For the first time in about 18 years, I did not watch one Stanley Cup playoff game and I really don’t care that the Senators lost. Why is that:
- Kids: I have no interest in watching idiots fight and explaining it to my kids. NHL hockey thinks fighting is part of the game but I can go to NCAA games with the kids in northern NY for under 30 bucks for the family including gas and see nothing but end to end play. And I get to scream “Yale Sucks!“
- Other sports: As you know baseball has got my attention but so does NCAA hockey, basketball and football. I also have access to masses of soccer. All the sports are exciting and allow me to be a fan for way less than NHL hockey, whether it is tickets or paraphernalia.
- The strike: Lost me completely. Bettman’s changes didn’t make a change but he was good enough to put the Cup on the shelf for a year to play God. The cap has made for tedious roving free agent parity. Bo-ring.
- The teams who win: Tampa Bay Carolina, Anaheim. Who cares? No one in the US except people in those cities. No one in Canada. Not me. Maybe if they were selling BBQ, shrimp and Mexican food but they are selling hockey. Bring back the Winnipeg Jets.
- The Leafs: For better or worse, I am a fan of the Leafs. They have sucked for years. They play a style of hockey that screams of entitlement and floater. They need their guts ripped out from the board room to the bench. They will suck for many years to come so, though I have a soft spot for the Wings which predates their golden years, I have to accept it. The only blip on the Leafs radar this year was seeing Davey Keon show up for a wave and a smile during a pre-season ceremony.
There it is. The NHL better do something. So should the Leafs. Otherwise, I am joining the growing majority and saying “Feh!”