Looking For A New Team To Follow

[Dohilers]

Pro sports is just a distraction from everyday life, so don't take it so seriously or personally. You aren't an on-ice participant and have no control over the outcome. It's just a game other adults are playing. Relax.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Probably best to just get away from hockey and maybe take up wood working or blacksmithing.

 

[SK13]

 

[Wretched Oil]

Weak.

Pain is part of life, you might as well enjoy it.

 

[Patch101]

no

 

[The Panther]

Gretzky was my hero when I was a little kid, and when I was 12 he was sold like a piece of meat to the highest bidder (L.A.). You could say that from that day forward I was embittered by pro-sports, and have never really recovered my wide-eyed wonder at the sport of hockey, or my complete enjoyment of it.

Still, it's a damn fun game to watch. It's fast and exciting, and even though nobody gets completely killed anymore like they used to on a regular basis, still sometimes unexpected things happen. It doesn't move at the pace of paint drying, like baseball, and it isn't a bunch of ego-laden superstars trying to play with their buddies for fun, like NBA basketball. And it isn't an incredibly boring sport (five seconds of action every thirty minutes) like NFL/CFL football. Basically, pro-hockey is a fun sport.

And yeah, it's just a sport. It's something we (usually men) watch as an emotional outlet for our pent-up hormonal Alpha-male desire for supremacy over others. That's really all it is.

In short, keep cheering for Edmonton.

 

[JarvisFunk]

Taking the cowards way out I see...

 

[I am the Liquor]

Just take a break for awhile. Find other things to do. All the owner and players care about is money, so we shouldn’t care to the point where it upsets us. It is supposed to be entertainment. The Oilers Entertainment Group.

They are having a hard time living up to their name.

A bigger collection of incompetent boobs would be harder to find than a one eyed- three legged unicorn.

 

[Field of Dreams]

Are you lost? The Leafs board is here: Toronto Maple Leafs

There's a lot of us, but there's always room for more in leafs nation.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Maybe do what I did and have a 'team of the East'. You cheer for them to be the best team of the Eastern Conference, and beat any Western team except Edmonton, and in an ideal situation they both meet in the Cup finals with Oilers winning. In my case, it's Ottawa, though I was sort of a fan of theirs since their inception. I live in Ontario, and somewhat close in proximity to Ottawa so maybe that makes it a bit easier to cheer for them. Anyway, not like that has helped me in recent years with both teams sucking, so it's been hockey misery for me. But at least it gives you motivation to watch another team regularly and pin some of your hopes on.

 

[ZJuice]

Oilers 4 Lyfe!!

 

[noice]

Fantasy hockey for the win

 

[ohheyhemsky]

Hemsky rules.

 

[Aceboogie]

Pro sports is just a distraction from everyday life, so don't take it so seriously or personally. You aren't an on-ice participant and have no control over the outcome. It's just a game other adults are playing. Relax.

This. Should be about watching entertaining hockey. Truth be told, the Flames have been playing entertaining hockey for years now. Even when they sucked, they were the cardiac kids who would atleast make an attempt at a comeback in 3rd periods, even if it fell short. Now the team has 4/5 really entertaining players and the whole team plays fast paced/ smart hockey

The Oilers just play a boring game, with boring players (other than McDavid, sometimes Draisaitl/RNH). They rarely ever will come back after being down 2 goals.

Never sure Ill get the fascination with people bragging about being a loyal fan because theyll waste hours of their life watching a garbage team

For me, the funnest teams to follow right now are the Leafs, Tampa, Flames and Sharks. All play a really modern game and execute styles of hockey Id love to see more of

 

[Aceboogie]

And sadly enough, the Canucks are another team with really good young players playing a fun style of hockey. Even in the years when the franchise is bad, they still have really good bright spots.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Hemsky rules.

Hemsky was the man.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

 

[Supermassive]

The Hall trade tore my heart out and the Eberle trade threw both halves in the garbage. And that's after the Coffey, Gretzky, Messier, Weight and Smyth trades.
I follow Vegas, but overall my love of hockey is dead, save for Connor, Drai, Nuge and the Knights.
You know you're halfway to the grave when (non-playoffs) sports don't raise your pulse anymore.

 

[jukon]

I feel ya. I've been keeping my sanity by watching the Jets. There is only so much you can take before you gotta do something about it.

 

[Stoneman89]

Well, been following the team since Hemsky got drafted. Was a little kid who modelled my game after the guy.

Tonight was the final straw. Gone through the decade of darkness, Smyth being traded, playoff run in 06. This is the worst. We have arguably the most skilled hockey player of all time and just got blown out of the water by the last place team in the league. Chiarelli has run this team into the ground and even when 100% healthy, this team is nowhere close to being a contender. With no good wing or defensive prospects in the system, it's looking like another rebuild/retool of 4+ years will be required WITH A COMPETENT GM AT THE HELM.

I think it's time for me to look for another team to follow. Have been watching other games lately, and I know a good amount of the posters here have been considering the same. Truth be told, I had hardly been watching Oilers games the couple years pre-McDavid when it was the Hall, RNH, and Eberle show finishing at the bottom of the league with no point of watching games. Now I only watch for McDavid's brilliance which is becoming less and less worth watching when you know the surrounding team is so embarrassingly bad.

So, I have a few teams in mind personally.

Montreal has a massive, intense fan base. Constant discussion on their team and players, beautiful history, and are currently playing a very fun style of hockey full of speed, skill, and grit. They are right in the playoff race as well and should be for a long time. Not to mention they are EST so having earlier games to watch is another huge plus.

Winnipeg is one of the best teams in the NHL for my money. Such a solid roster of big, strong, skilled players. Have arguably the best pure goal scorer in the NHL, deep defence, hard-nosed team who will be a perennial cup contender for a while.

Boston, another original six team. Full of history, with a great roster right now. Chia actually built a decent team there and they've been helped along with Sweeney. Such a fun team to watch and their numerous rivalries make games more exciting. Another positive is the EST timezone, just like Montreal.

Any of you guys in the process of starting to consider checking out another team? Or is this just something we have to go through as part of a life long sacrificial ritual-esque suffering? I'm leaning towards Montreal honestly.

Good thing you're not a Cubs fan. Talk about a decade of darkness...pfffft! Try a century of blackout.

 

[Faelko]

The ridiculously bad officiating has stopped me from watching any hockey, I quit watching the Oilers 2 months ago when it was apparent they didn’t give a shit. If I wasn’t in a hockey draft I wouldn’t even follow the scores.

 

[TheRebuild]

Weak.

Pain is part of life, you might as well enjoy it.

Oilers induced pain is just Oilers weakness leaving the body.

 

[MikeGrier99]

Pro sports is just a distraction from everyday life, so don't take it so seriously or personally. You aren't an on-ice participant and have no control over the outcome. It's just a game other adults are playing. Relax.

For sure, but being an Oiler fan has been nothing but a troll job for over a decade. Both the direction of the Oilers and the NHL in general are going downhill. I'm not going to say that I think the league is rigged, but I do think Bettman has his hands all over the game and artificially tries to introduce parity. He doesn't care one bit about keeping the hard core fans happy, he wants to sell out box seats in California. Certainly feels that way at least. Feels like most games are won because of a puck thrown over the glass, a call getting called for one team and not the other. The NHL just doesn't interest me nearly as much as it did from around 1997-2006. I think the league is becoming less talented (way less people are playing hockey these days), over coached, devoid of creativity, and even lacking passion and intensity. There's soon going to be 32 teams and it's way too watered down imo.

Throw in the mockery the NHL made of the international game (one of my favourite aspects of hockey) and I am starting to become just a casual fan of hockey. Soccer and Rugby are my preferred sports to watch now. The professionalism, passion, and overall intensity of soccer is impressive. There's more money in soccer than the NHL, but there's also way more prestige. Winning matters to these clubs, the majority of football clubs aren't even in it to make money, as they poor insane amounts of money back into the team.

 

[Aerrol]

This. Should be about watching entertaining hockey. Truth be told, the Flames have been playing entertaining hockey for years now. Even when they sucked, they were the cardiac kids who would atleast make an attempt at a comeback in 3rd periods, even if it fell short. Now the team has 4/5 really entertaining players and the whole team plays fast paced/ smart hockey

The Oilers just play a boring game, with boring players (other than McDavid, sometimes Draisaitl/RNH). They rarely ever will come back after being down 2 goals.

Never sure Ill get the fascination with people bragging about being a loyal fan because theyll waste hours of their life watching a garbage team

For me, the funnest teams to follow right now are the Leafs, Tampa, Flames and Sharks. All play a really modern game and execute styles of hockey Id love to see more of

Why are you posting here then? If you don't have any interest in emotional loyalty to a team you must be insane to keep following the Oilers.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Pro sports is just a distraction from everyday life, so don't take it so seriously or personally. You aren't an on-ice participant and have no control over the outcome. It's just a game other adults are playing. Relax.

I disagree. That is like saying "Who cares if the Oilers win the cup, it is just adults playing a game and you didn't participate or win it".