by new Blogger: East Of Here
Hola Amigos!
It's that time again. It's late, I've got a caffeine buzz going and the wife's got a headache. Since she won't put up with my crap, I figure I'll annoy you a little bit...
As previously noted, without the Canes in the playoffs, I've been at a loss for what to rant about. Tonight, I found my muse. Specifically, it was watching the Senators silence 20,000 or so Buffalo fans. People tell me that it's bad Karma to revel in other people's misfortunes. But since I'm not some new-age, stalk-munching hippie who believes in that Karma crap, I'll readily admit that when Corvo flipped the puck past Ryan Miller in the second overtime, I was grinning like a jackass eating briers. Not that I'm a Senators fan or anything. I just hate Buffalo. Actually, that's not wholly true. I hate Buffalo fans. So what does this story have to do with hockey in Carolina? Well, it's about Hockey and I'm in Carolina. And that's good enough for me.
Now, nothing will ever beat the warm fuzzy feeling I got watching Rod Brind'amour practically shove Gary Bettman out of the way and lift the cup last year. At least nothing that doesn't involve cheap liquor, me, a Victoria's Secret Model (or 2), and a can of Cheez Whiz. But watching the disappointment on the faces of those Buffalo fans came pretty close. If I were a stalk-munching hippie, I'd probably say that was Karma biting them in their collective ass for acting like such punks during last year's conference finals. But it matters not exactly what it was. It felt good to me and that's what really counts.
But just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I was hacking about the online hockey wasteland and happened upon their message boards. And if you thought watching their widdle hopes get dashed was funny, you should see the meltdown on their message boards right now. I'll not regale you with the full details of their lamentations, but I'll sum it up with a picture:
Talk about falling off the bandwagon. Half of them have already conceded the series to Ottawa. About 25% are convinced they only lost because the refs are out to get them. And approximately 20% apparently believe there is a huge conspiracy by the NHL to make sure they don't win the cup. Step away from the grassy knoll fellas. And quit crying, that river of tears is about to overflow. In fact, for the safety of the rest of New York state, here's an important Public Service Announcement:
Do this now because it doesn't look like the (former) slug fans are gonna quit crying anytime soon. Leave your belongings and move to higher ground. Beware of washed out roads.
I guess what makes this meltdown so very sweet is the fact that I remember all the crap the slug crowd talked last year about how Canes fans weren't real fans. And that Canes fans didn't know anything about being true hockey fans. Well, if completely bailing on your team at the first sign of adversity is what being a true hockey fan is all about, they can have it. As for me, I'd rather be a "dumb redneck" and stick with my beloved team to the bitter end. So to the Sabre's "faithful"(an apparent oxymoron), I say thanks for being such a great and loyal fanbase guys. It's a heartwarming thing for me to behold. Really.
