 |
| Even my love for the Caps would not extend this far... |
I may not be a huge sports fan, but the teams I support have my support through thick and thin. I don't root for teams just because they're doing a good job. So if my team is having a rough season, does that mean that my love for them becomes any less significant? I guess for the fickle and feeble of heart, supporting a team only when it's doing well seems like a pretty good option, but then what's the point? The point of supporting a team is to have someone to root for no matter what. In my opinion, a person's reasons for supporting a team can literally be ANYTHING except, "They're doing well right now."
It's no big secret that this has not been a very good season for the Washington Capitals. Of course, that is, in comparison to more recent seasons. We're 8th in the NHL as of ten minutes ago when I had to double-check the standings to make sure that my facts were indeed facts. But that doesn't sound too bad, does it? 8th in the league. At least we aren't LAST in the NHL, eh? It's this kind of looking-on-the-bright-side that seems to escape so many Caps fans. Sure, after we win a game, fans text in messages that say, "I knew you could do it!" and "There are the Caps that I know and love!" Crap like that. And when we lose...well it's just a whole different story. "Ovie sucks!" "Wake up! This is a 60-minute game!" "Where are the Caps that I know and love?" News flash: they're right there, on the ice, the same team that won that other game you were so excited about two days ago. That's still your team, if you consider yourself a fan. (For the record, Ovie totally doesn't suck, and I'm pretty sure these guys who have been playing hockey since childhood DO know that they play a 60-minute game...)
I completely understand the disappointment that comes with losing a game, but it in no way makes me question whether or not I'm supporting the right team. The disappointment is not directed at the team, as if to say, "YOU HAVE FAILED ME! FOR SHAME!" The disappointment is just an inherent effect of having lost something I wanted so badly (that would be the win, in case I'm being unclear).
Or let's see if this makes more sense: Do you love your children any less when they fail a math test? Do you love your dog any less when it poops on the rug? Do you love your mom any less when she makes roast beef for dinner when you specifically said you wanted pizza? DO YOU?! No. You love these people/animals for who they are, not for how well they perform or for the ratio of jobs well-done to jobs well-botched. Nobody's perfect, and that extends to sports teams.
I love the Capitals because I just do. I just love them. I don't care that they were in the playoffs the last three years. Well...sure, I care because I'm glad the team I love has a good recent record. But it has NOTHING to do with why I love them. I've known about the Caps for years. My best friend has been a fan for years, so I should have jumped on this train long ago, if I were only interested in how well they play. To be completely honest, I can't really pinpoint why I love them. I just do. Yes, they ARE a good team with a lot of crazy, crazy talent. But they're also close-by, they're fun to watch, they seem like good dudes, and the team itself (the Washington Capitals) is so patriotic it makes me just swell with national pride and bleed some good ol' red, white, and blue (despite the fact that I think there are only MAYBE three Americans on the team). Their mascot is a bald eagle named Slapshot. How sweet is that? They're just. The best.
So why is it that so many Caps fans are SO faithless? So we aren't doing all that well. Why does that mean that you have to put the guys down? If I, a self-proclaimed not-so-into-sports gal who has literally followed the Caps for about 2 months, can still be devoted to them during rough patches, then surely so can people who have followed the Caps for years. In fact, I STARTED following them in the middle of a rough patch. An 8-game losing streak, to be exact. And I somehow STILL loved watching them. But I read a blog today, a blog that a lot of devoted Caps fans read, one that was supposedly written by a devoted Caps fan. But the whole blog was pretty much about how much the Caps suck right now and how disappointed this "fan" was. It was the most disheartening piece of fan literature I've ever read.
I can admit the guys aren't playing their best right now, but it's not for lack of trying, as so many "fans" seem to believe. These guys want to do well, and they don't want to let their fans down. So why are we letting them down by totally turning our backs on them? If you can watch them lose a game and honestly say that you love them less or you're disappointed in them or that you can't stand watching them, then I don't think you can call yourself a fan.
And a lot of idiots are talking about how Coach Boudreau needs to be fired. THAT is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard. One not-so-good season and suddenly he needs to be fired? If we'd been having a few bad seasons consecutively, then maybe that would be a valid consideration. But ONE season? Give me a break. It took UVA I don't know how many straight-up TERRIBLE seasons to fire Al Groh. So just because we're 8th in the league, and second in the Southeast division instead of first, our coach needs to be fired? Boudreau also led the Caps to the playoffs for the last three seasons, beginning with his FIRST season with the Caps. Stupid and faithless, these critics.
The bottom line is this: if you support a team, then ACTUALLY support them. Don't turn your back and lose faith when your team is down. That's probably when they need their fans to believe in them the most. I don't think our Caps are going to be getting any better when their so-called fans are telling them how much they suck. That's called discouragement, and discouragement doesn't do anyone any good.
Mission: Accomplished. I've said most of what I wanted to say. The rest I didn't write because I couldn't figure it in coherently. So I'll just end with this: C-A-P-S CAPS CAPS CAPS!
Edited 1:30 PM: In my sleep, the hockey gods came to me and told me that in my SWEET blog (their words, not mine) I totally said we were 2nd in the conference, and I tooootally meant in the division. And I really did mean the division--it was just a slip of the tongue.....or finger...whatever. Obvi, we couldn't be 2nd in the conference. We're 8th in the league...that would have to mean 1-7 are all western conference teams. Pahaha. It was like 4 AM when I wrote this blog. I TOTALLY KNEW WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT! Waaaaah I hate making mistakes.
I don't follow sports... so I skipped this one.
ReplyDelete