Jimspeak

I went to the Colorado Avalanche/Edmonton Oilers hockey game last night. In what was supposed to be an easy win for the division leading Avs, the Oilers came out slappin' and beat up on the Avs, winning 5-1. It was an ugly game. The Oilers looked really good-great defense, good passing and shooting. The Avs looked pretty bad. I don't know that much about hockey, but I know enough to recognize sloppy play when I see it. How did the 'die-hard' Avs fans react? They were booing before the first period was over. When Philippe Sauve was pulled, the crowd booed him and cheered when David Aebischer came out to replace him. There were more boos throughout the rest of the game. Actually, there weren't too many when the game was over because most of the crowd had already left. They began streaming out with 10-15 minutes left in the third period.

Things to note: This was Sauve's first loss in 9 games. Because of this loss, the Avs dropped in the rankings to a tie for FIRST with Detroit. I guess they are not allowed to have an off night for any of their 769 games in the season.

Another game of note, this time a NFL game. Somehow I managed to scam some tickets this past season for the Broncos/Chicago Bears game. Being from the Chicago area, I was pretty psyched to see my team play for once. Amazingly enough, the Bears (haven't won a Super Bowl since January 1986, haven't been to the SB since) won the game. Once again, there were boos from the home team fans and the stadium started clearing out long before the 4th quarter was close to being over. And against the Bears? How did these people not have faith that the Broncos could come back and win?

Spoiled. That's what these fans are. And fickle. Good lord, I don't know that I've ever seen fans like this. If their team doesn't win a title, it's not a good year. They are rabid fans, which is typically a good thing, except when it takes the slightest transgression to force an about face from supportive to hostile. I liken them to Yankees (and perhaps Duke) fans. No season is acceptable unless it's perfect. I love to hear them whine though. It really makes me laugh. "But we should have won! We're better!" Blah blah blah.

Today's article on ESPN's Page 2 by the Sports Guy, is hilarious. (Check him out. He's great, especially when he appears to be writing his columns drunk: see his Super Bowl blogs) He talks about all the emails he received after writing about the Patriot's Super Bowl win (he is a Pat's fan), and how Yankees fans have welcomed him to the fold of their idiotic expectations and (il)logic. Denver fans need to read that article, recognize themselves as an up and coming Yankees-type fan, and then get over it. Try being a Bears or Cubs fan! For you hockey fans-be a Blackhawk fan. That organization has done everything it can to ostracize the few loyals remaining. For example-you can watch an Avs game on tv in Denver without paying for it. Gotta pay for it in Chicago! Or try admitting allegiance to the Clippers or any team in Seattle! 'Fans' here know nothing about suffering! Actually, I will give credit to Nuggets fans. They have been a downtrodden lot, almost as masochistic as us Cubbies fans. Now it is paying off for them. I can hope, that the rest of these fans will suffer as some of the rest of us have. And don't say anything to me about losing 4 SB's. At least you were there.

For the rest of the country-just wait until people here convince John Elway to run for President. Now THAT will be an interesting/amusing election.