On the Topic Of European Hockey Fans

As I have been enthralled with the career travels of Marty Turco this year, I've been putting myself in a position to watch more European hockey, mostly Austrian. Thanks to my buddy Anthony Russell over at Banners on the Wall, I've been able to get the streaming feed. While I haven't been able to understand much of what the commentators are saying (proving that those Rosetta Stone programs will do nothing for me); the atmosphere is something that translates all over the place.

The European hockey fans are those who are actually much more into the game than their North American counterpoints. Most of them are standing up during play, the have percussion instruments and organized chants to keep the energy up, they know what to do in order to get their team going and to maybe distract the other teams. I would say they are a combination of European soccer (or football, as they call it) fans and college basketball student sections-- totally into it regardless of the score or who they are playing, as well as to know the sport on a higher level than casual.

When it comes to the North American fan-- the passion is there, you can see it on Twitter and blogs-- but the actual game atmosphere seems to fall short. I don't know what there is about fans and being as reserved as they are; but with the passion many carry for the game, I am surprised about how little that translates to the live experience. Has the game become "too corporate" that the real fans can't be rowdy as they want to be?? Does the music being at an ungodly level during stoppages kill the fans habits?? Or is it just not accepted across the board from their peers that if fans start to do something out of the ordinary-- they'll be shunned and ridiculed?? Hell, even dance teams-- which are universally shunned in NHL arenas-- are very rampant in European arenas. The common defense is that if fans need to be hyped up like that, they shouldn't be there. Well, I haven't heard much hype in NHL arenas, dance team/ice girls or not.

Regardless of the case, the joy of watching European sports is the passion of it all. Most of these cities don't have much else aside from these teams, so the hysteria could be due to a strong hometown pride to it all; but even so-- would you think that many North American fans would be proud of their teams as much?? I know a lot of minor league fans have a stark pride with their area and would defend their team to the death, as well as tracking former players who made it big and taking credit for it-- which in part they should, because they saw them from a younger age and saw them evolve.  That is a case for the European squads, who have their players who are mostly from the country they play in, take to the fans and the pride. Even the North American players who come over get entrenched in the culture and area and embrace the fans and their passion for the team-- hoping not to let them down.

I should say all North American fans are quiet-- as the US College Hockey scene does have the same atmosphere as the basketball or football counterparts at time. The student sections often have a lot of high energy during the game, as well as marching bands there to give things more of an unique feel to the game to their professional counterparts.

In the end, it's not to say that the North American fans are bad in what they do, as there are a bunch of crazies in every arena trying to hype up the rest of the crowd-- sometimes to no avail, but it just seems that the game would be so much more entertaining in the stands if you had a variety of things going on in the stands while paying attention to the game action. It would also give more of a home-ice advantage to the teams if they had their own drum corps there to hype up the crowd and team. More players may want to play in that kind of atmosphere; but it could also shy some away when it came to trades or free agency.

No clue what the point of this whole thing was.....but.....that goes for most of this blog, huh??

Spicing Up the NHL Network

For some reason, I follow a couple of wrestlers (because I like wrestling-- don't judge) and they've been promoting one of their comrades, Joey Ryan, to be voted into the MLB Network's Fan Cave-- where one winner and their friend inhabit this area of New York and stay there to watch all of the games the MLB puts forth and give their insight and get some players and other celebs to stop by, hang out, and basically live the dream doing not much more than what they've done as fans.

This got me thinking and I'm sure this has been put out there before-- why not have a NHL Fan Cave. Sure, it's a hack gimmick, it's stealing, but it's true. You want passion, the hockey fan does bring it. Plus, since it's an internet based ordeal-- you'll have cut-throat activity when it comes to putting their bid in and then to get their votes if they become a finalist for their Fan Cave. More over than that-- the passion that fans get on Twitter when it not only comes to supporting or bashing their own team; it'd be ten-fold when it comes to supporting or bashing other things going on in the league.

Of course, that being said-- that could be the downfall of the idea. The fact that so many people can be-- for lack of a better term-- asses when it comes to some of the caveats of the sport as a whole. Considering how many people are critical of the league itself and those who run it-- putting some die-hards as commentators on the league-run network probably wouldn't be the best thing for the game as a whole.

However, the fact the NHL Network doesn't have that much material when it comes to something outside of classic games and highlight shows; it would be something they should look at. They already made the "HBO 24/7" gimmick with their "NHL36" idea of following a player for 36 hours. Why not have a take off and something more fan oriented to actually draw people into it and give another dimension to the network that has the league name attached to it.

Maybe another reason is that you have a lot of video bloggers out there already giving their reaction to games or decisions-- thus really making this idea a silly one. However, if you want to go that route-- why not get the collection of reactions and put that into a show??

My point is that the NHL Network should put something more than the stuff they have already, which is highlight shows and simulcasting XM Home Ice shows. Thinking outside the box and actually getting the fans more involved into the process would probably draw some more attention to the network outside of the fact that it's a place where it's nothing but hockey.

And if this idea does get seen by the NHL Network.....you know, how about you give me some credit with my own show or bit or something. I'm feeding you ideas here for the love of Pete.

On the Topic of the All-Star Game

I know there are not many people out there who like the concept of the All-Star Game, which is fine. I enjoy it and I think it's something that's good for getting the game out there if you have the right people there in the first place. That said, with the roster of players to be chosen being named-- it's kind of odd when it comes to some players being included and excluded.

Let's be honest, though, odds are some GMs are telling the powers-that-be that they don't want so-and-so in the pool of players because of one reason or another. Fact is, the best players should be named-- and if they don't play because of a mysterious injury....so be it.

But, when you look at the pool of players, it seems to be liked across the board for the majority. Inclusions of the likes of Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom show it's not always about the marketable players, but guys who have skill are being recognized. The fact that Nicklas Lidstrom is the only Red Wing from that super-group of a team makes me scratch my head on why someone like Henrik Zetterberg isn't on the list.

Of course, some of that has to do with the inclusion of every team into the All-Star Weekend. First, there's only four teams who won't have a player in the All-Star Game, but will be represented in the Rookie Skills competition-- Florida, Phoenix, NY Islanders, and Buffalo-- which I think is a bit asinine to only have them in the one day and not the other. Secondly, this game should be about showcasing the best players the NHL has to offer-- not to show all the teams out there in the league; because legitimately they won't be shown to a national audience-- why play the sympathy role by throwing them a bone?? Because it's the right thing to do?? It's a cop-out...but so is the selection process, both fan voting and powers-that-be process; though that's another argument for another time. If a team doesn't have a star, you can't force them to provide one when they'd be taking a spot of someone more deserving.

Another thing that bugs me, aside from everyone being represented, is the fact that five of the six goalies in the pool are from the Eastern Conference. If that's not a case for "East Coast Bias" then I don't know what is. In any case, this is a prime example of the best players being picked, regardless of pressure from someone like Jonathan Quick, who's have a solid season out in LA......oh, and ROBERTO LUONGO!! It's a bit interesting about the five East goalies, but it's something that helps my first point that it should be the best players in there, regardless.

This game is for the casual fan. This is to get people who may have been hooked with the Winter Classic a little more knowledge about the game and players and the teams. Granted, they won't get the full feel if my ideal of "Not all teams get in there" gimmick works, but like I said-- they won't see them on national TV anyway, so the hell with it. The point is, this isn't going to be the hardcore fans who actually are offended this is still going on. This is for people who just like the game in it's purest shinny form and for the casual fan who will have time to learn some of the bigger name players and the teams they belong to; which could rope them into watching a real game and get the actual feel for the game rather than the shinny of it all.

If you don't like it, you don't have to watch it; but don't bother those that do enjoy it; regardless of why. If you watch it-- maybe you can debate on why one guy would be better than another or just mimic it MST3K style like I probably will. Just because I like it, doesn't mean I can't mock it.

(Also, if there's a fantasy draft with the Ice Girls of the league-- I want in on that voting.)

Fixing the ASG

According to TSN's guru Darren Dreger, the All-Star Game process will be fixed in a way that the captains of the two sides will be picking their own team. This way, the players will be in control of the roster where "game recognizes game."

The best part about this is the exclusion of the fans from this process. On The Show and in the media for years, we've talked about the stupidity of fans when it comes to voting. Especially with the internet being as popular as it is today, campaigns like "Vote for Rory," where Rory Fitzpatrick would get voted onto the All-Star team; and now more recently with a possible "Vote for BizNasty" which would be the same by with Paul Bissonnette, it's proof positive that the fans don't take it seriously.

And they shouldn't have to.

But at the same time, you'd think they'd want some kind of respectible roster for this glorified shiny game; but since it is a shiny game in the end-- you can't be surprised or repulsed by the mockery they make of the once prideful exhibition. The game itself doesn't have the same shine it used to have and when people get tired of it-- they'll do anything to wreck it or to at least get it noticed that it needs to get fixed in some fashion or another. You'd think that the NHL would get it and the fan's mockery would give the game a whole overhaul.

Not so much.

But the captain's picking the team is somewhat of a change. Whether it's a step in the right direction or not, who's to say-- but it's a step. The next thing is to do something to make it meaningful again because there's no such thing as conference pride. I doubt the MLB model, where the winner is the home-team of the Stanley Cup final, will be what curses it all and give it meaning; but something more needs to be done. While this is a solid change, more has to be done about it. I also don't think putting it as the Winter Classic would work because it'd limit the options the places that could hold it....though with technology, it could be anywhere, I'm sure. Plus, it'd take out an outdoor regular season game-- which would be so bad in the end and the picking of the teams would bring back the pick-up aspect.

In any case, the captains would have to live and die with their decision and it'll create some more interesting subplots if they selected a player over another more qualified player. Also, does this mean that each team has to be represented it or does that go out the window now and it's pretty much free reign?? Granted-- picking from 15 teams shouldn't be too hard, but in the same breath-- if you're put under the gun to pick someone from a non-star-studded team over a player who's decent but already has a representative from their team-- it'd be rough to deal with the perimeters.

The best part about this, the game could have players everyone can enjoy rather than fans picking a player based on an internet meme. While we all enjoy the hilarity aspect of an often healthy scratch or fringe player being a starter in the ASG, it definitely signaled the need for change to the whole ASG format. Maybe this is the start of a complete overhaul or if this is the complete overhaul, but at least some kind of steps are being made.....or not-- it's hard to tell for now.

Friday Five: When Fans Get Attacked

It's time for the F5, where I question some of the week's happenings and then answer them and then huzzah-- filler blog post. And there's been plenty to talk about, or at least on one topic.

1. So....Rick Rypien, huh??

I haven't talked much on it, because....well, everyone more greater than me have already tackled it. In the end, all sides are stupid: Rypien for actually going after the fan; the fan for actually saying something while that close to the guy and then going the legal action route in order to milk the 15 minutes; and the NHL for not doing enough to send a message to the other players for it all. It's a bad situation all the way around and no one looks good.

2. With the smallish suspension, does this really stop any players from going off the hook??

In the end, I don't believe it will happen again for the short-term, but it's not a complete deterrent and it shouldn't be. If they did something heavier, it would show that, yes, the NHL is doing something to send a message; but it would give the fans the wrong message that they are infallible and can do anything and feel safe. The fans need to use their own discretion and actually not think they are innocent in this whole ordeal. While these guys should be professional, the fans should put themselves in their shoes and wonder how they would react in the same situations.

3. There has been sub-10,000 crowds in Columbus, Atlanta, and Phoenix this week. There's some people tired of harping over the situation, are you??

At least that's less for players to attack. But seriously, I'm not done harping because it is news. It's not new, though-- but it's something to talk and something that needs to be talked about. The fans of those teams hate it because they know how they are going to be roasted, but if they don't show up; they deserve to be roasted. While it's not the fans fault wholly, the team should see this and adjust their marketing and sales process accordingly. However, it's the fans who are going to have to buy into what's being sold and if not-- they have no right to bitch and complain if they were to move.

4. Big talk was Rick DiPietro's pink pads for "Hockey Fights Cancer" month, though he didn't use them yet. Can we look forward to see other gear going into the pink form to follow what the NFL does??

We've seen the pink sticks over the years with guys like Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist, and the rest of the TPS Hockey roster; but outside of that, I don't think we'll see much equipment being pink, aside from laces. You'll see a lot of major junior teams and minor league teams do a special jersey night were the teams will wear special pink uniforms on the ice and auction them off. While it'd be something to see the pink gloves and all of that, it's something that doesn't need to be done. You can wear whatever to create the awareness, but if you don't actually donate (either time or money)-- it's meaningless.

5. Apparently, the Edmonton Oilers are going to be the first Canadian team to have cheerleaders. Huh??

Well, are cheerleaders and ice girls different, because the Flames have their own ice girls already. In any case, the ladies and some of the hardcore fans will complain about this not being a part of the game and it needs to be taken out-- but it's not something bad about it. The game should be an event, especially for all the money you're paying for the game. If they aren't distracting the game-play, then I don't see an issue with it. It's a bit better than watching the players stand at the bench during a TV stoppage.

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That's another week......huzzah. If you want to chime in with a topic, email me at Scotty.Wazz@Gmail.com for your question/topic/ranting. If you don't and you hate this-- then change it, dummies-- be dialin'!!

First Round Friday: Shock and Dull

If there's nothing else to sum up the first round of the NHL Entry Draft this week, it was uneventful. For a lot of people, no one knew what was going to happen, which definitely showed in the selections after the first two picks. Even with a lack of trades, the almost four hour first round didn't provide too much electric in the crowd. If nothing else,the move of Keith Ballard to Vancouver for Steve Bernier and Michael Grabner was the highlight of an otherwise uneventful trade situation. Some bulletpoints to point out from the first day.

-The soundtrack for the Anaheim Ducks is probably going to be "Feel Good Inc." as they were able to steal not only Cam Fowler at the 12th pick, but traded for the 29th pick and took Long Beach native Emerson Etem, all of this with the haze of Scott Niedermayer's retirement still looming over-top of him. If nothing else, the Ducks should use their dropping stock for motivation in their development and maybe show some teams what they missed out on. Of course, you have to have the right players for that (read: not Angelo Esposito), but I think the mentality of these guy will fit perfectly for the vengeance angle.

-For a Draft that was suppose to be defense-heavy, only two were picked in the top-10 and eight in the first round overall. While it's a heavy debate that defensemen usually take more time to develop their game (always a case-by-case, see Doughty, Drew); the ability to have these players rights should hold more value than what some people think. If you could have someone like Cam Fowler in your system and then track his development, you have two years in order to decide if he was worth the high pick or not. Odds are, he is-- but still-- it's better to have them and not need them than to let them go by the wayside.

- If there was any doubt about hockey development in the US, the 11 players picked that were developed in the US really show how well the country is developing wanted players. Sure, the fact they haven't played a NHL game yet makes it a tad presumptuous in terms of saying that USA Hockey is getting better-- it's a good sign that they have brought them to this point and have been able to give them the chances to move onto the next level. Sure, there's some places that might not be as strong in others, but the US is a big country population-wise and you'll have a few misses here and there.

-You've got to love taking shots at an old team, especially after retirement. According to who you listen to and how you take things, that's what Mark Tinordi did when he questioned the Washington Capitals fanbase after his son Jerred was picked by the Montreal Canadiens 22nd overall. Elder Tinordi said that with them living in Millersville, Maryland (about 40minute from the old Capital Centre); Jerred didn't know about fan support and will learn it when he gets to Montreal. It's one thing to pump-up the fanbase in Montreal (like they need it), but it's another thing to knock down an organization that actually enjoyed your play during your tenure there. To each their own though and Mark will think what he thinks, but it's in bad taste to take a shot like that during the best time in your kins life.

-To say the crowd in LA was somewhat dormant would be an understatement. While some of the picks got more fanfare than others; the overall feeling of the Los Angeles crowd was stagnant. Granted, the crowds was very mixed between every kind of support, mostly with Edmonton supports, who came down in droves to see the Taylor Hall pick. Granted, the Kings pick and the selections of hometown boys Beau Bennett (20th, Pittsburgh) and Etem (29th, Anaheim) got the loudest roar; the fans were very reserved and underwhelming coming off the energy of Montreal a year prior. Granted, there's probably nothing that would match the Montreal electricity, but you'd hoped they try. Minnesota should be interesting, mostly because it'll be the US equivalent of Montreal for support.

That's all I have, because I've got nothing. In any case, we'll be doing our show, which will be coming to a YouTube near you-- probably before any shows get updated prior to that. We know, we know-- got it loud and clear.

Hockey Lifestyle in Print Form

A couple weeks back, I was talking about the ability for the NHL to produce something along the lines of a reality based show to give a greater understand of the inner workings of the hockey life. However, it seems, oddly enough, print media has been the one to really bring out the hockey lifestyle inside and out.

Of course, The Hockey News just put out their own sort of lifestyle mag called "Fully Loaded," which I thought was going to be a monthly gimmick, but only seems to be once-a-year. Granted, the minute I saw it, I immediately thought of The Fourth Period's magazine, which came out around the Draft time and has the same kind of feel to it, but luckily TFP's magazine is a monthly thing and is more of a mix of hockey news and gives kind of a Maxim feel in terms of the picture of some Ice Girls every month which is really.....really great. The Hockey News' one-off has mostly to do with actual gear for on and off the ice, so it's more like a Laptop Magazine with gadgets and stuff.

In any case, I have to say this is the step that hockey fans need in order to get more into the game off the ice. The fact that both TFP and THN have taken this step is a great idea, which I'll say TFP did have first and I'm a bit disappointed that THN is almost ripping them off. Either way, this is just what is needed to give the game of hockey more appeal. Get the fans more into the lives of players and how they live, plus showing off some of the new things apparel wise that fans can get their hands on that they see the pros wear in the post-game interviews and wherever else they may don such things. Any insight into the players and game the NHL could give to the fans, both hardcore and casual alike, will be helpful into making the game more marketable and appealing.

For the Picks, For the Fans

The Entry Draft has come and gone for another year and you can pick and choose who you want to say who picked well, who picked suspiciously, who may have given up too much, and who’s going to get the 26th pick this time around. However, this one thing I thought about was spirit of this whole thing, to steal a line from Charlestown Chiefs beat writer Dickey Dunn.

History lesson: I started going to Drafts at the ripe age of 19 in Toronto in 2002. When I got there, it wasn’t that big of a festive thing. It just seemed like some people saw something was going on and glided into the Air Canada Centre just because they had nothing better to do. The next Draft in Nashville, I wasn’t expecting much under the assumption that because if a devoted hockey market like Toronto couldn’t get up for something, what would Nashville put out??

Boy, was I wrong.

The Sommet Center was alive with fans, lots of reactions, lots of glamour, lots of just fun times by fans and media alike. Granted, after the Predators make their pick in the early first round, the mass exodus happened, but regardless—the thing was that they showed up and put Toronto to shame for turn out. The same went for Raleigh, Vancouver, Columbus, Ottawa, and this year in Montreal. The energy in a place like the Bell Centre is amazing just to have that feeling for the pick they made (Louis LeBlanc), what is this place like when there’s a playoff OT winner??

Now you have blogs blowing up at a rapid rate, you have Tweet-ups going round and round in order to get more fans connected to each other, and you have everyone getting together for a somewhat common goal. The Draft is the perfect spot to do it because not only can you meet people in your own area, but you have those coming from all over the place for a vacation to meet up with and connect with. It could be a good thing or a bad thing, just depends on how you see things at the time.

Plus, you while you have the host fans there in droves and cheering their team whilst booing their rivals, the hospitality from them are great wherever. It seems this could be the only time where the cease-fire of sort is put in place. People are at the bars drinking with each other, joking, drinking—it’s a fun time had by all until the bars close up and you go back to your homes, hotels, cars to sleep it up for the next day. It’s an event like no other for fans and seems to just grow building to building. You just have to hope that maybe, just maybe—it can keep the momentum up wherever it lands net year, which is still yet to be determined.

While it’s a great two-days for those kids getting picked and taking the next step in their hockey careers, on a personal level, it’s a great day for fans because people whom they’ve only corresponded with on emails, message boards, blog post—they are meeting for the first time and putting a personal aspect to their comments, good, bad, and indifferent. It creates for a tighter knit community, a better understand of where people are coming from, and just how much they really know when they aren’t with their statistics in front of them. Plus, it may create a light-hearted atmosphere for even the most hardened of hard-asses. Good times for all, that’s for sure.

The Idiocy and Hideousy of a White Out That's Not in Winnipeg

I preference this by saying this is not a dig against the Penguins and their fans, but a venture into why something like a white out won't work and why it shouldn't go to anyone outside of Manitoba.

As we all know, the color-coated themes by fans in the playoffs-- Calgary's "C of Red", Washington's "Rock the Red", Philly's "Orange Crush", and the Islanders "Navy (First) Overalls"; but the one big thing that irks the hell out of me is the "White Out" in Pittsburgh. It's not so much the sacrilegious part of it by taking a hallowed gimmick by the Winnipeg Jets (may they rest in peace), which actually had a meaning to it and had legs throughout the entire hockey community. Sure, other hockey teams and college teams have tried and this and it has worked out for the most part because that's how most fans roll, but the Penguins thing irks me more than anything and here's why.

My complaint is the Penguins don't even wear white at home anymore-- and haven't since the '03-'04 season-- so why wear the white to the games?? The colors of the Penguins are fairly unique to the NHL, with the Bruins having the only close scheme to them. Why not do something with the black, which is a little hack, sure-- or the Vegas gold they have?? You'd think a team would think outside the box and not steal material like they were Carlos Mencia....allegedly. You'd think that the road team would try to convince themselves that the white-out was for them, since they are in white while playing, and hype themselves up that way.

Fact of the matter is this-- don't take a great hockey tradition that was enstilled by a dead franchise and try to make it your own or say it's an homage. If you want to be original, so something that's going to put your own stamp on it and going to make you stand out. If I'm a Jets' fan, the white-out is sacred and while it's understandable that the Coyotes did it when they got into the playoff, it's still hurt to see something that was tradition move away from your area. The Penguins doing it must be 1,000 kicks to the groin with Jets fans seeing it.

So, note to the Pens and Pens fans-- let's buck the hack trend of unoriginality and maybe do something to put your own seal onto something you'll be doing year-in and year-out. You have a good team and good color scheme to do something spiffy-- make it happen.

Gotta Love Double Standards

In the December 1st edition of The Hockey News, David J. Neal has a great piece about why the Florida Panthers are struggling. His main points are the slow starts and the lack of getting to the playoffs as the fans have been staying away in Miami in droves.

However, there's one great point that he has in this article which made me wonder why there is a double standard:

"When fans in Calgary or Edmonton or Detroit or Boston or Chicago don't want to pony up the equivalent of six table dances at Chez Paree to sit through hockey with no hope, they've been considered discerning fans or saluted for complaining via their absence. When fans in a warm-weather city don't want to pay big bank for repeatedly lousy results, they're philistines in a bad hockey market."

Neal makes a great point-- why is there this double standard when it comes to any team below the Mason-Dixon line?? From the Predators to the Panthers to the Thrashers and to the Coyotes, whenever teams are in trouble in the south-- the argument is that it's not a hockey market comes up ten-fold. It's not because the team is crappy and people don't want to want to pay for a losing effort; it's because it's only gets down to 50f as a low in January on most nights and that shouldn't happen if you want a hockey team.

In the same publication, The Hockey News talks about the revival of the Blackhawks and how great it is to have them back in the playoff fold again. Because it's an original six team, they get this publicity, but you can bet that if the Panthers next season win the Stanley Cup; no one would bat an eye or do a piece about them going through the tough times and surviving many talks about the team moving from Miami to elsewhere. More than likely, you'd probably get people (who claim to be traditionalist) bitching and complaining how much of a travesty that the Stanley Cup is residing on the beach and not in a place where hockey has been played for generations upon generations.

But, it's a vicious circle for teams. Fans are showing up because they aren't successful, so the owners aren't making the money. The owners aren't making money so they can't get or hold onto the quality players to make the team successful. Because the players aren't there-- the team loses and fans don't show up.

As we all know though, if you want fans-- you have to be successful and stay successful to keep a high fanbase. If you put a team like the Red Wings or the Canadiens in a place like Miami-- you'd probably get a booming fanbase. Put the ownership group, front office, and roster on the ice in Miami and you'll have people coming out to see the team and it would be considered a successful organization.....regardless of the location. You wouldn't have the arguement that they shouldn't be in the league because it's a warm climate, or at least you'd hope not.

That being said-- the Panthers and the Thrashers are my top two teams of being relocation. The Panthers is due to the attendance and the ownership group being in disarray and the Thrashers has to do with the ownership group as well, who has been having some in-fighting for quite a while, I do believe. Odd how the Southern teams have the awful ownership issues and makes people talk about why they shouldn't be in the league.

The Fan Factor

There's an interesting debate on a message board I frequent about fan etiquette. Now, here's the lead post that started the whole thing. This is verbatim, so don't blame me for the craptastic structure or mistakes in spelling or grammar.

We used to be Flyers fans, but after hearing the immature booing every time a skilled player touches the puck in Philly - It's too embarassing to be associated with this team.
Those idiot redneck fans aren't smart enough to realize how lucky they are to be watching skilled players the likes of Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin etc. live so they boo like a bunch of drunken teenagers! Good thing they are not educated hockey fans as it would be a black eye to the sport. These people are dumb enough that soon they will boo all Canadian players, no matter which team they play on.
Hopefully there will be no more playoff games in Philly this year so all those drunken chest-beating, plexiglass-banging idiots can go back to shining their gunracks and kicking their dogs.
Hey losers; This is Stanley Cup Hockey, not midget rodeo!!

Now, this started a whole bashing of the original poster and thoughts about this inane post and what's it means to uneducated fans.

My take on this first off is that Philly fans are probably the most passionate fans in any sport. Having lived in Philly for a year for college, everyone knew something about sports regardless of bracket-- meaning man, woman, young and old; they had a take on at least one sport in Philly. Sure, you can talk about the bad stuff like the Santa Claus thing and their booing-- but they only want the best all the time. Granted, some of them also proclaim that if they were to win something, it would be the worst time in the sport because of the fact they wouldn't have much to complain about.

As far as fans booing opposing players-- that's the nature of the beast. Personally, it could be a sign of respect in instance like Ovechkin and Crosby and then personal vendetta, like the Capitals' fans when it comes to Larry Murphy (woop, woop, woop), Sergei Gonchar, and Jaromir Jagr. People pay their ticket, they can do whatever the hell they want, to be honest. As long as no personal harm is done-- I don't see an issue with.

The fact of the matter is that if fans were wild and crazy in places like Philly, New York, Montreal, or Toronto-- the game would be very dull and the atmosphere of these arenas wouldn't be what they are. That's why it's called a home-ice advantage, because the fans become the 7th player on the ice without actually being on the ice (which is why I want to bring back the rover, but that's for another article).

So, to the person who started this post....either deal with it or move to a place where political correctness is the norm and everyone wins just so no one's feelings are hurt. If you claim you're a fan, you're really not. Grow some courage and suck it up, Nancy.

Let me hear you thoughts on this-- the comments are always open.