je ne sais quoi

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Not About The Bike

This is the first blog in ages, and it isn't about the bike...it's about Hockey.

Let's preface this by stating what most already know about me:  I'm an Edmonton Oilers fan.  My earliest memory of Oiler fandom is 3rd grade.  I distinctly remember a classmate and I lying to one another about "being at Mark Messier's house last night" or that we "played video games with Jari Kurri and Bill Ranford."  Brutally dishonest and weird claims by a pair of 8 year olds in 1990 -the year the Oilers won their last cup.  Odd stuff.  Comparatively, my earliest memory as a Laker fan was in 6th grade, and Denver Broncos recollections are early (around the time of Tecmo Super Bowl, NES) but without as solid a foundation as my adoration for the Oil.  How'd I come to be a fan?  Not sure exactly, have some theories, but I will say it had nothing to do with being blasted by LA Kings marketing -which is very simple when geared towards impressionable kids.  I somehow missed that boat, and became an Oiler fan.  Odd/hazy origin story, but one i'm proud of, and part of why it's so fun for me to be a fan of the team.

I write this to take a break from the social media shit-storm that's made it difficult to accurately express how it feels to watch this inexplicably successful Kings playoff run.  I never hated the Kings.  Dustin Brown I hate.  He is a piece of filth, who I wish was an Oiler, but everyone else?  They're solid guys.  Jon Quick is having a post-season for the ages, and the Kings are riding him and their anemic offense (until today, I guess) to a Stanley.  The Oilers were also an 8 seed, 2006, also riding a super-hot Conn Smythe lock in Duane Roloson...then this happened:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTUyFgPr6P8 So yes, I am a bit envious of how fortunate the Kings have been.  That, and Dustin Brown is a classless goon who I predict will ruin the Kings after signing a massive extension next season -but who cares? A decade of mediocrity is worth a Stanley, easily.

I salute the die-hard Kings fans.  Those who cheered the team emphatically through the NUMEROUS thin years -which up until @#^$#%!ing May, included 2012!  Pancaeks Penner was a healthy scratch for a month straight almost!  What's cemented my unwillingness to cheer for the Kings is a very special type of bandwagoner, whom i'll label "poser die-hard".  This distinct group has come out of the woodwork and proclaimed to be a "Life Long Super Die Hard ULTRA fan" of the team.  No, you are not.  You couldn't be begged to go to a Kings game for $0 for the last decade, easily, and suddenly you're putting yourselves above the cute and fresh bandwagoners?  Silly.  I will not stand with these people.  May the Kings burn in hell in 2012-13.  When the teams battle in the fall, I vow to cheer the Oil louder than ever, which will probably warrant getting kicked out of Staples Center (or at least my section).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_Yakupov