Abel to Yzerman
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Whoa…This Can’t Be Good
by IwoCPO on 10/29/08 at 03:16 AM ET
Comments (26)
It’s been nearly three years since you and I began this juvenilicious journey. Since that dark afternoon in January 2006, we’ve established a few precious constants here. Bettman, the Dive, obscenely high expectations, the Stress Train, firetrucks and rainbows and puppies.
And the unifying awareness that there are pockets, huge pockets, of hockey fans across this nation (and a few others) who just don’t like it when you express your opinion that the Detroit Red Wings are very simply gifts to the world from sweet little adorable baby Jesus.
Oh, sometimes they drop in here. Many others keep to themselves, quietly seething until it just becomes too much and they go off the deep end like Andy Bernard when Jim put his cell phone in the ceiling tiles. (That’s an “Office” reference. New rule: it has to be mandatory viewing for the 19. If you don’t watch it, I can’t be your friend anymore. “The Office” mentions will equal those of Jack Black and Tenacious D this season.)
We thrive on the sputtering hatred from the inbred South and fluffy Denver. We laugh at the Bitter Bitch Blues fans. We’ve come to expect it from all corners, the “transplant” mentions, the hiking of ticket prices selectively designed to keep you out of opposing arenas, and the sobbing whines of fans who feel you don’t deserve the team you have.
So…you can understand that my world has been rocked a bit this morning. Two LA King bloggers have flown in the face of convention. Each of these guys attended Monday’s game at Staples, watched Wing fans with a critical eye, anticipated the worst…and came away with a disturbing common view: the geniuses in Raleigh, St. Louis, Denver just might be wrong.
If you wander over to The Royal Half, you’ll see that Chris Kontos has legitimate visual evidence and a few kind words. He has a collection of images of various Wing fans and some You Tube evidence of just how many of you joined me in LA for the game.
Kontos points us to the Kingsternet, where Dr. Naysay has posted a manifesto that will surely irritate some traditional Wing haters.
Apparently this fella is a hard core anti-Wing. So much so that he brought his tape recorder, ready to do some man on the street action to back up his claims that we all reside on a big, fat bandwagon. His intent? A podcast that would spotlight, once and for all, the shallowness of the average Wing fan.
I attended the Kings game last night with a list of questions about the Red Wings and Michigan. I figured I could do a little “Fan On The Street” segment for the podcast that would expose the ignorance of the average Wings fan. The results not only pissed me off but they have made me completely rethink my attitude towards Red Wings fans.
Uh oh. Thousands of men wearing pink Legace jerseys in St. Louis just threw up in their mouths a little bit.
Not only was my “bit” ruined for the podcast but I was completely stunned. I figured I’d get a lot of blank faces and maybe some hostility. I got nothing of the sort. Not only were the Wings fans knowlegable about the Wings AND Michigan… they were completely friendly. I had a couple of really pleasant conversations and a lot of support regarding my unfortunate love for the Kings. If I ever find myself living in a different city and rooting for the Kings on the road I hope I can be as gracious as these fans were. After the game I witnessed a drunken Kings fan running up to every guy dressed in a Wings jersey he could see and screaming obscenities at them. Not one of them took a swing at him tho they would have been well within their rights.
Good god…no. I knew I should have drank more. Dammit. That’s a long paragraph, so I don’t expect too many folk in Carolina to read the entire thing. But those who do? Irritation.
I’m honestly not too sure how I feel about this turn of events. Wing fans at Staples were in large numbers, but were…ahem, mature? Still coming to grips with emotions about that.
A few more notes from Staples that I left out of the brief after action report:
—My seat was directly behind the Kings net, so I got to see the Wings shoot twice, including the shootout. Great seat and relatively cheap. Fifteen rows off the ice for 75 bucks? Not bad.
—By the third period, the King fans sitting in front of me laughed every time William Tell touched the puck because they knew exactly what my reaction would be, “ahhhhhhh f**k”. They actually joined me a few times and we all laughed together like a big wholesome family. It takes a village to hate Samuelsson, you know.
—One of you asked about the video display on the ice during pre-game? Yep, they still do it. Couldn’t see it very well from my vantage point but it was cool. As cool as this? No, but still very well done.
—Yes, it would appear that I specifically request seating next to freak shows. I mean, Osrt sat next to me at Game 1 of the Final so that confirms it. Monday? I forgot to tell you about this. I didn’t anticipate going to the game in LA. For whatever reason, it was a last-minute thing. So I didn’t bring my jersey or anything else Wing-related. So I was there in “civilian” attire. The woman who wanted ice girls banned for all time? “Why don’t you have your jersey on?” Me: “I left it at home. My family uses it as a table cloth when I’m traveling to remind themselves of their love for me and the Red Wings.”
Her: “Really?”
Big night tonite bitches. Big night. Get your rest. I expect you all to be alert and on station at 2230 EST, because nothing’s better than some roasted poultry.
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Comments
It takes every bit of restraint in me to not snap at dopey girl at work that magically is a Poultry fan (yeah… it makes a lot of sense). It’s almost 8 am here and already had to be annoyed with, “So Detroit and Anaheim tonight….should be interesting.”
Shut up and go away - no one likes your team and no one respects you for your taste in teams.
Posted by HockeyJoe from Upstate New York on 10/29/08 at 06:47 AM ET
THIS is your season kick off Chief…awesomeness.
I mean, Osrt sat next to me at Game 1 of the Final so that confirms it.
I saw this coming as soon as I read OTC’s post and must remind you, sir, that the only freak there was the girl rubbing her ass in our face in front of her boyfriend. Tag team!
You should shoot those King bloggers an email inviting them over here, show them how true Wings fans roll. And if you bitches are reading this now, your left faceoff circle needs more collagen.
Posted by Osrt on 10/29/08 at 07:19 AM ET
It takes a village to hate Samuelsson, you know.
Well done.
Posted by Nathan on 10/29/08 at 07:59 AM ET
Seems as Dr. Naysay found out the same thing as the Pens fans tlast year.
We’re not as big of a bunch of dicks in person as they think, makes them hate us more. Mission accomplished.
Ahhhhh yesssssss the Poultry. Test #1 for this years team really. Every game to date hasn’t been fluff, but hasn’t had the hatred, no not even the Bitter Bitches make us feel the hatred we harbor for the Quacks.
Cheers to Hoss turning Sasquatch inside out.
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 10/29/08 at 08:22 AM ET
I think I must forward your piece to my friend Terry Frei Chief.
Posted by Jeff from Loveland, CO on 10/29/08 at 09:58 AM ET
thanks for the links to the blogs, Chief. It is always fun to be a loud supporter of the Wings on the road, but to do it respectully so you don’t get punched, beer dumped on, or pissed on during the game. Kudos to fans who realize we fans are not unstoppable two-headed monsters at road games, our team is.
Posted by VooX from Behind the Bar in the Hasek Club Car on 10/29/08 at 10:18 AM ET
beer dumped on
Oddly enough, wearing a winged wheel at a road game and dump some beer on a home town fan.. things get a little exciting! 
Dude, seriously, was an accident. Had I meant to spill my beer on you, you’d be wiping it from your face….. just sayin’.
Posted by MOWingfan19 on 10/29/08 at 10:28 AM ET
MO, don’t go to Philly with a jersey if you want to avoid various Golden Showers.
Posted by VooX from Behind the Bar in the Hasek Club Car on 10/29/08 at 10:30 AM ET
Chief, with the Sharks upcoming and the Poultry tonight, the lack of rivalry depth chart entries to ruffle feathers pre-game concerns me. Are we going to wait for their drooling posters to fire the first shots? I expect you and my fellow A2Y 19 to be the aggressors on the pipes and tubes.
Your “weekly” rivalry series appears to still be on Island Time. Shape up, sailor. We need all hands on deck for the West Coast War, bitches.
Posted by VooX from Behind the Bar in the Hasek Club Car on 10/29/08 at 10:35 AM ET
Voox, you are absolutely correct. The Rivalry Depth Chart fell by the wayside. I will take corrective action, as you suggest.
Posted by IwoCPO from Sunny San Diego, bitches on 10/29/08 at 10:40 AM ET
MO, don’t go to Philly with a jersey if you want to avoid various Golden Showers.
But that’s just true of life in Philly…doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing a jersey or not.
Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 10/29/08 at 11:06 AM ET
Yes, people are surprised when they actually take the time to talk to me in my full Wings gear. “You’re actually a nice Wings fan” or “You really know your hockey.” Hmmm.
I got a great compliment this past weekend at a party from a guy I haven’t seen in years, “You are without a doubt one of the most passionate hockey fans I have ever met.” I said, “Well, really there are a lot of others that pale in comparison to me, visit the blogging world sometime.”
Gearing up for tonight. Roast duck anyone? I have some going in a crockpot. Hmm, has a little 44 sweater on too.
Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 10/29/08 at 11:31 AM ET
O.k. I’m a totally idiot. I meant a 25 sweater. Really, I did. Coffee isn’t kicking in yet.
Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 10/29/08 at 11:32 AM ET
Great post, Duke.
I just can’t get excited about tonights game.
This year, it just seems like playing the Kings and the Ducks
is nothig more than the admission fee to get at the Sharks.
and
worth mentioning….
SJS held the Penguins to 11 SOG last night.
I think I will check out the pensblog today
Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 10/29/08 at 11:51 AM ET
But that’s just true of life in Philly…doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing a jersey or not.
Seriously. Been there a few times, and I don’t go back unless it’s kicking &screaming;. Absolutely the filthiest city, some of LA ranks a close second however.
Wearing the Winged Wheel with a 19 on the back goes over well in STL too. 
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 10/29/08 at 12:14 PM ET
SJS held the Penguins to 11 SOG last night.
Woof. Todd you bastard, no not you HTT. We’re leaking goals and pissing away leads…. maybe Mr McCrimmon is more on the hook than I’ve convinced myself of?
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 10/29/08 at 12:16 PM ET
If you don’t watch it, I can’t be your friend anymore.
That’s what she said!
Posted by lilja4ever on 10/29/08 at 12:21 PM ET
We’re leaking goals and pissing away leads….
How about the other league leaders?
Ave per game…scored ...(allowed)...Team sv %
NY Rangers…2.58…(1.92)....929
Buffalo…3.0…(2.0) ... .930
Pittsburgh…2.55…(2.11) ... .937
San Jose…3.33…(2.44) ... .900
Minnesota…3.14…(2.0) ... .932
Detroit…3.66…(3.11) ... .891Just for kicks, lets look at the bottom of the standings,
and throw Detroit in for comparison.
Tampa Bay…1.57…(2.42) ... .935
NY Islanders ...2.38…(3.63) ... .888
Phoenix…2.14…(2.42) ... .905
Columbus…2.67…(3.0) ... .875
Detroit…3.66…(3.11) ... .891
Posted by HockeyTownTodd on 10/29/08 at 12:55 PM ET
HTT, reaffirming what I don’t like to admit.
Flip side is a W is a W.
A night like tonight could be just what the Doc ordered to get us playing the way we’re accustomed to, then again maybe not. 
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 10/29/08 at 01:19 PM ET
I thought that was you back there, Chief! I spent time on the big screens in the casino scoping out the glass behind the benches and when FSN scanned over to Kings’ G Labarbera skating ‘round the goal line, I saw a familiar dude with a bigass smile and a white Wings sweater.
“Had to be you…”
Anyway, I get the same experience whenever I go to the local Wranglers game at the Orleans Arena. I get a lot of good-natured pokes and jests whenever I wear my Yzerman whites but in general, they’re mostly of the “damn good team y’all gots there” kind of respects. Last spring when the Pens won Game Five, some hot blonde (OMG unbelievable amount of hotness in a 5’5” frame) Pens fan kept rubbing up against me and when the Pens scored in OT to win it, she damn near wanted to make out with me. I was ready to buy the dame a beer before the over-officious jerk of a boyfriend she was with dragged her away. Shoots…
Right after that, a Flames sweater-wearing fan (since the Wranglers are the ECHL affiliate of the Flames) started giving me shit about the Pens victory till I put it before him, “Dude, the Wings are just one win away from the Cup and you’re giving me crap?” With that, he toned down his trash talking and started whining about his Flames. Whatever…
The Wings have a sizable contingency here in Las Vegas as well, Chief. After the Wranglers, you’d expect the Flames fans to be the next most numerously represented. NOPE! It’s the Wings fans and we cheer for the Wranglers just as hard as if we were at the Joe. Lots of fair weather fans have said, “Thanks for showing us the nuances of this game,” to me and my brother. It’s a good feeling and if it means bringing in more fans to see hockey, it’s worthwhile.
Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 10/29/08 at 01:30 PM ET
SYF -
When I was living in NC some years ago, my parents came down to visit and we went to check out a Charlotte Checkers game at the ancient Independence Arena. The Canes had only been in Carolina for maybe a couple years at that point.
We spent a lot of the game explaining things to people sitting around us (which was fine,. because the game itself was terrible… I haven’t been to an ECHL level game since). Some of them were families who’d brought kids, but none of them in the group really knew what to watch for or what was going on. I guess there is a certain responsibility as a hardcore hockey fan to help bring others along in markets like that. It’s very different than taking one of my friends from here in MI to see their first hockey game and explaining things, because there still is a working base of knowledge even amongst non-fans around here. Down south…. they had little to work off of and it was really starting from scratch.
Posted by Primis on 10/29/08 at 01:55 PM ET
Primis -
I getcha.
Minor league hockey isn’t exactly a new thing here in Las Vegas as we’ve had the now-defunct Las Vegas Thunder of the old incarnation of the IHL. Manny Legace, Petr Nedved, Radek Bonk, Tim Cheveldae, et. al have made Las Vegas a home for a little while. I don’t recall them ever being an affiliate of an NHL team. Even then, it was a bit annoying having to explain the game to the fans around us as the Thunder had been around for ten years prior to my moving to LV in 1996. Sadly, the Thunder went under in 1998 and the IHL shrunk. It was fun going to the Hard Rock Hotel after the game to either cheer with a beer or tears IN your beer.
It’s different with the Wranglers because the owners knew the economics of owning a hockey team - that successful tenureship is based on making the playoffs where fiscal losses could be recouped. We’ve done that with five straight years of making the playoffs. It’s a different kind of atmosphere that encourages grassroots growth however long it takes and I’m willing to do my part to help it grow. They just have to know I’m doing it with my Yzerman whites. That’s really important to me. LOL!
Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 10/29/08 at 02:21 PM ET
To HTT - I’m curious, have you watched any Sharks games?
I have, and I’m more in agreement with SharkBaiter here. Their schedule has been relatively light, some nights their D is good, some bad. They scored shorthanded goals, but also given up shorthanded goals (in back-to-back Flyers games no less). Sure, giving up only 11 SOG against Pittsburgh is impressive, but there were some posts and just-missed-the-net looks also, including one from Malkin off an awful turnover in his own zone by Douglas Murray.
Sharks aren’t going to be much trouble for the Wings if Thornton continues to not produce - no points in the last 6 match-ups, going back to the ‘07 playoffs, and in the 4 regular season games last year? 0-0-0, -5, his worst stats against any team.
Posted by yawt from norcal on 10/29/08 at 05:56 PM ET
We’d love to have you one the podcast to discuss the topic of Wings fans and how annoying you are… or you know… hockey stuff.
-Doc
to hear previous episodes of the podcast visit http://www.lifeinhockeywood.com
Posted by Dr. Naysay from Long Beach CA on 12/09/08 at 03:37 AM ET
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my run-ins with Red Wings fans have been similar. passionate and smart = a dangerous combo!
Posted by woodpeck from canada on 10/29/08 at 06:39 AM ET