The Final Countdown

I've always tried to stay away from sports and keep this blog focused more on pop-culture and random things in life, so if you are not a sports fan and/or a New Englander, you may want to skip this one. There are few times in my life where I get to do this, so I'm going to do this blogpost on the Boston Bruins.

The Bruins are hands down my favorite sports team of all time. I've followed them as long as I can remember and have always been a diehard. I was there for the Bourque years, the Samsonov/Thornton years, the Adam Oates years, Jason Allison, Anson Carter, and the terrible Glenn Murray years. I've seen them have horrible seasons, and honestly it has been somewhat stressful cheering for them. Most seasons have ended in disappointment or plain heartbreak. There has never been an inbetween in all the years I've followed them. Now that Game 7 is tonight, it hit me that either it will be the greatest night of my life or the most depressing, devastating and horrific night of my life.

This is going to sound absurd, but of all the New England sports titles that have been won in my lifetime (2 world series, 1 NBA title, and 3 NFL titles), I would easily trade all but the 2004 World Series title for one Bruins Stanley Cup. Don't get me wrong, I am a big Sox fan, I like the Patriots too, Celtics I have no problem admitting I'm fairweather until the playoffs, but for me personally, nothing comes close to my B's. There is something about this current team that gives me hope. Having a guy like Brad Marchand make one of the Sedin Sisters look like a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robot in game 6 has been unheard of in my lifetime of following the Bruins. Our powerplay is God-awful, but we don't need no stinkin' powerplay. Everyone doubts us. For years we were always a good team, but never a great team. We tend to always make the playoffs but can't get past the second round, and it's been rough. Boston is a city who wants to be a hockey town but after years of disappointment, I can't blame people for losing track. I think it would be safe to say that most sports fans in Boston do know main role players each year for the B's, but this year it is different. Everyone is into it. People are into hockey. I've witnessed it at the three playoff games I've got to this season. Crowds unlike any other. Normally I go to a regular season game and there will be fans mispronouncing names and not having a clue who the hell is on the other team and what to do, but that has all changed in the past month or so. Tim Thomas will soon be being told that his jersey should be hanging from the rafters next season. These Bruins are now household names in Boston. My grandmother is telling me how the Bruins needed to forecheck and be more physical out of the gates after game 2 of the Stanley Cup final. My own mother is actually watching hockey. Hockey fever has struck Boston and if the Bruins can pull out this victory, it can certainly stay for a long time.

I love this team because they are a bunch of characters. I know it is stupid and I hate it myself, but in terms of teammates, they are like the 2004 Red Sox. They all seem to love playing with each other, and they sure as hell will stick up for one another. There have been tons of scuffles and such in this series with these Vancouver fairies, and we are pretty much kicking their asses. Guys like Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg are willing to tackle people who even look at Tim Thomas funny. Hell, even Tim Thomas is kicking the shit out of the Sedin twins. That leads me to another point, prior to this series I had a lot of respect for Luongo, Kesler and the Sedin twins, but all that has gone down the drain. I've never seen players flop as much as the Sedins, and they are CAPTAINS. Everytime they get touched they double over in pain, which is kind of funny since it hasn't gotten them one call all series. Alex Burrows has pretty much tainted his career for biting Patrice Bergeron's finger which isn't even mature enough for a playground fight. Seeing Lucic and even Old Man Recchi taunt Burrows by sticking their fingers in his face and begging him to bite it was hilarious. I realize that most of America was not rooting for the Bruins at the start of this series since it is Boston. Everyone hates us because we have great teams, but now that people are starting to realize what a group of pussies Vancouver has, it seems that more and more people are pulling for us to keep the Cup in America, where it belongs! Actually it probably does belong in Canada, but does anyone/anything actually want to be in Canada? The Green Men are just a couple of weirdos who are fond of spandex and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia who have nothing better to do in life than to taunt opposing players who are in the penalty box. Luongo opens his mouth about Tim Thomas' playing style and gives up 3 easy goals on 8 shots. It seems that karma is actually on our side for once. Now if only it can carry over to game 7.

Honestly, words cannot describe how badly I want the Bruins to win. Besides my family, the Bruins have been the most constant thing in my life. I only have a few friends left from early childhood, I've moved houses, grown up and all that fun stuff, but the Bruins have always been there for me. I was there for the dark ages and the terrible, boring years, but I have never lost faith in these guys. We have to bring the cup back to Beantown. This team is underrated, underappreciated, and is somewhat old school. I'm sure the Big Bad Bruins of the 70's are proud of this team and their lack of fear to drop the gloves, be pests and score goals in the dirty areas of the ice. I am nervous and excited for this game. I noticed when I attended game 4 at the Boston Garden that it was an atmosphere unlike any other. People are hoping for a cup. People will be ready to riot if we win. It's almost like a city bottled up just waiting to explode and celebrate. Win or lose, the Bruins have had a hell of a year that no one saw coming. We have a bright future, a city that is ready to embrace hockey again, and a chance to keep the cup away from these scumbags in Vancouver who look more like soccer players than hockey players at this point.