I, like Objectionable Conduct, can always find an enemy in a given hockey game. For me, it's a game by game basis. Take last year's playoffs for instance. I wholeheartedly dislike both the Rangers and Devils. But forced to choose, I had to go with the lesser of the two evils and root, root, root for the armpit of America. The next round, I simply jumped off the New Jersey Train and onto the Carolina Trolley. Even tonight at work, listening to a Leafs-Sabres game, I cheered loud enough for a co-worker to tap me on the shoulder and question my sanity. Good times.
But if I had to pick a team to hitch my bonnet to, my early picks are the Penguins and the Senators. Both teams have good stories behind them. Even though I feel that a fierce rivalry is brewing with my Islanders, I can admit that in Steel City, we're seeing the best-ever young talent trapezoid in the NHL outside of the dynastic Isles and Oilers. Or the early dudes of the NHL. You know, all those names that assy hockey writers bring up to make readers feel stupid about loving any modern player. "Oh, Sidney Crosby may be good, but is he really as deft with the backhand as Stumpy O'Leary of the 1905 Governor's Cup winning New Brunswick Silver Spinners?" The assy and non-assy can recognize that hockey history is being made with Cindy Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and Jordan Staal all on the same team. And I want a spot on the bandwagon so I can tell my sniveling, hoverboard-riding grandkids that I was an active supporter for 6 weeks.
The Senators, of course, would be a nice story of Indianapolis Colts-style redemption were they to go deep in the playoffs. And that's hard not to cheer for, especially with no Peyton Manning-caliber butthead on the team. Any geographical allegiances aside, the Senators are an altogether likable bunch of guys with a mixed bag of playing types. Grinders (Fisher), Snipers (m.b. Heatley), Finesse-y Playmakers (Spezza), Productive Goons (Neil). As much as they're labeled a fancy team, the Senators actually have a nice variety of styles.
However, my father's crush on Ryan Miller may sway me back to last year's affection for the Sabres, should I be able to overcome the uniform. Either way, I've made reservations on all the appropriate bandwagons being formed now.
5 comments:
Cindy Crosby? Is that intentional, some kind of nickname?
as mark cuban put it - "greatness in the making" welcome aboard : )
Shan, my nephew loves him and can't pronounce his name correctly, so I've adopted the name. Catchy, ain't it?
Yes! Someone who doesn't hate the Sabres! Victory, sweet victory! And you didn't even mention the triumphant return of Tim Connolly. (You know... Any day now...)
There have been promises made that if a Stanley Cup clinching game is played in Buffalo, it will be played in the vintage unis. (Which begs the question, "Why have uniforms so ugly that you're not even going to make your players wear them for the most important moment in franchise history?" but that's neither here nor there.)
...ironically enough my 5 year old hockey fanatic daughter (who is a pens fan - don't look at me) insists that he is "CINDY" Crosby as well......
Post a Comment