Advantage No More

While many are saying that what the Chicago Blackhawks have done by going into San Jose and taking two games, but in a season where nothing is of the ordinary; it shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Granted, there's only been one "upset" in the West, but the Red Wings taking out the Coyotes in the first round; it's hard to say it's not uncommon for the home ice advantage to be something of a deterrent.

Since the Lockout and through the 2010 Conference Semis, there has been 57 series and 27 of them have been won by the lower seeded teams. That's just under 50% of all series have been taken by the team who started out on the road. Of those 27 series, the road team took at least one of the two road games to start off with 23 times, took both games nine times, and lost both games only four times in that span (Oilers in 2006, Penguins twice in 2009, Flyers in 2010).

But what's the cause of this all?? Many teams fight to get into the home-ice advantage, but it doesn't seem to be all too efficient with it's said and done. There has been 17 Game Sevens in the time span with the road team winning 10 times, with a perfect 4-for-4 in the 2010 Playoffs. There's not much to be said for getting that home ice for that crucial Game Seven, as it doesn't seem to do much for helping the home team winning it.

Plus, it's not like the Blackhawks were that far behind the Sharks in the standings (only one point), while winning three out of four in the season series. Even so, it's hard to win on the road despite the numbers showing somewhat to the contrary. It's quite the feat for the Hawks to go into the playoffs this deal and just outshining the Sharks in front of their fans.

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.