Wow, I don’t think I could have been more wrong if I tried. I guess I do owe you pizza Hockeygirl.
I admit, I was way out in left field on this one. My mind was in the clouds. In fact, I would go as far as to say that yesterday I was a different person than today. Yesterday, I looked at the situation that the Flames were in, and I thought to myself:
“Self, there is no way that they can lose this one. They have a tough game against the Sharks on Saturday night, and they need a road win. The Coyotes are currently basement dwellers, they are injured, and their back-up goalie is playing. Looks like everything is all lined up for a big Calgary win. In fact, I think I will do something stupid to show my belief that my team will mop the floor with these chumps. I know, I will make a guarantee! Why not? It worked for Broadway Joe.”
So with these thoughts in mind I started typing away feverously, so eager was I to show the world that among the doubters, there was one fan that still believed in his team. For anyone that didn’t get a chance to watch the catastrophic sh*tting of the bed, I will do my best to sum it up in one sentence.
The Flames have No Heart.
In a game where we clearly had more talent than the other team, we were simply outworked, something that shouldn’t happen to our boys. Oh sure, once in a while we might have a bad night, or the bounces don’t go our way, but that’s not what happened last night. Nope, last night Kipper was soft, our defense looked like frightened penguins, our fore-check was terrible, Iggy had 8 or 9 shots and no goals, we took bad penalties and the overtime display was probably the worst coaching I have ever seen in my entire life. 3 forwards and one offensive defenseman who, by the way, looked confused and lazy all night? Good job Jim. Seriously, that was awesome. Oh, and by the way, I would get my resume together if I was you.
Do I sound bitter? I friggin hope so, because I sure as hell am, and it’s not because of how stupid the Flames made me look after my guarantee. I’m not worried about that. There will be plenty of times I look stupid in the years to come, and more than likely, most if not all of them will have little to do with hockey. No, today I am bitter because in a game that they need to win, a game that they should win, they just didn’t seem to care. You may notice that I have quit using the pronoun ‘we’.
Like the rest of Calgary, the Flames seem to be caught up in the booming economic lifestyle. They forgot what it’s like to work for what you want. As much as I hate them, the Oiler’s and the city of Edmonton don’t ever forget it. They are a working class city, and if you ask them, they are proud of that. You know why? When you earn what you get, everything takes on more value. Lately, we haven’t earned a damn thing. We have more talent than 95% of teams in this league, and with a couple of notable exceptions, we haven’t been working hard enough lately.
I know it’s a cliché, but in ’04 the Flames showed that with some talent, and miles of heart, you can get within one missed call of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup. Right now, they are showed that with all the talent in the world, you don’t go anywhere with the effort.
I admit, I was way out in left field on this one. My mind was in the clouds. In fact, I would go as far as to say that yesterday I was a different person than today. Yesterday, I looked at the situation that the Flames were in, and I thought to myself:
“Self, there is no way that they can lose this one. They have a tough game against the Sharks on Saturday night, and they need a road win. The Coyotes are currently basement dwellers, they are injured, and their back-up goalie is playing. Looks like everything is all lined up for a big Calgary win. In fact, I think I will do something stupid to show my belief that my team will mop the floor with these chumps. I know, I will make a guarantee! Why not? It worked for Broadway Joe.”
So with these thoughts in mind I started typing away feverously, so eager was I to show the world that among the doubters, there was one fan that still believed in his team. For anyone that didn’t get a chance to watch the catastrophic sh*tting of the bed, I will do my best to sum it up in one sentence.
The Flames have No Heart.
In a game where we clearly had more talent than the other team, we were simply outworked, something that shouldn’t happen to our boys. Oh sure, once in a while we might have a bad night, or the bounces don’t go our way, but that’s not what happened last night. Nope, last night Kipper was soft, our defense looked like frightened penguins, our fore-check was terrible, Iggy had 8 or 9 shots and no goals, we took bad penalties and the overtime display was probably the worst coaching I have ever seen in my entire life. 3 forwards and one offensive defenseman who, by the way, looked confused and lazy all night? Good job Jim. Seriously, that was awesome. Oh, and by the way, I would get my resume together if I was you.
Do I sound bitter? I friggin hope so, because I sure as hell am, and it’s not because of how stupid the Flames made me look after my guarantee. I’m not worried about that. There will be plenty of times I look stupid in the years to come, and more than likely, most if not all of them will have little to do with hockey. No, today I am bitter because in a game that they need to win, a game that they should win, they just didn’t seem to care. You may notice that I have quit using the pronoun ‘we’.
Like the rest of Calgary, the Flames seem to be caught up in the booming economic lifestyle. They forgot what it’s like to work for what you want. As much as I hate them, the Oiler’s and the city of Edmonton don’t ever forget it. They are a working class city, and if you ask them, they are proud of that. You know why? When you earn what you get, everything takes on more value. Lately, we haven’t earned a damn thing. We have more talent than 95% of teams in this league, and with a couple of notable exceptions, we haven’t been working hard enough lately.
I know it’s a cliché, but in ’04 the Flames showed that with some talent, and miles of heart, you can get within one missed call of hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup. Right now, they are showed that with all the talent in the world, you don’t go anywhere with the effort.
