OT: Guys I'm done.... not being dramatic.

[Peptic Balcers]

I actually laid awake at night trying to figure out what hockey I'll watch to get me thru the long Ottawa winter.

I will watch some Sens games, but suspect that they will be so painful that I'll be shutting almost every game off early in the 2nd period.

And to really enjoy hockey I need some emotional attachment to one of the teams involved. So I really need to pick an "alternate favorite team" and watch / cheer for them for a few years.

I am NOT a night owl, so I have to go with someone in the east or midwest.

Some teams were easy to eliminate -- Toronto, Montreal, Pittsburgh, TB ... hopefully for obvious reasons.

I wound up narrowing it down to three :

Columbus (I have family in Ohio, and still remember Nick Foligno fondly)
Carolina (my brother lives in Raleigh and I've been there several times)
Florida (I like the Hoff)

Any suggestions? Which of the three should I latch on to?

I'll likely watch a lot of vegas/nash/jets. Not so much to pick a new favourite team, but I enjoy watching fast and fun hockey.

Also living in Ottawa, we are treated by living so close to 2 junior teams in 2 different leagues. Ill keeps tabs on the Olympiques and 67s.

Marco Rossi on the 67s (2020 eligible) looks like he's gonna be a stud. Just something to keep an eye on!

And when Rimouski comes to town, I'll keep tabs on Lafrenier too. Both guys sens can target in the 2020 draft.

 

[DueDiligence]

I’m not jumping ship but I don’t hold any animosity for people who do.

Life is short.

Do what makes you happy.

One can take a break from the team and still be a fan. After all there are way more important things that you can focus on.

 

[Sensung]

But it also doesn't mean reacting like the world is going to end and hoping for either death or financial ruin for the owner of the franchise. Every team has its ups and downs and long time fans realize this. This is a bad time in the Sens history but they will be back. Heck Chicago Cubs fans waited over 100 years between championships!.

Eugene Melnyk is NOT the Sens. He just owns them for now. He, not the fans, is the one doing damage to this franchise.

True fans, who care about the team, will work towards getting the team out of his hands.

 

[Back in Black]

Your not the only one. Packing up my sens merch at this time and will probably donate to value village or something.

Drop it off at my house, I'll make you a Coffee and give you free therapy.....

 

[darnok]

Lots of fair weather fans in Ottawa, I guess.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Lots of fair weather fans in Ottawa, I guess.

Fan since 93. You?

 

[topshelf15]

Lots of fair weather fans in Ottawa, I guess.

Yeah thats it ......

 

[thinkwild]

That fair-weather fan label doesnt really seem fair to me. Coming to a message board and declaring how hurt you are by the team, so much that you are leaving, sounds more like passion. Love hurts.

One day, the Sens will have a new young team, that is suddenly exciting and succeeding and recapturing the imagination, and there will be a large base of disenchanted and disenfranchised fans to draw sell-outs from again. But it looks like it will be a long, wandering journey through the desert to get there.

I wonder if Melnyk will ever announce that he will be at a game. Could be worth going to that one, selling eggs in the parking lot and a map to the owners box.

 

[SensFactor]

That is an idiotic take.

Being a fan doesn't mean shutting your brain off and accepting everything the team does without question.

You want some cheese with that wine? Make sure you worship your Karlsson poster nightly and hug that jersey real tight. Don't you dare watch the Sens

 

[NyQuil]

Let's be realistic here.

A lot of the people who say they are quitting hockey for good aren't actually going to be quitting it for good.

People are rightfully mad and need to vent.

I don't get why we have to start categorizing people as "good fans" or "bad fans" because of how they deal with this massive development.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Melnyk should not have spent all of that money for his CSI team...

 

[Ray Kinsella]

But it also doesn't mean reacting like the world is going to end and hoping for either death or financial ruin for the owner of the franchise. Every team has its ups and downs and long time fans realize this. This is a bad time in the Sens history but they will be back. Heck Chicago Cubs fans waited over 100 years between championships!.

"...and long time fans realize this..."

 

[Ray Kinsella]

Lots of fair weather fans in Ottawa, I guess.

Yeah... we all suck. But the owner is amazing at what he does.

 

[maclean]

This season I will be focusing most of my psychic energy on the Leafs choking hard

 

[Rob]

Support local Ottawa hockey. While the 67’s are the obvious choice I highly recommend university hockey. Next time Carleton plays Ottawa try and make an effort to go see the game. Exciting and affordable.

 

[dumbdick]

One day, the Sens will have a new young team, that is suddenly exciting and succeeding and recapturing the imagination, and there will be a large base of disenchanted and disenfranchised fans to draw sell-outs from again. But it looks like it will be a long, wandering journey through the desert to get there.

I don't know about this last part. Sens have a decent stockpile of prospects right now. If Gus pans out and we hit on a few of these guys I could see us being very respectable within about 2-3 seasons. Young players taken in the first two rounds come up fast these days and we'll have some bad money coming off the books soon.

There's no replacing Karl, but our longer-term outlook isn't as bleak as most seem to think.

 

[dumbdick]

That fair-weather fan label doesnt really seem fair to me.

...

One day, the Sens will have a new young team, that is suddenly exciting and succeeding and recapturing the imagination, and there will be a large base of disenchanted and disenfranchised fans to draw sell-outs from again.

This last part is basically the definition of fairweather fans.

 

[coladin]

Support local Ottawa hockey. While the 67’s are the obvious choice I highly recommend university hockey. Next time Carleton plays Ottawa try and make an effort to go see the game. Exciting and affordable.

Ya ok great suggestion. Thanks

 

[armani]

This last part is basically the definition of fairweather fans.

What makes you the authority to call others fairweather fans on a board? Not everyone's blind, clueless, or a kiss-ass.

 

[coladin]

One can take a break from the team and still be a fan. After all there are way more important things that you can focus on.

In Ottawa, yes. Go for a break

 

[dumbdick]

What makes you the authority to call others fairweather fans on a board? Not everyone's blind, clueless, or a kiss-ass.

Good point.

 

[HF Reader]

Congratulations

 

[L'Aveuglette]

Let's be realistic here.

A lot of the people who say they are quitting hockey for good aren't actually going to be quitting it for good.

People are rightfully mad and need to vent.

I don't get why we have to start categorizing people as "good fans" or "bad fans" because of how they deal with this massive development.

I ain't quitting hockey, I quit cheering for the Sens.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

I became a Bruins fan around 1994, so I walked full on into a wall of disappointment for pretty close to my first 15 years of being a fan.

I am pretty adamant that true fans never quit on their team when times get rough. There are Bruins fans (and every team has these fans) that will walk out mid-game if they go down by more than a couple goals. It’s idiotic, petty, and actually ignorant of the very concept of sport. While I am up on my pedestal, I will even call it pure emotional weakness.

That being said...if I was a Sens fan right now, I may consider taking the first couple months of the season off.

 

[HF Reader]

Lots of fair weather fans in Ottawa, I guess.

I understand your point. However I'd like to draw an analogy that is likely less charged emotionally. I've been a Dallas Cowboy fan since they joined the NFL in the 1960s. When Jerry Jones (owner) came out in support of Trump, kneeling, etc. my commitment to the Cowboys took a hit. I guess after cheering for the team for about 50 years it turns out I'm a fair-weather fan after all. Do you agree?