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I am a terrible fan. Okay, maybe that's not true. I'm just a very negative fan. It's not on purpose, I think that I am just a negative person overall and that translates to my outlook as a fan.
I'm going to keep this post short because I started thinking about it Monday and it's Friday even and I'm sitting here writing because that defines awesome.
Anyway, as we were approaching the Stanley Cup Finals (still the greatest trophy out there)
I was just super psyched the Blackhawks were even in the finals, although starting the season without losing in regulation in 24 games and winning the President's Trophy (honestly, I didn't know the President's trophy was actually a thing, I thought it was just a state of mind or something (state of mind like - now that we've won the president's trophy there's no way in hell we are winning the Cup), but look, here it is)
Anyway, the bar should have been raised that just being in the Finals isn't actually success but should be expected.
Here's where the negativity as a fan comes in. I thought we would beat the Wild. We were more talented, more depth, and more playoff experience. Only reason something might get screwed up was if the Hawks played tight, which they actually sort of did.
After getting by the Wild I started to get worried. I was worried about us playing the Red Wings. Again, I thought we were the more skilled and deeper team - but with the history of the matchup, all the success the Red Wings have had over the last two decades, Babcock being an awesome coach and the possibility that Howard could outplay Crawford - let's just say my confidence started to erode.
I think part of what happens is that I try to protect myself emotionally from what might be a crushing defeat, so I start to prepare reasons on why we might lose. It's awful. It's just an awful way to be a fan. It's going around trying to figure out how exactly are we going to screw this up.
Little did I know that the Blackhawks winning actually depending on me. Holy hell the pressure!
And we won. And it was beautiful. It gave me just enough time to get worried about playing the Kings. Here again doubt started to creep in (actually not really creep in, but like blitzkrieg). No question on the skill level, but is our team tough enough? Is there going to be anyway we can get a couple by Quick. I mean I went into every game worried that there was no way we were going to score. Yeah, Toews, Sharp, Kane, Hossa aren't going to be able to find the back of the net (actually at the beginning of the series that was true for Toews and Kane). Shit, we even chased Quick one game and moved on in five.
So while I should be celebrating I start to think about all the issues we are going to face playing the Bruins.
I mean I look at the Bruins as the Kings with more talent except at goalie. They're big, physical, with solid D and great if not exceptional goaltending.
They're going to slow down the Blackhawks and try to grind them into submission. Despite the fact that the Blackhawks have been solving that problem all year - but I don't know.....can they really do it against the Bruins?
And that's the attitude I head into Game 1 with. And as I'm watching the game I have to admit I actually thought the Blackhawks were outplayed for a lot, if not most of it - and yet there we were heading into overtime. The further we get into overtime the more I try to prepare myself in the event of a loss.
I mean that's not a healthy way to be a fan. I want to just be able to root for them without consequences - but it's hard. It's probably bullshit, but someone told me onetime a negative experience has four times the effect of a positive one.
The negativity can just eat at you, and actually make watching your favorite team an almost painful experience.
But I think I've finally found the solution. I'm not sure it's foolproof, but as Andrew Shaw has now taught me....
.....everytime I start to think about how we are going to choke and blow a game or something, I'm just going to think about how much I fucking love shin pads.
I am a terrible fan. Okay, maybe that's not true. I'm just a very negative fan. It's not on purpose, I think that I am just a negative person overall and that translates to my outlook as a fan.
I'm going to keep this post short because I started thinking about it Monday and it's Friday even and I'm sitting here writing because that defines awesome.
Anyway, as we were approaching the Stanley Cup Finals (still the greatest trophy out there)
I was just super psyched the Blackhawks were even in the finals, although starting the season without losing in regulation in 24 games and winning the President's Trophy (honestly, I didn't know the President's trophy was actually a thing, I thought it was just a state of mind or something (state of mind like - now that we've won the president's trophy there's no way in hell we are winning the Cup), but look, here it is)
Anyway, the bar should have been raised that just being in the Finals isn't actually success but should be expected.
Here's where the negativity as a fan comes in. I thought we would beat the Wild. We were more talented, more depth, and more playoff experience. Only reason something might get screwed up was if the Hawks played tight, which they actually sort of did.
After getting by the Wild I started to get worried. I was worried about us playing the Red Wings. Again, I thought we were the more skilled and deeper team - but with the history of the matchup, all the success the Red Wings have had over the last two decades, Babcock being an awesome coach and the possibility that Howard could outplay Crawford - let's just say my confidence started to erode.
I think part of what happens is that I try to protect myself emotionally from what might be a crushing defeat, so I start to prepare reasons on why we might lose. It's awful. It's just an awful way to be a fan. It's going around trying to figure out how exactly are we going to screw this up.
Little did I know that the Blackhawks winning actually depending on me. Holy hell the pressure!
And we won. And it was beautiful. It gave me just enough time to get worried about playing the Kings. Here again doubt started to creep in (actually not really creep in, but like blitzkrieg). No question on the skill level, but is our team tough enough? Is there going to be anyway we can get a couple by Quick. I mean I went into every game worried that there was no way we were going to score. Yeah, Toews, Sharp, Kane, Hossa aren't going to be able to find the back of the net (actually at the beginning of the series that was true for Toews and Kane). Shit, we even chased Quick one game and moved on in five.
So while I should be celebrating I start to think about all the issues we are going to face playing the Bruins.
I mean I look at the Bruins as the Kings with more talent except at goalie. They're big, physical, with solid D and great if not exceptional goaltending.
They're going to slow down the Blackhawks and try to grind them into submission. Despite the fact that the Blackhawks have been solving that problem all year - but I don't know.....can they really do it against the Bruins?
And that's the attitude I head into Game 1 with. And as I'm watching the game I have to admit I actually thought the Blackhawks were outplayed for a lot, if not most of it - and yet there we were heading into overtime. The further we get into overtime the more I try to prepare myself in the event of a loss.
I mean that's not a healthy way to be a fan. I want to just be able to root for them without consequences - but it's hard. It's probably bullshit, but someone told me onetime a negative experience has four times the effect of a positive one.
The negativity can just eat at you, and actually make watching your favorite team an almost painful experience.
But I think I've finally found the solution. I'm not sure it's foolproof, but as Andrew Shaw has now taught me....
.....everytime I start to think about how we are going to choke and blow a game or something, I'm just going to think about how much I fucking love shin pads.
