Every teenager goes through it at some point: you fall in love with a really pretty girl/boy. You think they can do no wrong; you think they are perfect; and every time they do anything remotely successful they light up your day and your world.
You dream of being together, being soul mates, and being happy forever. There is just one little problem; the object of your affection has no idea you exist.
Like me and Scarlet Johanson here :)
And they constantly date arseholes or tramps; they have some bad habits, sure, but if they would just smarten up for a second they would drop those bad habits, stop dating arseholes and tramps, see how perfect you are and the dream could be alive!
(don't get creeped out, i'm making a point. ryan reynolds is awesome, btw.)
Every day that passes and they don't do what you hope tears you up a bit inside; you start to get a bit frantic and irrational -- you try different techniques to try and make them see your point of view -- but they just don't get it, it seems.
This is what its like to be a Montreal Canadiens fan, especially in this 100th year. You love the team so much, your dream is a parade on St Catherines street with the Stanley Cup, a city elated! Un Grand Parti Super Fantastique!! All they have to do is stop acting like arseholes, listen to your advice, and we can all live the dream!
But, like the high school crush, eventually you have to realise it ain't gonna happen. Accept them for who they are, accept the fact they are never gonna do the things that will make you happy, and get on with your life.
I'm tired of hoping this team will turn it around. I'm bored of waiting to see the team from last year come out to play. I'm sick of looking forward to an exciting game, only to watch the same old stuff. And I really pity the folks who have to write about this team for the rest of March; I'll keep up with my blog and twittering, but its not my job. I don't have to make a story. I don't have to sell news papers and TV commercials.
I'm no longer infatuated with this years Montreal Canadiens; as of now, we're "just friends." I wish them the best of luck in their future endeavours, and if they succeed that's great, and if they fail, so be it, no harm done.
This attitude will change in April, if there is an April for the Habs, but as of now I'm more interested in next season than this one.
Who cares? And how can you?
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Ah you said what I was going to say but didn't have time to say...
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that I didn't let my expectations run rampant on me.
ReplyDeleteOften throughout history we see teams that enjoy success one year, and are expected to exceed that the following year.
The way I saw it, as well as the Habs played last season, it WAS a mirage. A fluke. A miracle? Whatever you want to call it, too many things went right last year for our Habs, right up until the last day of the season when the Penguins rolled over for the Flyers and handed us first place.
At that point I was drinking the kool-aid. The Habs were flying high with oodles of young talent and a stud goalie.
Then the real games started and the same old warts came back to haunt. No true #1 center. Not enough grit. Not enough work ethic. Not enough character. Not enough heart.
It was during game 3 of the Flyers series where I stopped drinking the Kool-Aid and realized that this team is a fake.
I qualify that statement by saying that I LOVE my Habs. But they're a hoax.
As this season was winding up and the hype and prognosticators were heating up, my expectations and predictions were that the Habs would struggle mightily with expectations that they never had to deal with before. I expected that this year, Murphy's Law would kick in with regards to injuries. I knew that other teams would be ready and gunning for us this season.
For those reasons, I tempered my expectations for this team's results this year. I hoped that they'd prove me wrong, but so far, it's a case of hating to be right.
The same things that ailed us in the playoffs came back to bite again this year. Hard. It's an organizational failure to find a true #1 center. It's the players' fault to play like a bunch of quitters and creampuffs. It's no one's fault that the injuries took a big toll.
Still, it's hard to watch them lose night after night and look terrible in doing so.
Here's to 2009-2010! This team will not do anything more than they did last year.
Excellent assessment, and I agree 100%. Last year was fun because there were no expectations, and the Canadiens were able to walk into buildings where teams were not expecting them. Like Boston this year :)
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I wasn't expecting 1st place, but I was hoping the team would compete -- but it seems like 2009 is the Habs Year Of The Sloth.
Thanks for the comment!