Are you not entertained...
Are you not entertained!?
Is this not why you are here?
Heck yes fans are entertained, although, many fans are oddly enough holding in from screaming to the tops of their lungs as their team who most had pegged as a lottery team, are pushing for a 2nd round birth!
Throughout conversation in the blog's comment sections and over twitter, I’ve noticed a certain trend from fans; a cautious optimism toward their excitement for the team. And frankly, I’m confused by it.
In the excitement of how the team was playing, in addition to the fact that this is playoff hockey and a time where teams have earned the right to "chirp", I posted a blog where fans offered that this group could actually "sweep" the Canucks. The fans from said video were excited at how the team was doing...and rightfully so.
However, and as a direct result of publishing such video on my blog, I was called an "idiot" for using such a title...I was essentially told to give my head a shake.
Certainly it’s not very difficult to understand that a franchise who feels that (perhaps) they are doing better than they should, all things considered, means that fans should remain happy but not necessarily overly excited. The thought here would essentially maintain that while the team is doing well, a fair number of fans would rather give the old “pat on the back… to the team than join the typical “crazed fan mentality… that often comes with making and succeeding in the playoffs.
Let me say this – the Calgary Flames were not expected by anyone other than a certain TSN personality who got bat shit lucky with a prediction which offered that the team would place beyond the bottom five. The expectations were set and the team had something to prove to the pundits of the hockey community. And with no real pressure to succeed, it took a serious amount of time for most teams and fans from across the pond to even take them seriously.
And when they did give the Flames fair credit for their success, it was already too late for team’s thinking that the Flames would eventually roll over as the playoffs approached. “Unsustainable…, they were called. “Inexperienced and incapable… were sentiments thrown their way.
They simply didn’t have the talent or experience needed to challenge for the playoffs, and even now that they are (in) the playoffs with a 3-1 winning lead over the Vancouver Canucks, there is still that cautious approach to their success as people are simply not sure how long these guys can go.
So why then, continue to be so cautious with your excitement? Have the Flames not earned a level of respect to make it in the playoffs where fans can join the rest of the playoff crazed world and offer that their team (could) actually spank another? I personally welcome the attitude, as only teams who have (made) the playoffs have earned this right, and it is a right that should be exercised while the playoffs are around!
Listen folks, I get it – the team is “supposed… to be a few years away from legitimately competing, so I guess their current level of compete isn’t….legitimate? Nay – it is very much legitimate and they are about to knock out the 8th place team in the league and move in to the 2nd round of the playoffs!
Go ahead and knock on some wood if you must, but this is one writer who isn’t going to hold back and say that this team could still choke and get knocked out; their play simply says otherwise.
These guys are here to compete and have the right group of guys to do something special. Whether that means going to game seven in the 2nd round, whether that means putting up a solid first round series and unfortunately getting knocked out during the 2nd, it doesn’t matter.
Ultimately what does matter is that anything from the moment that the Flames do since making the playoffs is absolute gravy and fans have earned the right to voice their confidence, or not, just like the rest of them.
Thanks for reading!