I figure that I should probably start off by explaining a little bit about me and what I will be writing about. First off, I've spent all of my life in Virginia. That being said, with no state team its hard to claim sports loyalty by location to any professional team. Most of my ties to my favorite teams are based on who I've liked since I was young or family that is from that area.
I can remember being about 7 years old and the Red Sox going to the playoffs on the back of Mo Vaughn, John Valentin, Mike Greenwell, TIMMAY! Wakefield, The Rocket, and Jose Canseco in 1995. That was back when being a Canseco fan was still considered legit, before he blew the steroid scandal in baseball wide open like it was hanging curve. Of course at age 7 I had no idea really what was going on in the games other than knowing we needed more runs than they did and that Big Mo's beard was pretty wicked awesome. Over time my obsession with the Red Sox grew from being moderately upset with the playoff loss in Pedro's first season to being irate over losing games in April of this season. I've developed a problem, an obsessive problem, along with several other Red Sox fans (Note: SEVERE understatement when I say several) . Fretting over Matsuzaka's walks versus runs or how well we are hitting with runners in scoring position with 2 outs...which is apparently our forte. No matter how many games back we are, the score in the game, I seem to always have faith until the last out of the game.
Then there's hockey. The sport that makes me look like a mountain man for two months because I'm afraid to even consider cutting my beard because it might change the fortune of my
team. Hockey has been my favorite sport ever since playing NHL 94 on Sega. I remember playing games against both of my brothers with the stunning graphics. The 96 version of the game was when I remember first really knowing the Red Wings players. The cover of the game had the image of the Devils' captain Scott Stevens and Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman. This was the season that the Red Wings lost to the Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. I can remember playing numerous games against the Ottawa Senators because they were the worst team on the game and it was pretty hard to not beat them. This first Red Wings team that I started to truly know was loaded with talent from Russia ("The Russian Five") and Sweden, as well as from Canada and the US. The captain then, Steve Yzerman, and the captain now, Nick Lidstrom. The enforcers Martin Lapointe, Darren McCarty, Kris Draper, and my personal favorite Joey Kocur. The enforcers were all the type of players that many people associate with hockey. Toothless, black-eyed, bloody knuckled protectors of the star players. That's not to say they couldn't still play hockey though. Darren McCarty scored perhaps one of the most beautiful goals in Stanley Cup history and essentially clinched the Cup for the Wings. Many people say that the Wings team that won last year is completely different from the ones that won the 97, 98, and 02 Cups. They say that the 08 team is more focused on scoring and less on the physical play. Sure, it does seem to be the case and why not when you have players like Datsyuk and Zetterberg? But to say they lack the physical play of the teams of the past would be wrong. Just ask Ryan Malone about Nick Kronwall or Sid the Kid about Brad Stuart...or you could just have Datsyuk do it all. That is the beauty of hockey though. One minute it can be so brutal and the next you could see one of the most spectacular goals in the sport.Sometimes I wonder though what the true value of sports is. My dad once told me a realization that he came to after watching numerous College Basketball games during March Madness. "What is the point of watching these games? I've lost sleep. I don't get a single piece of work done for my job the next day. My status in this world does not increase one bit. So why do I watch the games?" He makes a very good point. I've often wondered the same thing. How does me spending 4 hours watching one game out of a 162 game ever contribute to what my impact is on this earth? Answer is simple. It doesn't. But it gives us joy. Its a temporary refuge from anything that troubles us. It unites us with complete strangers. It makes you feel a sense of accomplishment, even though you're most likely sitting on the couch or at a bar. You associate yourself as a member of the team, "We need to win this game." But there's something that you can't describe about when you're team wins a big game. Something equally as terrible when they lose. But that's the way it is being a fan. You live and die with the team, go through the rough times and be there for the great ones. I think its worth every second to feel the agony of defeat and the exhilaration of victory.
That's all for now...guess that was pretty long introduction huh?
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