So, you probably saw the message on the old link, http://foocow.blogspot.com/.
Here's the deal: I started the "foocow" thing years ago and my intentions for it were personal. Not like livejournal personal, but still relevant to just me and any one of my friends who wanted a little more. Well, the Thrashers/hockey thing took over quick (it was easy when they were winning!) and, in all honesty, I should've done this relocation when it caught fire. That would've provided me with a personal space with the old address. However, I was very involved and it grew and grew and grew and it would've been a pain to tell everyone that was following that I decided to change things up. Or maybe it wouldn't have. Whatever.
That's not the only reason this blog is ending. But it kinda sorta is. I mean, I've always wanted to write about more than just hockey, and I still sorta-maintained that with the old blog by occasionally writing about other stuff, mainly music. And I must say that my love for hockey and especially the Thrashers isn't dead. I feel that the whole blog thing with my much-loved team is expanding quick and I just don't have the momentum to keep up or step up. There are plenty of other sites that do amazing jobs blogging about the team and it's players. Unfortunately, I couldn't provide that as of late. I'm no fair-weather fan, either. Just because the Thrashers absolutely tanked this year doesn't mean that I'm any less excited about them. They had a nice second half and the season was certainly highlighted by the play of Zach Bogosian and Kovy.
Basically, I want do to more stuff that appeals to me and not to the community. Sorry that everyone has to, uh, suffer because of that. That's not to say that I won't blog about hockey ever again. But I want to post about MORE than just hockey and I feel I couldn't do that on a site that was primarily known as a hockey blog.
I'm very thankful for the experiences I had while maintaining it. I've known some amazing people through WWD and I am fortunate for having press credentials for a nite at a game in January of '07. It was hard to believe that my passionate writing could lead to that.
I figure with 15 visits per week, not too many people would wonder why the other site completely vanished. :) Then again, if I did more with it, that number would certainly be different. I have absolutely no regrets with it, however. So thanks for the fun and good times, readers! Let's go Thrashers!
Rob
2009/05/09
2009/01/08
LET'S GO... TRASHERS?
My first viewing of the Atlanta Thrashers this season featured a tough loss, but a good one (?) to swallow, against one of the league's top teams, the Boston Bruins. It was a 2-1 loss, but you figure if you keep the Bruins to two goals in a game, you did a good job. Unfortunately, the Thrashers couldn't get much going that evening and that resulted in the L. Not bad, but not exactly the preferred result.
And that was fine. I mean, kinda. You always want your team to make an appearance and do it to the fullest extent. That didn't quite happen on the 28th of December, but I was somewhat satisfied that we weren't blown off the rink against one of the league's elite. I think that I was more excited that it was my first game of the season and I couldn't have really cared about the end result - I was finally at a hockey game this season and that's all that mattered at that point. And it was free. And we had great seats. But that's beside the point!
My second appearance at the Bulb was this past Sunday, against the Lightning. We all know how that went. Needless to say, it was terrible. There was zero effort in the game from the Thrashers and even my parents noted Kovalchuk's absence.
Keep in mind that Kovy logged almost 24 minutes in the game.
Defensemen just stood there with cinder blocks attached to their skates. Scoring chances were blown constantly because no one could touch the puck when it came to them in the slot. And Kari was just a goalie. Also, several players not named Jim Slater fell during critical plays. Usually that is Slater's specialty (or speed), but that behavior was constant that evening.
For the first time in five years of truly supporting the team, my family and I were able to sit in a suite. It was completely overshadowed by the Thrashers life-sucking performance... and the lack of a lock on the restroom door in said suite. That's neither here nor there though.
After watching last nite's game against the Pens, this team couldn't get more lifeless. I mean, I guess that they could if only John Anderson was behind the bench... AND THAT'S IT. It sure seemed like that for the past two games, only with pylons on the ice providing obstacles for the opposition. And the question everyone's asking is WHY IS THIS TEAM SO LIFELESS?
It was games like Sunday's affair versus the Lightning that seriously made me question the future of the franchise. It's deteriorating rapidly. With casual fans (such as my parents) wondering where Kovalchuk was on Sunday, that said it all. The face of the franchise logged the most ice time, yet remained unnoticed. Fans come to the game to see the wonder that is Kovy and he has been a non-factor this season. Don Waddell (originally typed as DOWN Waddell, but whatevs) brings in non-factor players year in and year out and none of them do anything memorable. The team was a non-factor last year and is even worse this season and it's not getting noticed... or it is, but for the wrong reasons.
In terms of hockey, the people of Atlanta have nothing to cheer for, nothing to support. This organization is running itself into the ground and it appears that no one wants to save it. Yet, simultaneously, no one has any other ideas. People blame the ownership debacle that is the Atlanta Spirit, but who else would provide better ownership? Everyone that's an Atlanta Thrashers fan wants FIRE WADDELL tattooed on their forehead for recognition, but no one has any other ideas. Sure, it's so much fun to toss around names like Mark Cuban and Pat Quinn for replacements, but who's to say that they'd have more of an effect than the current squad of higher-ups? Maybe the naysayers are right and any other figurehead would be better than what's currently in place. But who's to say?
There's just too much disarray going around for my liking and I absolutely hate the current state of things. It's leading to nowhere positive. Ok, if we tank enough, we can luck out and draft phenom Tavares in June. Personally, I don't care. I want the team to win. I want the team to have energy and radiate it to the masses that also want it. I don't want Tavares because then he, too, will be poisoned by the hockey product in Atlanta. I don't want anyone. I just want a team that competes night in and night out. We can lose the same amount of games that we've lost all season - but if we actually gave a damn in each and every one of them and they were ALL competitive ALL THE TIME, I'd be ok with that and that would provide plenty room for promise. I see zero evidence of that and I haven't seen much effort all season. It's just dying and I'm becoming more and more crushed as the season progresses.
I apologize for the lack of blogging throughout the season. I'm not big on writing about negativity and I am rather silent about the Thrashers because it's too hard to justify or rationalize it to other fans or especially to outsiders. With that said, it's even harder to focus on the positivity or the light at the end of the tunnel. Normally, I'd be eager to write about my experiences at the games I attended. That is one of my favorite parts about blogging about the team. But when it's overshadowed by a franchise that just doesn't give a damn, why bother nitpicking about Mathieu Schneider's costly penalties or Bryan Little's skate blade breaking or another one of John Anderson's listless post-game press conferences when it's for naught? Everyone shares the same opinion at this point. It doesn't seem beneficial, to me, at this juncture to type about my unique and interesting experiences with the team. It used to give me a rush to run to a computer and type all things Thrashers and see how my sentiment compared with those in the internets and blogosphere. I loved the similarities, but I soaked up the differences and things that went unnoticed by my eyes. I learned new things that led to appreciating other elements of the team or the game that I was passionate about.
This isn't a letter of resignation or me disowning the Thrashers. After Sunday's (lack of) effort and the game last nite, I only posted what was right. If Don Waddell somehow finds his way back with the organization after this season (in ANY capacity), I seriously think about how this team affects me. If the big shots in the front office are apathetic towards his management of THEIR franchise, it makes me wonder how much they care about the fans and the city of Atlanta.
Eh, that's all I got for now.
And that was fine. I mean, kinda. You always want your team to make an appearance and do it to the fullest extent. That didn't quite happen on the 28th of December, but I was somewhat satisfied that we weren't blown off the rink against one of the league's elite. I think that I was more excited that it was my first game of the season and I couldn't have really cared about the end result - I was finally at a hockey game this season and that's all that mattered at that point. And it was free. And we had great seats. But that's beside the point!
My second appearance at the Bulb was this past Sunday, against the Lightning. We all know how that went. Needless to say, it was terrible. There was zero effort in the game from the Thrashers and even my parents noted Kovalchuk's absence.
Keep in mind that Kovy logged almost 24 minutes in the game.
Defensemen just stood there with cinder blocks attached to their skates. Scoring chances were blown constantly because no one could touch the puck when it came to them in the slot. And Kari was just a goalie. Also, several players not named Jim Slater fell during critical plays. Usually that is Slater's specialty (or speed), but that behavior was constant that evening.
For the first time in five years of truly supporting the team, my family and I were able to sit in a suite. It was completely overshadowed by the Thrashers life-sucking performance... and the lack of a lock on the restroom door in said suite. That's neither here nor there though.
After watching last nite's game against the Pens, this team couldn't get more lifeless. I mean, I guess that they could if only John Anderson was behind the bench... AND THAT'S IT. It sure seemed like that for the past two games, only with pylons on the ice providing obstacles for the opposition. And the question everyone's asking is WHY IS THIS TEAM SO LIFELESS?
It was games like Sunday's affair versus the Lightning that seriously made me question the future of the franchise. It's deteriorating rapidly. With casual fans (such as my parents) wondering where Kovalchuk was on Sunday, that said it all. The face of the franchise logged the most ice time, yet remained unnoticed. Fans come to the game to see the wonder that is Kovy and he has been a non-factor this season. Don Waddell (originally typed as DOWN Waddell, but whatevs) brings in non-factor players year in and year out and none of them do anything memorable. The team was a non-factor last year and is even worse this season and it's not getting noticed... or it is, but for the wrong reasons.
In terms of hockey, the people of Atlanta have nothing to cheer for, nothing to support. This organization is running itself into the ground and it appears that no one wants to save it. Yet, simultaneously, no one has any other ideas. People blame the ownership debacle that is the Atlanta Spirit, but who else would provide better ownership? Everyone that's an Atlanta Thrashers fan wants FIRE WADDELL tattooed on their forehead for recognition, but no one has any other ideas. Sure, it's so much fun to toss around names like Mark Cuban and Pat Quinn for replacements, but who's to say that they'd have more of an effect than the current squad of higher-ups? Maybe the naysayers are right and any other figurehead would be better than what's currently in place. But who's to say?
There's just too much disarray going around for my liking and I absolutely hate the current state of things. It's leading to nowhere positive. Ok, if we tank enough, we can luck out and draft phenom Tavares in June. Personally, I don't care. I want the team to win. I want the team to have energy and radiate it to the masses that also want it. I don't want Tavares because then he, too, will be poisoned by the hockey product in Atlanta. I don't want anyone. I just want a team that competes night in and night out. We can lose the same amount of games that we've lost all season - but if we actually gave a damn in each and every one of them and they were ALL competitive ALL THE TIME, I'd be ok with that and that would provide plenty room for promise. I see zero evidence of that and I haven't seen much effort all season. It's just dying and I'm becoming more and more crushed as the season progresses.
I apologize for the lack of blogging throughout the season. I'm not big on writing about negativity and I am rather silent about the Thrashers because it's too hard to justify or rationalize it to other fans or especially to outsiders. With that said, it's even harder to focus on the positivity or the light at the end of the tunnel. Normally, I'd be eager to write about my experiences at the games I attended. That is one of my favorite parts about blogging about the team. But when it's overshadowed by a franchise that just doesn't give a damn, why bother nitpicking about Mathieu Schneider's costly penalties or Bryan Little's skate blade breaking or another one of John Anderson's listless post-game press conferences when it's for naught? Everyone shares the same opinion at this point. It doesn't seem beneficial, to me, at this juncture to type about my unique and interesting experiences with the team. It used to give me a rush to run to a computer and type all things Thrashers and see how my sentiment compared with those in the internets and blogosphere. I loved the similarities, but I soaked up the differences and things that went unnoticed by my eyes. I learned new things that led to appreciating other elements of the team or the game that I was passionate about.
This isn't a letter of resignation or me disowning the Thrashers. After Sunday's (lack of) effort and the game last nite, I only posted what was right. If Don Waddell somehow finds his way back with the organization after this season (in ANY capacity), I seriously think about how this team affects me. If the big shots in the front office are apathetic towards his management of THEIR franchise, it makes me wonder how much they care about the fans and the city of Atlanta.
Eh, that's all I got for now.
2009/01/06
Citizens of Blueland...
I present to you, your Atlanta Thrashers:
I also present to you, head coach John Anderson:
Lastly, I proudly bring to you Kari Lehtonen:
I seriously contemplate quitting on the team if Don Waddell returns next season.
I also present to you, head coach John Anderson:
Lastly, I proudly bring to you Kari Lehtonen:
I seriously contemplate quitting on the team if Don Waddell returns next season.
2008/12/05
Waxing Thrash
Right now, the Atlanta Thrashers sit with a league-worst 19 points. That's what a record of 8-14-3 gets you. Really, is there anything promising about this team at this point in time? I'd love to provide the light at the end of the tunnel, but this is the worst I have felt about this team since I started my fandom of the Atlanta Thrashers. The apathy is at an all-time high point and that realization is quite unsettling. You know it's bad when one of my cats starts heaving during a Thrashers game on TV.
Well, that hasn't happened... yet.
You won't find anything here that provides insight into the matter. I won't break down the logistics of a Kovalchuk trade or why our power play is great on the road (I think I heard that somewhere). I also won't whine about goaltending "issues" or defensive lapses or how the team only shows up to play competitive hockey for one minute of a 60-minute game. I've never claimed to be a hockey statistician and I've never stated that I have complete understanding of the game of hockey. I'm just one passionate fan of hockey and an undying supporter of the Atlanta Thrashers. And that's what makes the present so hard to swallow.
It seems like when the Thrashers win, they are put on a pedastal; everyone suddenly believes that Marty Reasoner is an offensive force to be reckoned with and that Erik Christensen finally tapped his potential and this game will be his start to a 25+ goal tear for the season. When they lose, however, it's worse than receiving news that the world is about to implode. TRADE KOVALCHUK FOR, UH, SOMEONE tirades run rampant and everyone seems to wonder why players like Eric Boulton or Eric Perrin have zero effect on the team what-so-ever.
The reality of the situation is that, UNFORTUNATELY, if you thought this current roster that makes up the Atlanta Thrashers is worthy of competing every night for something substantial (i.e. the playoffs AND BEYOND), you were dead wrong. The off-season leads to this kind of behavior because everyone thinks that their team is golden and ridiculously over-hypes players who are probably not worthy of that kind of talk. What the worst part about this is that a bunch of this unwarranted hype comes from the highest levels of the team - the owners and general managers. It's these people's job to sell the team and provide the absolute best product on ice. Judging from the reactions from fans, the Atlanta Spirit and Don Waddell did an AMAZING job of shining the spotlights on players like Erik Christensen and Brett Sterling.
While the Sterling thing is an attempt at me kinda-sorta reaching out there a bit, a majority of fans right now are up in arms about Christensen and how he's a non-factor in anything. This guy had tons of pressure on him early on, with talk about becoming the next great center that would finally click with Ilya Kovalchuk and provide a bunch of scoring that was lost in the Marian Hossa departure. This same player has also been a healthy scratch for several games in an effort to "try to get some competitiveness in him" perhaps. When an overhyped player like EC receives that kind of treatment in the first quarter of the season, it's drastic.
Basically, the point of my rambling here is that while I have a lot of displeasure with the team, I really cannot blame the players (that is if they actually show up to play a competitive game for 60 minutes). At least 10 to 15 games into the season, the team appeared and flashed moments that made you consider that this team was a little more than what was predetermined prior to the season. But the fact of the matter is that outside of Ilya Kovalchuk, serious secondary scoring candidates drop off quick. Bryan Little is having a fantastic season and so is, uh, Todd White? After that, who picks up the slack for a missing 90-point scorer like Marian Hossa?
With that, you also have to add in a new coach into the mix and the Thrashers are, well, really not that good on paper. Chemistry and some lucky breaks could come into play and have a nice effect for a while, but a NHL team cannot carry that for 82 games. Sad to say, but the Thrashers simply do not have the skill to compete with the rest of the league and, as fans, we've been had. Upper management made moves that hoped to plug holes in the ever-leaking dam and those moves have proved to be like a band-aid for problems that were apparent years ago after Marc Savard departed for greener pastures.
It absolutely sucks to write something so passionate and, ugh, bitter about your favorite team, but you cannot deny the glaring holes of this team and make ridiculous claims about who's going to play a certain role and who's going to produce, etc. Blueland deserves better than what is on display.
Here's a scenario for you to enjoy. Friday is my last day working retail. I spot a customer I've seen before because whenever he comes into the store, he wears an old Thrashers home jersey (the one that was replaced by the old "third jersey"). I've always wanted to strike up a conversation with him or just mention something Thrashers-related, but I never could because of something else going on at the time. But I finally had my chance now and I wasn't going to blow it, seeing how it was my last day. What do I say to the guy, hoping for a reaction?
"That's a sorry team right there."
He hesitantly agreed and asked who I pull for and I pointed right back to his jersey. That was met with a smile, but I guess I had to kill the moment and remark about how "I'm a glutton for punishment." He didn't like that too much, murmured something like, "Oh, c'mon now", and the conversation was over.
This conversation either mirrors other Thrashers fans' thoughts or means I'm a terrible conversationalist. Definitely a combination of both, I'd say!
2008/11/10
Goodbye, October... Hello, November!
Let's face it - the month of October was really getting on my nerves. The Thrashers only picked up two wins out of 10 games and performed well in most other games that month. However, I wasn't buying into the, "ooh, the effort looks soooo good, but they can't get those two points... THAT'S OK!" stance. I get the rationale behind it, but I couldn't subscribe to it. I wanted either wins or losses, it was that simple. I hated trying to have a closely contested match (like the Boston road loss, for example) and wondering why we couldn't just win the game. Good efforts got on my nerves and I couldn't bear to watch another "good effort" go by the wayside.
I'm guessing that it's a good idea that I'm not an NHL coach then. I say that because maybe Coach Anderson's methods and feel are having an effect on the players and they are responding. Currently riding a FOUR GAME WINNING STREAK (i know, right?!), this is what I was looking for. Or those blowouts that worked out so well for us against Philly and New Jersey (the second time around).
Basically, I'm just like anyone else - I want the team to win, dammit. And I want them to win now. Going into the season, though, I knew better. But you get one taste of winning ways (IN A CAN?) and you want more. After the unexpected season opening win against Washington, all of a sudden all of the critics were wrong in their line of thinking about the team. Then everything else kinda came to fruition, not that there was a plan for failure and self-destruction. But things were playing themselves out the way it was foreseen to be.
But now that the Thrashers have gotten their losing ways out of their system (for the present), who's to say that the ship has been, uh, "righted"? With this four game winning streak, the Thrashers beat the Islanders and Panthers, two teams that are similarly ranked in the NHL - bottom-feeders. To lose against either one of those teams (or both) would've set the tone for the rest of the month, possibly season. I mean, if you seriously cannot compete against some of the league's worst teams (when the Thrash could be considered as one of those teams, too), your future doesn't look very bright. So for the Thrashers to collect some wins against these two teams, that was to be expected, no? To win in an entertaining game against Buffalo, IN Buffalo, was a treat... and to pick up a couple of points yesterday against Carolina was fantastic. Maybe this team is starting to turn around and make themselves look good.
The next couple of games look a little... ugh. Friday marks the debut of the new third jersey and we meet up with the Hurricanes all over again. Then we venture to Philly to hopefully not get pwned by the Flyers, and then there are tilts against the Penguins, Caps, and Predators before December comes roaring in. It's a good thing that most of these games are in Philips Arena because the Thrash aren't looking so good on the road (prior to the last two road games). We shall see what happens.
In the meantime, is it really near the middle of November?!
I'm guessing that it's a good idea that I'm not an NHL coach then. I say that because maybe Coach Anderson's methods and feel are having an effect on the players and they are responding. Currently riding a FOUR GAME WINNING STREAK (i know, right?!), this is what I was looking for. Or those blowouts that worked out so well for us against Philly and New Jersey (the second time around).
Basically, I'm just like anyone else - I want the team to win, dammit. And I want them to win now. Going into the season, though, I knew better. But you get one taste of winning ways (IN A CAN?) and you want more. After the unexpected season opening win against Washington, all of a sudden all of the critics were wrong in their line of thinking about the team. Then everything else kinda came to fruition, not that there was a plan for failure and self-destruction. But things were playing themselves out the way it was foreseen to be.
But now that the Thrashers have gotten their losing ways out of their system (for the present), who's to say that the ship has been, uh, "righted"? With this four game winning streak, the Thrashers beat the Islanders and Panthers, two teams that are similarly ranked in the NHL - bottom-feeders. To lose against either one of those teams (or both) would've set the tone for the rest of the month, possibly season. I mean, if you seriously cannot compete against some of the league's worst teams (when the Thrash could be considered as one of those teams, too), your future doesn't look very bright. So for the Thrashers to collect some wins against these two teams, that was to be expected, no? To win in an entertaining game against Buffalo, IN Buffalo, was a treat... and to pick up a couple of points yesterday against Carolina was fantastic. Maybe this team is starting to turn around and make themselves look good.
The next couple of games look a little... ugh. Friday marks the debut of the new third jersey and we meet up with the Hurricanes all over again. Then we venture to Philly to hopefully not get pwned by the Flyers, and then there are tilts against the Penguins, Caps, and Predators before December comes roaring in. It's a good thing that most of these games are in Philips Arena because the Thrash aren't looking so good on the road (prior to the last two road games). We shall see what happens.
In the meantime, is it really near the middle of November?!
2008/10/19
How This Blog Could Become More Like LiveJournal
It's been an odd season so far. Well, maybe not for the Thrashers, but for me. I've yet to attend a game and I've yet to watch a game in its entirety. I saw most of the season-opener against Washington (great win, BTW!), watched the last half of the OT loss against the Panthers, and saw most of the game versus New Jersey. It feels rather weird to have not witnessed a full Thrashers game, especially in person.
So please excuse the lack of posts as there has been minimal time to post anything substantial lately and especially no time to watch a full Thrashers game, apparently.
However, noting what's on "paper" right now, it's good to see the Thrashers are 2-2-1. I mean, that's still three losses, but that's OK. We picked up a point against another team within the division (Florida) and we lost to two overly defensively-minded teams in Minnesota and New Jersey. Our other victory (the most recent one) was against Buffalo last nite and, of course, I had zero contact with any of it until it was all said and done and my wife received a text on her phone with the final score. I wish I could spend more time with my favorite team of teams and I wish there was more recognition for what they do as a whole.
I mean, yesterday I attended a birthday function and ended up watching college football all day long and endured conversation after conversation about how UGA's schedule in the coming weeks looks rough and the who's the weakest team in the SEC. The entire time I took this information in, I deeply longed to have this kind of conversation... only about the Thrashers, and the Southeast Division, and HOCKEY. It's this kind of love that is noticeably absent in the South and it will remain that way until the Thrashers win, and win lots. In the region where college football is KING (yes, all caps, because it really is THAT BIG), all other sports and teams are overshadowed. Hell, for the birthday function, my wife and I attempted to go around to local retailers and pick up some random Falcons memorabilia for the birthday boy and we noticed that even the Atlanta Falcons are second best, below the almighty GEORGIA BULLDOGS.
So what started out as a blog about the lack of posts due to the lack of attention I'm paying to the Atlanta Thrashers has morphed into a post about how college football owns all and that there is no hope for anything more for any other sports in this region of the country, at least in Georgia. But is that really true?
As I said, what the Thrashers need to do to in order to gain any kind of attention here is win and win lots. We all know what one semi-successful season can do and it was noticed in '06-'07. This isn't enough, obviously, as the Thrashers went four-and-out in their only playoff appearance in franchise history. If the Thrashers can have regular season success consistently, this will get recognized until the purists shoot down their winning ways because they compete in the "weak" Southeast Division. If they do this AND win the Cup just ONCE, I think that this could be enough to give credibility to the Atlanta Thrashers and to hockey in Georgia, which would result in recognition and possibly fodder for conversation at birthday functions that I could involve myself in (for once).
Really, this is a self-serving post that (ideally) would satisfy my conversational needs at awkward social gatherings. (Fortunately, here's the universal tie-in, people.) But wouldn't it be nice to have this kind of appreciation for such an amazing sport in an atypical environment like Georgia? I long for the day when hockey can actually be understood and appreciated to its fullest in the South. I will never give up hope for hockey in this part of the country. It's a fight that will take a lot of work, from both fans and the team.
I mean, do you really have any idea how frustrating it is when people are asking you what your favorite football team is and you respond with, "Well, I really don't care that much about football... my favorite sport is hockey and I'm head-over-heels in love with the Atlanta Thrashers." The common response to that (IMO) is, "Oh, that's cool, hockey looks awesome with the fighting and all, but it's not football."
Uh, no shit it's not football, but take a second to get your head out of your ass and get a deeper look at the fastest sport in the world! I always try to talk new people into hockey usually I end up right about it after they watch a game (usually on TV, and that doesn't do the sport justice either). Some people need to get over themselves and take in something new that has the potential to really blow your mind.
I love it when posts on my blog turn into LiveJournal entries! Huzzah!
I really need to watch some hockey, for content purposes alone really.
So please excuse the lack of posts as there has been minimal time to post anything substantial lately and especially no time to watch a full Thrashers game, apparently.
However, noting what's on "paper" right now, it's good to see the Thrashers are 2-2-1. I mean, that's still three losses, but that's OK. We picked up a point against another team within the division (Florida) and we lost to two overly defensively-minded teams in Minnesota and New Jersey. Our other victory (the most recent one) was against Buffalo last nite and, of course, I had zero contact with any of it until it was all said and done and my wife received a text on her phone with the final score. I wish I could spend more time with my favorite team of teams and I wish there was more recognition for what they do as a whole.
I mean, yesterday I attended a birthday function and ended up watching college football all day long and endured conversation after conversation about how UGA's schedule in the coming weeks looks rough and the who's the weakest team in the SEC. The entire time I took this information in, I deeply longed to have this kind of conversation... only about the Thrashers, and the Southeast Division, and HOCKEY. It's this kind of love that is noticeably absent in the South and it will remain that way until the Thrashers win, and win lots. In the region where college football is KING (yes, all caps, because it really is THAT BIG), all other sports and teams are overshadowed. Hell, for the birthday function, my wife and I attempted to go around to local retailers and pick up some random Falcons memorabilia for the birthday boy and we noticed that even the Atlanta Falcons are second best, below the almighty GEORGIA BULLDOGS.
So what started out as a blog about the lack of posts due to the lack of attention I'm paying to the Atlanta Thrashers has morphed into a post about how college football owns all and that there is no hope for anything more for any other sports in this region of the country, at least in Georgia. But is that really true?
As I said, what the Thrashers need to do to in order to gain any kind of attention here is win and win lots. We all know what one semi-successful season can do and it was noticed in '06-'07. This isn't enough, obviously, as the Thrashers went four-and-out in their only playoff appearance in franchise history. If the Thrashers can have regular season success consistently, this will get recognized until the purists shoot down their winning ways because they compete in the "weak" Southeast Division. If they do this AND win the Cup just ONCE, I think that this could be enough to give credibility to the Atlanta Thrashers and to hockey in Georgia, which would result in recognition and possibly fodder for conversation at birthday functions that I could involve myself in (for once).
Really, this is a self-serving post that (ideally) would satisfy my conversational needs at awkward social gatherings. (Fortunately, here's the universal tie-in, people.) But wouldn't it be nice to have this kind of appreciation for such an amazing sport in an atypical environment like Georgia? I long for the day when hockey can actually be understood and appreciated to its fullest in the South. I will never give up hope for hockey in this part of the country. It's a fight that will take a lot of work, from both fans and the team.
I mean, do you really have any idea how frustrating it is when people are asking you what your favorite football team is and you respond with, "Well, I really don't care that much about football... my favorite sport is hockey and I'm head-over-heels in love with the Atlanta Thrashers." The common response to that (IMO) is, "Oh, that's cool, hockey looks awesome with the fighting and all, but it's not football."
Uh, no shit it's not football, but take a second to get your head out of your ass and get a deeper look at the fastest sport in the world! I always try to talk new people into hockey usually I end up right about it after they watch a game (usually on TV, and that doesn't do the sport justice either). Some people need to get over themselves and take in something new that has the potential to really blow your mind.
I love it when posts on my blog turn into LiveJournal entries! Huzzah!
I really need to watch some hockey, for content purposes alone really.
2008/10/07
Get to Know: Mike Hoffman
The Thrashers announced yesterday that after three cuts to the roster, everything appears to be set for opening nite in terms of the lineup. Gone are two notables - Colin Stewart and Boris Valabik. These players were definitely in the plans for opening nite when last season ended due to their strong play last season. Apparently their play during camp didn't win anyone over, which is unfortunate. However, do not count these guys out as they are strong contenders for roster spots later on in the season.Of the three guys who appeared safe, the one who has most people scratching their heads is Mike Hoffman. He was signed this past summer by the team after spending an eternity in the AHL, bouncing around the farm teams of St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Anaheim (to name a few). Now he's finally getting his shot at some primetime NHL action. I only found two useful links for people to peruse, so that people can familiarize themselves with Hoff prior to opening nite... and that you can actually have an answer when the casual fan asks, "So, who's this HOFF guy?" If you have any other information on him, let us know!
Also, here's something interesting that actually gives the guy personality. During the Portland Pirates' playoff run last season, he made an appearance with the local radio station there, trying to get fans to the arena for the games. While I'm not sure that he accomplished that goal, he sure is a goofball (and I appreciate that).
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