems being an underdog this way is harder than I thought it would be. Not every team comes with a great standing place served to them on a silver tray before jumping off the cliff screaming “We don’t want a playoff spot anymore!”. As the losses snowball into the world of panic, I am fully worried and very angry. I really jumped into it while I was taking out other fans left and right. (“Hey Canes fan! Were you a fan before or after they won the cup!?”) I know that I did get angry, mad, and ugly. I do not particularly apologise, because hey, it’s all in the fun and games. (“Yeah seen all the real Jersey fans on TV. All 10 of them”) If you feel offended or you feel as a HLOG rep you should take me down a peg, I’m going to blame woman problems and flee.

Hey, all this taunting was even before I had any alcohol in my body.

This is not particularly a post that encompasses the actual performance of the Habs. Most of my information mainly comes from radio streams of games where I hear my darlings lose over and over again. And afterwards I jump onto the interweb and chase down everything I can hear and see from the numbers and the words. So overall, everything I know has been regurgitated to me from “analysts” and a lot of suicidal men.

Well screw all that. Sure when the premature panic button seems to have been taped down, I sat back. A broken clock can manage to be right twice a day. A loss is a loss, and it does seem to wind the gusto out of Habs fans – but we shouldn’t really lie down and cry (which I did NOT do despite numerous reports). It seems that there is a simple misunderstanding where criticising your team may draw a backlash of people who refuse to believe that the team has trouble. Or you may embellish the attention a bit too much and wave an asshat flag of “I told you so”. I mean what happened to trying to compose a simple critique of your team without saying “Our PP sucks”? Trouble? What kind of stupid dream do you believe in to think that there can be a team without a bit of trouble? The only trouble that would raise my eyebrow would probably be women problems – though I’m sure Crosby seems particularly familiar with it. But that’s another story.

It’s somewhat maddening on this Habs ride; it’s already reached its highest point and is plunging down. And despite claims of “we can’t get any lower”, the standings are clearly proving otherwise. The bickering of fans, the blind faith we hold in one player or another. It really has become quite pitiful that our fanbase has melted into a soap drama rerun.

Kovalev, are you really injured? Well sure I know you can’t shit this stuff but you know the media says that you’re running away from it all. I kid you not, the fans that love or hate this streaky player has been going bananas about it. To actually question the moral fibre of players and to accuse that their only motivation is money, undermines the whole passion of the sport we claim it has. Sure you can shout that you’ll play for our Blanc Et Rouge for less money and with more heart but the Canadiens organisation aren’t looking for overweight fanboys. Don’t think that one time you got picked first in gym class makes you number one Habs material. Let me do a long pause while I roll my eyes every time guys start to accuse Kovalev or any other kid of being a selfish player, who really doesn’t want to win – honest! (Career perks are very kind to Sid the Kid)

The trade Koivu fans seem to run in the same vein as the Trade Sundin, Trade Naslund, & Trade the Zamboni driver guys. Well yeah, if you want to get rid of a man who has at times proven to be a leader, who has shown his responsibilities on an international level, I’m sure everything will be great. Get rid of all the players paid over 2 million, and we’ll have a lot of cap space to buy a much more improved leader and players we should’ve gone for. There. Maybe we can buy Forsberg – oh that’s too late. We can go for other expensive superstars because like they say, we lack a “real” superstar. But we can buy millions of little cheap boys in hopes that they’re the next center/dman/winger of the future. We will rebuild the team with the qualities that brought each Habs team to a victory! We will be unstoppable!

As much as it’d be super sweet to do such a thing, can’t you understand the basic concept of a team? The camaraderie? The bond each player creates? How there are players playing with the knowledge that they may see a different horizon next month or ones that play because they want to die by this team. One day we may be able to clone a Sidney Crosby for each NHL team to even the scales but for now, you need to realise a thing or two. The team can be utter shite, or it can be the best thing since the Ducks got Pronger, but it’s yours damn it. I never thought I’d ever really say some super ideological crap like this but if you can’t live through many straight losses, or your throw your boys to the wolves – go for some other team. Because you live with it, whether you’re for the underdog, the clear cut winner or even the guy that everyone laughs when he enters the ice. You cheer for it; you defend it because it’s yours! If you see a problem, you hold the faith that it will right itself. It’s nothing much but it’ll be all you got.

And therein is the glory, where you held so hard. Because you can live with the knowledge that you may have sauntered on the edge but you have never truly jumped off willingly.

I know this is a post partially to reaffirm my faith and to somewhat yell at my own fustrations. My list of “teams to hate” may be running long ever since a couple of weeks ago but I’m still keeping the faith. I’ll stare at the pit straight in the eye and we will damn well try our hardest to come back. (Plus the Leafs have a playoff spot. There’s gotta be something that needs to be righted here)