Now its honesty time. I don't mind this, the Hawks losing to the Canucks that is. This Hawks team wasn't going to make a Stanley Cup run, I accepted that a long time ago. I'm fine with it. I truly believe they are going to rebound next year and be right back in the mix. I think most Hawks fans feel the same way but its a tough pill to swallow losing to the Canucks.
The losing to the Canucks part is easy for me. Hawks fans, cover your ears. I like the Canucks, I have for a long time. The Canucks have been my number two team since the 90's. I loved Pavel Bure, Alexander Mogilny, Trevor Linden, Artrus Irbe, Markus Naslund and even Dan Cloutier. They were fun teams to watch especially when the Hawks were stuck in Hockey Hell. Even better they were a safe team in my eyes, not a natural rival of the Hawks and a Canadian team. They gave me a team to root for once the playoffs came around and the Hawks were out golfing. Don't get me wrong, if the Nucks were playing the Hawks I was always for the Hawks.
So now there is this rivalry between the teams and I'm supposed to hate the Nucks....but I don't. I'm happy they seem like they are going to make a run. I'd love to see the Hawks win one year and the Nucks win the next year. I'd also love the Hawks to kick their butts next year! But once the Canucks oust my Hawks from the playoffs this year, I'm pulling on my old school Pavel Bure jersey and rooting for the Nucks to win the Cup. They made my time in Hockey Hell with the Hawks a little better.
I know, I know I can hear Hawks fans now. "You're a bandwagon fan" or "You're not a true Hawks fan" To most of those people I can easily say this, Where were you when the Hawks sucked? I know where I was, at the UC. I was the idiot thinking that Zhamnov, Daze and Krivokrasov were gonna get it done. Hell yeah, Gilmour! So what if he's old. I'm the one who thought Thibault was our goalie of the future. I loved those teams as flawed as they were. I still watched as brutal as it was.
Why? Because I love hockey. That's why I had season tickets with the Chicago Wolves, minor league IHL then AHL team, for 12 years and now have Hawks tickets. That's why I've been to more games than I can count. That's why I have more than 25 jerseys hanging in my closet, some game worn even. That's why my wife doesn't know what a 1st down is but can tell you that Raffi Torres is a piece of shit and deserves to be suspended for that hit on Seabrook. And that's why I can enjoy watching a really good team make a run which I think the Nucks will do this year. Of course, this is all easier having watched the Hawks hoist the Cup last year. I'm not really sure how I'd feel if they hadn't done that.
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