Post-Cup Ramblings

So the Stanley Cup has been won. Red Wings fans have mixed feelings on the outcome. I mean, really. We were stuck with Chicago or Philadelphia. It's a tough call no matter what side you choose.

You all know that I was leaning toward Chicago and I still stand by that. I'm one of those crazy Wings fans that didn't hate Hossa for leaving, and I like a handful of players on Chicago. I knew there was no way we could keep Hossa and he was hurt a lot more than us fans were led to believe. I honestly smiled when Toews was shouting, "Hoss! Where's Hoss?!" and handed the Cup to him [which I called]. And his interview with the CBC...I actually got teary-eyed at how speechless he was. That man wanted to win the Cup so much that he jumped ship from so many talented teams in hopes that he would find the right one. This year, he finally did. Next year, maybe not so much. But this year is all that matters to him right now. Third time's a charm, he'll tell you that.

Let's ignore last year's SCF for a bit. Seeing the Stanley Cup presented has to give you the chills. It's the hardest trophy to get in all sports and you know the team that wins it works their asses off to get it [again, ignore last year]. Seeing the players' initial reactions when the final buzzer goes, or when the final goal wins it in OT for them, it's heartwarming. Seeing Gary Bettman enter the ice and hearing the boos follow has to make you cackle evilly, especially since you've been practicing said evil laugh in front of the mirror. It's an experience that you can't find in any other sport, and one that I will never take for granted.

My wrist is bare again. Yes, I kept my "playoff beard" bracelets on throughout the entirety of the playoffs. I was going to cut them off after the Wings lost, but I forgot and when I remembered, it was already the end of the Conference Finals. So I will put on my Zetterberg wristband, my black beaded bracelet, and my newly added penny bracelet [bought in Copper Harbor, MI, if you were wonder], and I'll start to count down the days until training camp starts. Which is at 99. Or 98, since it's past midnight.

But look on the bright side - Toews is now the youngest captain to win the Stanley Cup! That means...wait. What? He's sharing that with Crosby? Pardon my french, but fuck that shit! This was why I was rooting for Chicago! This was my justification! [among other reasons, too]. Damn it!

And hey. If you run into any annoying Chicago fans, just point out this little fact: they now have as many Stanley Cups in their 84-year history as Detroit has in their last 13.

And that's all she wrote. Until next season.

What do we look forward to now? We keep our eyes peeled on the Internet horizon for happenings within the Wings and big news around the league. We wait for the NHL Awards at the end of June. We wait for the schedule to be released, which is really early and really weird. And we wait for July 1, when all hell will break loose in the league.

For now, we're stuck with the gorgeous weather that is summer and the monotony of a time without hockey in our lives. I advise you to stay away from Youtube videos of hockey for as long as possible. I made that mistake last year around the end of July, and it was my downfall.

This was a strange year for hockey. Let's hope next year doesn't follow in its footsteps.

SCF Post

It's been discussed in almost every single Red Wings blog so far: who do we root for to win the Stanley Cup?

For us Wings fans, this is a terrible SCF. Our division rival, whom we have a long history with, or Philly, who has Chris Pronger, among other players we have deemed "douches." One has Hossa, who jumped ship last post-season and made a lot of people in Detroit hate him, the other has Leino, who did nothing while he was here [though Babcock didn't exactly like him] yet now he's super awesome.

So which is the lesser of two evils?

It all comes down to your own opinion.

At the start of the season this year, I said if the Wings couldn't win it, I hoped it would be Chicago. Now that it's to that point, I regret ever saying that.

But I hate Philly with a passion. I hate Chris Pronger. Philly fans are annoying as hell and members of my family can attest to that claim: my brother went to a Wings/Philly game in Philly a few years ago with a friend of his. He wore a Zetterberg hat and no other Wings attire. He wasn't an obnoxious fan and didn't start anything. Yet the Flyers fans around him heckled the shit out of him and pissed him off beyond belief. And it wasn't like the Wings even won the game, so that they felt like they had to be jerks to a Wings fan in their midst.

I hate to say it, but I think I'm rooting for Chicago. I don't want the hype around them. I don't want to have to face them next year and hear the whole "There's a new reign in the Central Division!" jargon. I don't want Patrick Kane to get his thug name on the Stanley Cup. I don't want to have to put up with pretentious, idiotic Hawks fans who think they know hockey.

Why am I rooting for Chicago, then? Because if they win the Stanley Cup, it means Jonathan Toews will be the youngest captain to win the Cup. Not Sidney Crosby. This is the only plus side I can see. And as a coworker of mine said after I told her this, "I like how it always comes back to ousting Crosby. Even when he's not in it this year."

If Philly wins, I won't be angry. This is a Stanley Cup that I'm a little indifferent about. Hell, I might not even be home for the Cup-winning game. Even with the unappealing teams in the Finals this year, I still think it will be a ridiculously good Finals. These are two teams that want it badly. They're going to do anything they can to win and it'll be a hard-fought battle, no matter who wins.