Friday, February 02, 2007

 

The Names Have Been Changed, But The Song Remains The Same

"I had discovered after the Swindon game that loyalty, at least in football terms, was not a moral choice like bravery or kindness; it was more like a wart or hump, something you were stuck with. Marriages are nowhere near as rigid--you won't catch any Arsenal fans slipping off to Tottenham for a bit of extra-marital slap and tickle, and though divorce is a possibility (you can just stop going if things get too bad), getting hitched again is out of the question. There have been many times over the last twenty-three years when I have pored over the small print of my contract looking for a way out, but there isn't one. Each humiliating defeat (Swindon, Tranmere, York, Walsall, Rotherham, Wrexham) must be borne with patience, fortitude and forbearance; there is simply nothing that can be done, and that is a realisation that can make you simply squirm with frustration."
--Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch


Oh, and if you are looking for that article in one of Edmonton's two dailies calling out the team, the staff, as well as management for a decidedly average 2006/2007 season, you can stop. It's not there. Other than a Dan Barnes article a couple weeks in, it's been a free pass for the Oilers, at least with the sportswriters. This is the most Jim Matheson was able to muster up this morning:

"What's becoming alarmingly clear is this: this current cast of Oilers isn't good enough to make the post-season after coming within 60 minutes of the Stanley Cup last June."


Ouch. Stinging. Rough town to play in. I can see why players would hate it here.

Man, am I ever angry this morning.

Comments:

Ah Fever Pitch. I understood nothing, but it all made sense at the same time.

One of my favourite bits :
So football is regarded as a given disability to be worked around. If I where wheelchair-bound, nobody close to me would organize anything on a top floor flat, so why would they plan anything for a winter Saturday afternoon?"

Sorry to go somewhat OT....
 


That quote makes me think of people who throw their weddings on important sporting dates. Bastards. Thankfully, I've haven't had to tell anyone I won't be attending. Yet.
 


Both of those bits perfectly sum up the pain of being a sports fanatic.

The beauty of Fever Pitch is that while it is about soccer it explains the universal affliction that is fandom.
 


MAB is absolutely fucking brutal! A one legged monkey on a unicycle would have been as effective as he was last night. It's time he ventured down the same road as Tom "I'm allergic to my own ear wax" Poti. Watching the Oilers play has gotten to the point that I need to slam my cock in a car door just to ease the pain. Stick a fork in me Jerry, I'm done! (Not really, I'll keep watching cause I like the endorphin high I get after the car door thing)
 


Watching the Oilers play has gotten to the point that I need to slam my cock in a car door just to ease the pain.

That's a Hall of Fame comment right there.

Anyone else see the highlights of the Habs/Pens game last night? I love that Armstrong took a run at Koivu after the Habs speared Crosby. I wish someone on our team would do that (cough, Raffi) after teams took liberties with Hemsky.

And watching Le GG beat up Hordichuk last night almost made me cry. That is a very under appreciated mistake the Oilers made, letting Georgie go.
 


Hee - I actually took my pocket radio to a wedding reception last Saturday so I could listen to the game...and I wasn't the only one!!

I am a bad friend.

T.
 


Laraque is a healthy scratch in Phoenix. He's paid too much and people forget when he was here and didn't fight nearly enough. I still love him, though.

Oh, I'm with ya, Andy. This team is driving me bonkers.
 


Andy...my buddy had his wedding on the day of G6 in the SCF last spring. I kept looking at the calender and knowing there was gonna be a clash though maybe not so much when we went down 2-0. Anyway, the Oilers charged back and here was G6. I went to the reception but it was in a hall with a big screen TV so I watched the first two periods until the Oilers were up 4-0 and then I joined everyone else;)

I tell you though, loving a team of dummies is hard but it's even worse when that team moves to Washington. I can't tell you how much I miss the Expos. It's not even sensible.

The Oilers make me lose a tonne of sleep, and some of it is even because I cheer for a team that plays their games especially late for my timezone;) but back when Colu was being mentioned for a franchise I was hoping the Oilers would go there if they left Edm. But after going through that with one of my teams I can tell you it just hasn't been the same.

The Expos were poor as fuck and I had to watch RDS and go to the local bar to see them on TV but they were my cheap bastards you know? I followed them closely in '05 but that may just have been because that was the lockout year and I needed something to fill the void. But last year I just lost touch with them.

And I find myself often remembering when Rojas set the table for Wetteland or how I saw Walker take form and of course the wonderful ride with Vladdy.

So, things could be worse.

Dennis
 


about the wedding thing...
I went to a wedding of a friend last spring that was on the same day as game 4 of our series with New Jersey.

Fortunately for me, this was a road game, but puck drop was scheduled for about 30 minutes after the ceremony. No tv anywhere in sight for the reception, so I had to get updates via my cellphone web browser. Lame.

After about 2.6 nanoseconds of consideration, I opted to forego social niceties and soldier on with the playoff beard. As you know, it wasn't a pretty beard, but it had to stay. With a Canes shirt under my shirt and tie, a playoffs pin on my tie, and one of the worst looking beards I've ever seen, I was at the wedding only in body.

Just think what might have happened if I had shaved!
 

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