Beantown… or Whinetown?
The Bruins were unable to put the biscuit in the basket last night against the Canadiens in Game 4 of their first round matchup in the Stanley Cup playoffs. As a result, they lost. See, I’m pretty sure that in the NHL, if your team cannot score *any* goals, then you automatically lose… it’s like their law.
Perhaps its the frustration of losing to the dreaded Habs for now the 236th time in the last 237 games (or something like that - actually I think its like 14 of the last 15, but it just seems like a lot more), but today I’ve heard folks in several different places whining about the number of Canadiens fans in the Fleet (nope - I refuse to call it “the new Gah-den” when the Bruins play in it, they haven’t earned that right).
Wow.
Is it unsettling to hear the Canadiens fans chanting and singing in the third period, anticipating yet another victory over the Bruins? Sure. But if its that bothersome, how come all these “Bruins fans” didn’t buy up playoff tickets when they had the chance? Could it be that they *expected* the Bruins to get swept by the Canadiens (a reasonable, albeit defeatist, approach to the Bruins playoff hopes)? If so, then why should Bruins fans be upset that Canadiens fans snapped them up. And given that the Canadiens fans are there, and (predictably) the Canadiens are beating the Bruins, why should they *not* celebrate?
Sucks to have the shoe on the other foot, eh? These same blowhards are the ones exulting when “Red Sox Nation” takes over Camden Yards or Skydome/Rogers Center/the place the Blue Jays call home or that abortion the Rays play in or Oakland Coliseum… well, you get the point. When I hear fans of those teams complain, I (and other Red Sox fans) retort, “Well, then buy up the tickets so we can’t!” Why don’t Orioles fans sell out Camden Yards anymore (for example)? Cuz Peter Angelos has run that proud franchise into the ground.
Sound familiar? On that note, has anyone ever seen Jeremy Jacobs and Peter Angelos in the same room… at the same time? I know I haven’t. Course, I don’t know of any Bruins fan that’s seen Jeremy Jacobs in the past twenty years… so perhaps that point is moot.
And if the Bruins players don’t like having their home ice inhabited by 1/3 (or more) of the opponent’s fans, I have a solution: Play better. If you get a chance to see the highlights (or is it lowlights?) of the Habs-Bruins Game 4, April 15, 2008, just count how many *open nets* the Bruins “sharpshooters” miss. Beyond frustrating. One time they had a 2-on-none with plenty of time to maneuver… couldn’t score: Nice pass at the last minute, and [random Bruin, as if it matters] misses the open net. Marco Sturm (who I do like) misses an open net on a shorthanded opportunity where the Habs goalie got way out of position. In the meantime, Phil Kessel (arguably their most skilled scorer right now) is a healthy scratch cuz he’s just not physical enough. Yeah, great. The Bruins will win the fights, and they’ll play a nice brand of physical hockey to keep the Canadiens to only one or two goals… which simply means they’ll lose by one or two goals, instead of five or six.
The Bruins go back to Montreal for Game Five tomorrow night, down 3-1 in the series. How many Bruins fans do you think scored [sic] tickets to the Bell Centre for a Habs playoff game? I’m guessing… not too many. See… their fans actually buy tickets to see their team play, which necessarily prevents the opponent’s fans from doing same. Course, the Canadiens fans have good reason to buy tickets: There’s a good chance the Habs will not only score goals, but they’ll score more than the opponent i.e. they’ll win… especially when they’re playing like the DKE Intramural Hockey “B” Team, headed by the vaunted Louis Line (for any of you that were there for the glory days of that storied trio).
If Bruins fans want to whine, then pick something other than “boo-hoo… there’s too many Canadiens fans at our home games”! Direct that emotion towards Jacobs, or Peter Chiarelli, or the players who can’t hit an open net.
Course, most Bruins fans didn’t even expect them to make the playoffs this year, so isn’t this actually a pleasant surprise? Just asking.
I now return to Boston franchises that are actually well-run and have a legitimate chance at championships: your Celtics (who do play in the New Gah-den), and your defending WS champion Red Sox. How many opponent’s fans will make it into home playoff games for *those* two teams, eh?
Just asking.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
That’s odd. The Garden is in Manhattan. The Rangers play there regularly, as does some CBA or other minor-league basketball squad if memory serves. What on Earth would the Celtics be doing there?
April 18th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Playing exhibition games on their barnstorming tour through the minor leagues of basketball playing the Knickerbockers (who are apparently finally ready to cut ties with Isiah Thomas, now that as GM and coach, his team has produced a franchise-record 59 losses this past season).
But the Celtics play in the New Gah-den… as the Original Gah-den has been torn down and replaced, and only recently have the Celtics begun to play like the past denizens of the Old Gah-den used to.
It’s all in the pronunciation: Your haughty ilk sound like British royalty, “Good man, it is pronounced Garden… indubitably.” The rest of us regular folk identify the actual shrine to sports stadia, the Gah-den.