NHL Can't Survive Without it's Brightest Stars
I love the rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and many teams, especially the Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, and New York Rangers. As a fan of the flightless birds, I generally despise those four teams and their fans, but it's a fun hate, a 'hate' that is needed to make sports fun and exciting for us fans of the great game of hockey.
Too many times I’ve seen and heard ‘so called fans’ gleeful over the injury to Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby. Only morons and fringe hockey fans would really want to see the likes of Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, or a Steven Stamkos injured and not playing. Without these players, the game would still be very good, but it wouldn‘t be great.
Believe me, if the casual hockey fan tunes into Versus or NBC to watch a hockey game, it won’t be to watch the likes of Craig Adams muck and grind, or Hal Gill dive in front of a slapshot. They watch to see the grace of a flying Crosby zipping past two players, turning on a dime behind the net and then flipping a shot past a shocked goalie, or an Ovechkin flying up ice, getting tripped from behind, falling on his back, yet still finding a way to get a shot off over a seemingly impossible angle and into the net, much to the delight of 18,000 screaming Caps fans in the stands.
If hockey fans really want to see the game thrive and become mainstream, then it's time for you wannabees to take a hike and leave the game to the real fans, who want to see it succeed beyond expectations, and that cannot be done without the games brightest stars, or it's most fiercest of rivalries.
Moral of the story? Hate is healthy when it is between sports teams and their fan bases, but respect is also required to complete this equation. I understand if you are a Flyers fan and hate Crosby. He eats your team alive every time he plays against you. But to wish for injury to a great player doesn’t make you a true ’fan’ of the game.
It makes you a hypocrite.
Too many times I’ve seen and heard ‘so called fans’ gleeful over the injury to Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby. Only morons and fringe hockey fans would really want to see the likes of Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, or a Steven Stamkos injured and not playing. Without these players, the game would still be very good, but it wouldn‘t be great.
Believe me, if the casual hockey fan tunes into Versus or NBC to watch a hockey game, it won’t be to watch the likes of Craig Adams muck and grind, or Hal Gill dive in front of a slapshot. They watch to see the grace of a flying Crosby zipping past two players, turning on a dime behind the net and then flipping a shot past a shocked goalie, or an Ovechkin flying up ice, getting tripped from behind, falling on his back, yet still finding a way to get a shot off over a seemingly impossible angle and into the net, much to the delight of 18,000 screaming Caps fans in the stands.
If hockey fans really want to see the game thrive and become mainstream, then it's time for you wannabees to take a hike and leave the game to the real fans, who want to see it succeed beyond expectations, and that cannot be done without the games brightest stars, or it's most fiercest of rivalries.
Moral of the story? Hate is healthy when it is between sports teams and their fan bases, but respect is also required to complete this equation. I understand if you are a Flyers fan and hate Crosby. He eats your team alive every time he plays against you. But to wish for injury to a great player doesn’t make you a true ’fan’ of the game.
It makes you a hypocrite.
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