Having watched this team since the beginning of the 70s, my take is that fan excitement is tied to the dramatic storyline more than the quality of hockey. Great teams win games; great stories win hearts. The 70s decade was a Habs empire. We won the Cup six times. Amazing team, yes. Dramatic story, no. It's simply impossible to experience the same intensity level when you've been guzzling success on a non-stop Stanley Cup binge. Taste buds get numb. Yeah, I know, poor us. But the truth is Montreal was the star quarterback who always won and always got the girl, so we just couldn't get as excited when he notched another victory. A few empty years later we were a little hungrier, which is why 1986 was more fun than the fading dynasty years. We didn't see Patrick Roy coming. Here was this skinny kid in nets for us, grabbing the playoffs by the throat and carrying the team all the way. Even better was 1993 when he did it again with a ridiculous string of OT wins. Now THAT was a storyline!
Then the payback years, when the debt came due for all the currency we'd taken for so long. Some awful seasons and poor management, leaving us starving by the end of the lockout. The slow climb back up the ladder was fun and it made us feel emotionally invested because the Habs weren't that good. Our team was mortal. Vulnerable. We won, but it was hard, and never completely successful. We savoured every taste of success because, unlike the earlier years, each was hard fought and we didn't know when the next taste would come. But it was frustrating. Despite Koivu and Kovalev the Habs were never quite good enough. 2010 was a reboot and lo and behold, there was another goalie carrying us farther than expected. Halak's run, for me, was every bit as exciting as the dynasty years because we were heavy underdogs getting way closer to success than we deserved. What a trip! Nice to be back in the final-four after so long!
And now our current string of successful seasons has raised our expectations higher than they've been in decades. Final-four? Been there. Now it's Cup-time. I'm as invested in this team as I ever was, but in a different way than before. Today I'm a more knowledgable fan and see the team like a building-inspector, not a voyeur. I like watching the structure being assembled. I saw the Habs like a kid in the 70s, a fan in the 80s and 90s, and now I see the team as someone who's more aware of the game behind the game. Part of that's because of this site and the discussions with our fans, and battles with other fans. You learn a lot. Draft picks, systems, contracts, roster choices -- it's a deeper appreciation for the subtleties I didn't notice 20 years ago. I love the Habs because I understand them better today, and because I've had to close ranks around them as other fans poke them with insults. Boring? Nah - boring was pre-lockout when we were flailing about with no direction. For me, nothing's more exciting than the calculated strategy that's transforming this team into a winner. Kovalev was cool, but he was just a player. I'm all about the team.
