I purposefully didn’t write the usual game day blog because I was too busy reading the many articles written by those paid to cover the Habs.
I noticed that a great many of them had been giving us articles for days telling us how terrible Marc Bergevin is, and maybe he is.
I noticed that there was a good contingent of fans who support the medias Hab bashing (nothing like kicking someone when they are down eh?) and that group had some self proclaimed Habs fans among them.
I also noticed that there were a great many of fans that would rather move on from the transaction, trade winner/loser be damned, and deal with the real issues of the Canadiens like their lack of elite prospects on the horizon.
I didn’t really want to weigh in much at all on the Subban Circus (and that is what the media wanted) as I don’t want to look like someone who despite being trusted with providing the Canadiens fanbase with entertaining opinions is going to use my platform to incessantly bash the team and throw fuel on the fire of the “fans… that advocate for things like trading Carey Price.
Just didn’t seem right. It didn’t seem like something I would do, regardless of my platform.
"We have to come out here and play our game. We’ve been pretty good at home lately, so if we can keep that up, I think we’ll be fine tonight." -Victor Mete
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 10, 2018
WATCH -> https://t.co/2rCpioxfwK#GoHabsGo
What I will do is share a story that I feel relates to the both sides of the coin. A personal experience that I felt related to the Subban Circus that will come to Montreal every now and then until Subban retires.
A long time ago I watched the Habs game against Detroit where my favorite player Patrick Roy was shelled for 9 goals in half a games worth of action.
I was 13 years old, living in Windsor Ontario (directly across from Detroit, MI), and watching the game with my good friend (in French…. Neither of us spoke any French).
So, Roy got destroyed, then Tremblay destroyed the team with Houle’s help, and I subsequently took down all my Roy posters.
I won’t lie, I was heartbroken.
Add to that the majority of the kids in my peer group that followed hockey were Red Wings and Maple Leafs fans and you can see that despite having a recent Cup win (which I celebrated proudly at grade school) there was no quarter for me from the peanut galleries. Consider also that I was the only Canadiens fan in my grade (my friend went to the nearby public school and I went to the Catholic school).
So, for a long time I hated the coach and GM, hated the Red Wings, and every player I chose as my “Favourite… always ended up traded until I jumped on the Koivu bandwagon.
My hatred for the people and organization lasted for well over a decade. I had great friends that were Detroit fans and I would have to chirp their team for anything I could find. I just had to keep that hate alive for being a part of my worst moment as a fan, even if it was illogical and hateful.
By the time I was getting close to my mid twenties I realized through maturation that I was just holding onto something that upset me for no real good reason. I would be a dick to Red Wings fans just for the sake of being a dick, trying to affect their life in my small way even if it was just to upset them for a 5 minutes.
Yup, pretty petty and pretty dickish.
All for nothing.
"It’s fun to see him on the ice. He’s helped me a lot all year, so I was happy to see him." - @KidHud_10 on @phildanault
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 10, 2018
READ -> https://t.co/rgIc8NXXYi #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/iVJUwoDAGE
The Red Wings and their fans didn’t do anything to me. Heck, even though Tremblay is kind of proven to be a Grade A Asshat I don’t hold the hate for the guy. I can make a sideways slight at him for inferring a player on the team has a substance abuse issue on TV despite he himself being a Drunk Driver and trying to use his former glory as a means to escape the consequences. But that is what someone of that character needs, they need a humbling moment. Not at all related to his time as Habs coach.
Rejean Houle was a horrible GM, hired because of bad management strategies that plagued the team since that trade (and some of those strategies are still in place today). But do I hate the guy today and feel the need to argue with people in person or on social media? Nope.
With maturation and struggles of my own I realized what we all should realize. Sports is a business that cares not for your “Feels… and “Fav players…. That mindset is for the young minded fans that don’t understand the bigger picture yet. They don’t understand that players are assets to management and sometimes management makes a big mistake, in their eyes, by dealing the guy who’s jersey they just got for their birthday.
*NOTE: I’m not saying Subban for Weber was a mistake. I share the same opinion that many do in that I would have liked to see a sweetner from Nashville for the age dif, but oh well*
There are paid professional media types, people that are allowed into the press gallery, fed, paid, and they are being unreasonable in their almost 2 year feud against Canadiens management.
They are allowed into the building and are there to provide us with entertainment and opinion on the Canadiens and for almost a week we have seen nothing but Habs hate, calls for firings, and Subban love. No real regard for one of the most respected players in the NHL, Shea Weber, who certainly didn’t chose to come here but hasn’t complained one bit.
A champion on the back end that does everything, causes zero trouble, and has the utmost respect amongst his peers. Nothing but passive slaps to his face for almost 2 years where instead of his skill we have heard about his age, as thats the only real argument one can make.
We wonder why the Habs have to consistently overpay for players right? What I’m getting at is that while the Subban headlines attract a certain segment of the fan base, I think it would be better for everyone to just accept that players are traded and your feelings don’t matter.
It’s time to grow up a little bit and let things go. Take the high road. Don’t be the 13 year old me.
All that negativity I kept inside for such a long time, for what? Who was it helping or hurting? What was it doing to fix the scenario?
NOTHING….
It was just me being miserable and trying to make others miserable when the opportunity presented itself. I see the same cycle being repeated on social media amongst Hab fans and to me its just creating Civil War within the fanbase when we would all do so much better to just move on and discuss ways to make the team better today and in the long term.
There was someone my niece really liked that once said “LET IT GO!!!!!! LET IT GO!!!!!… What a wise young lady that must be.
Enjoy the game, don’t fight with each other over past trades, and enjoy your Saturday night.
Go Habs Go!