And there it was. 3:28 into overtime. Barely enough time to settle into the extra session. Had you headed to the arena men's room at the end of regulation you may have still been in the john. Or seen it on a concourse tv monitor as you hustled back to your seat. 3:28 into OT, 1:59 into the killing of a penalty that had to be called, even in playoff OT. Nary half an hour after The Great Eight had seemingly, once again, rescued a season, the Penguins had, somehow, done it again. It was a fluky goal to be sure, but with Pittsburgh fluky is the norm. And, truthfully, whether it was a bad bounce or a sure-eyed laser from the slot, it was a dagger to the heart all the same. A dagger that made the bit of optimism that Ovechkin's goal rekindled seem trivial, silly. A dagger that hushed the crowd and made Monday night win or go home for the Capitals. A dagger that sent me on a cooling off walk up and down my driveway that probably lasted longer than the overtime session.
The goal was so expected that my phone didn't buzz with a single text message from fellow fans after the game. There was no need for communication, we were all thinking the same thing. We are students of history and need no flash cards or pop quizzes to jog our memory. This was just the latest installment in a story of hockey heartbreak. Sure, the driveway walk used to be a ripping of the sweater or the smashing of a remote control. Maybe I'm more mellow, but I'm no less frustrated. Two decades of this frustration leads to a little pessimism, a little paranoia and a whole lot of "Here we go again". I knew this series was over when the Caps took a 2 games to none lead. Pens had 'em right where they wanted them. I knew this series was over when Game 3 went to overtime. I knew the series was over when the shot tipped off Varly's glove and trickled in during Game 4. But see, now I'm not so sure.
I still have an inkling of a sliver of a wisp of hope that the Caps can still pull this off. Make no mistake, hope is all that remains. Common sense, history, statistics, trends and the curse all hopped the midnight shuttle to Pittsburgh. Maybe I'll be made a fool on Monday or Wednesday, but I won't be made a fool until every bit of hope is officially destroyed. Because if there is a chance, then a fan's duty is to believe. This team, over many years, has not reciprocated the love its fans have shown. At least not in terms of playoff success. However, a real fan cheers because they enjoy the team, not solely because the team is good. And I love this team; when on, they play a style that is fun to watch. Maybe these kids, and let's not forget that is what most of them still are, really do need to pushed to the brink to bring out their best. We know they are good enough, now they must show us that they want it bad enough. I'm just dumb enough to think they can, that this year is different. So stow the doom and gloom for at least one more day. Rock The Red. Keep the Faith. Let's Go Caps.
3 comments:
i too for some reason still believe they can do it and that is why we are all idiots. we believe against all odds that this team can and will succeed, even though we know that they wont and our hopes and dreams of lord stanley's cup in alex ovechkins hands will be dashed once again by our most hated of rivals.
how right you were about text messages and phone calls. i knew they were going to lose that game in OT. i knew it would be ANOTHER fluky garbage goal. and how fitting was it that they showed that one fan in the crowd after it was all over. the look on his face was that of pure isolation, despair and agony. if you could put "here we go again" into a facial expression that guy nailed it. i am now thoroughly convinced we could have 12 alex ovechkins, 6 scott stevens, 2 olie kolzigs and toe blake herb brooks scott bowman glen sather and al arbour as our coaching staff and they would still lose to the penguins.
killer (soon to be an la kings fan)
Idiots indeed, the fix is in. I've never hated a team, hell I've never even hated a person as much as I do any given guy the penguins. There's something detestable about each one of those guys. I've never wished more than serious temporary inconveinience on someone, but each game I truly hope to see someone get hurt...bad. I'm tempting karma with that, but who cares. Since when do you get to receive legendary status just because. They're a good team at best who have had mostly luck on their side.
RT
Killer...why the Kings?
DVRs are great, except when you put it on pause so you can watch OT in real-time (though not live) and then you get in a shouting match with your spouse who calls you a spoiled brat and "Princess", and you go out for a cool-down walk, and then you have to walk your screaming baby around the block, and you finally get back to a quiet living room, and SOMEONE has played the DVR forward and the first thing you see is Locker (Laugher?) talking about the fluky goal that ended it all...
if someone had txt'd me while I was on my walk, I'm not sure if it would be better or worse. I might have dropped the baby -- that would be about the only thing that could have made the evening any worse.
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