Question for Caps fans

[MrGone]

Was there a time in your life when this team mad you guys miserable? I get so mad at the flaws of this team that never seem to change. Its to the point I spend 50% of the season hopping they tank. Seeing that I believe it’s the only way some real change will happen.

It would be easy for me to say you guy have blind faith and just don’t care as much as I do. I just don’t think that is the case.

It’s that time of the season again. I am starting to hope/believe.

Will I go numb at some point? And just be happy for whatever wins the team can get.

Click to read more...

 

[txpd]

you root for them to lose? really?

honest answer to your question.

for me? the caps are the caps. no matter how good they appear the fact is that they have always failed in usually in some especially painful way. the two times they managed to do something in the playoffs it was with teams expected to go nowhere.

so, I just think you have to let it play out.

or you can look at it another way. leonsis and McPhee have not destroyed my hockey team like the ownership have done to my baseball team, the orioles and my football team, the redskins. hell my college football and basketball teams, Maryland, have been ruined.

the caps are a playoff team that have the pieces to get hot and make a run.

lastly, unless you get happiness from being angry its pretty hard to have a good time when you are constantly negative. I felt that way about the orioles and gave them up. If I watch baseball its the nationals. who I almost gave them up when they choked in true capitals style in the mlb playoffs. I don't watch the nfl anymore. I don't watch college football or basketball anymore.

I watch the caps and I race.

 

[Ridley Simon]

you root for them to lose? really?

honest answer to your question.

for me? the caps are the caps. no matter how good they appear the fact is that they have always failed in usually in some especially painful way. the two times they managed to do something in the playoffs it was with teams expected to go nowhere.

so, I just think you have to let it play out.

or you can look at it another way. leonsis and McPhee have not destroyed my hockey team like the ownership have done to my baseball team, the orioles and my football team, the redskins. hell my college football and basketball teams, Maryland, have been ruined.

the caps are a playoff team that have the pieces to get hot and make a run.

lastly, unless you get happiness from being angry its pretty hard to have a good time when you are constantly negative. I felt that way about the orioles and gave them up. If I watch baseball its the nationals. who I almost gave them up when they choked in true capitals style in the mlb playoffs. I don't watch the nfl anymore. I don't watch college football or basketball anymore.

I watch the caps and I race.

Here's the thing with this. The teams you have abandoned...Redskins, Orioles, and Terps (basketball), they have all Won Championships during my lifetime as a fan. I'm 44, so easily within when I was a hard core fan of these teams. That title, those different championships, they mean a lot to me, and allow me to deal with the current state of affairs. Do I get upset at where they are now? Yes. But it's all ok in the long run, as I have experienced the pinnacle with those teams.

Hell, I was even watching the Bullets when they won it all in 1978. I remember it, and the feeling.

Never had that feeling with the Caps, and that is what matters to me.

But as I said to Bob in the other thread, to each his own, Tex.

 

[Chokingdogs]

Was there a time in your life when this team mad you guys miserable? I get so mad at the flaws of this team that never seem to change. Its to the point I spend 50% of the season hopping they tank. Seeing that I believe it’s the only way some real change will happen.

It would be easy for me to say you guy have blind faith and just don’t care as much as I do. I just don’t think that is the case.

It’s that time of the season again. I am starting to hope/believe.

Will I go numb at some point? And just be happy for whatever wins the team can get.

brother bob ive "known" for quite a while...tx, not so much. i cannot speak for either one, but i think i know with killerT...

that being said, what do you mean by "that time of season"? i assume that means the approaching playoff season where, in hockey, sometimes anything can happen? nobody hates the team as much as they type, nor do they blindly follow/expect as much, they are what they are as ( has been ) constructed.

goal shakers, heart breakers, the caps...

 

[MrGone]

brother bob ive "known" for quite a while...tx, not so much. i cannot speak for either one, but i think i know with killerT...

that being said, what do you mean by "that time of season"? i assume that means the approaching playoff season where, in hockey, sometimes anything can happen? nobody hates the team as much as they type, nor do they blindly follow/expect as much, they are what they are as ( has been ) constructed.

goal shakers, heart breakers, the caps...

They start to suck me in. And I go from ready to miss the playoffs in hope to get a new GMGM and coach. To rooting for them to some how pull off a deep run.

 

[usiel]

Was there a time in your life when this team mad you guys miserable? I get so mad at the flaws of this team that never seem to change. Its to the point I spend 50% of the season hopping they tank. Seeing that I believe it’s the only way some real change will happen.

It would be easy for me to say you guy have blind faith and just don’t care as much as I do. I just don’t think that is the case.

It’s that time of the season again. I am starting to hope/believe.

Will I go numb at some point? And just be happy for whatever wins the team can get.

Bolded is basically post the Montreal/Caps series for me. I got so bent out of shape after that one that I looked in the mirror and realized it was just idiotic to get that wrapped up. Also my game watching habits have changed over the years. I tend almost never watching games live except on the weekend and it is tough for me to avoid checking up on the score or avoiding twitters so I tend to skip watching the real bad games.

 

[BobRouse]

I feel your pain so let me preface this by saying that its hard being a Caps fan!

http://nhl.si.com/2014/03/19/si-com-nhl-fan-misery-rankings-no-4-washington-capitals/

Personally I think they should be higher on that list. I mean its statistically laughable to think we have a WORSE record of series victories when we go up 2-0 in a playoff series.

So OFCOURSE I've felt like you. I don't think any Caps fan hasn't at some point.

Choke could verify this. I didn't take it quite as well as you are currently lets just say.

But like Usiel I looked in the mirror and re-evaluated things. I watch hockey for enjoyment ..not misery. I am fine with yelling and getting my emotions up during the 3 hour game but have made a conscious choice not to let it carry over outside of that time. Not worth it.

The anger and hate we feel can become addictive. A bad addiction.

When the games not on I'd rather sit in the sun with my rose colored glasses sipping on spiked Koolaid rather than be out in the cold chugging sour milk.

And yes after all these years it was the Montreal series..not the couple of series vs the Islanders in the 80s, not the millions of series vs the Pens...but that one. We dominated that series more than any team I've ever seen and I still can't believe we lost it.

EDIT: Back in the mid 90s I tried to not watch. I tried to switch teams. Futile effort. Caps are part of me now and its permanent. They are like my dogs. I get mad at them for eating the furniture and crapping in my house but I can't ever give them away.

 

[txpd]

after sleeping on it and rereading the question, I'd like to add.

I moved away from the Washington/Baltimore area in the early 90's and didn't see or miss the Capitals for a long time. the 98 playoffs rehooked me to an extent and the ability to watch on centre ice made it easier to come back. the lack of that ability easier to walk away.

so...yea, I guess I went numb. when the caps lost game 7 to the flyers the way they did I got a feeling and the embarrassment with montreal proved to me that they were still the capitals and that ovechkin was just langway or hunter in a different sweater.

@Rids....just as moving away made it easier to break from the day to dayness of being a caps fan, it was similar for the orioles and the redskins. living some of that time in nc made Maryland basketball still relatively easy to watch. I didn't pack in Maryland til they decided to leave the ACC and with that take my entire history of why I root for them away,

I worked for the orioles when they won their last championship. I cherish that period. I suspect that Cal will buy the team when Angelos dies or gives it up and I will be interested again. Baseball is a lifestyle though and i don't watch any baseball anymore save for the occasional Nats game because they bring back a few nice childhood Frank Howard/Washington Senators memories.

Sportswise I watch the Capitals and they are the only regular sports that I watch anymore. I own 5 Caps jersies and 1 Washington Nationals hat. Frankly I make special time for the Caps and the rest of my sports energy goes into my own sport.

edit: and bobrouse. don't forget that the shooting gallery was martin's plan. it was nhl rope a dope and the caps fell for it.

 

[BobRouse]

edit: and bobrouse. don't forget that the shooting gallery was martin's plan. it was nhl rope a dope and the caps fell for it.

haha...Brilliant plan! "hey guys lets get DOMINATED and hope our goalie has a 98 sv pctg and we capitalize on the couple of chances we get! PROFIT!"

To add:

I was at the Caps center on Easter sunday when they lost that 4 OT game. I watched that entire series in disbelief of how we could blow a 3-1 series lead.

The next year I watched the Caps, down 2-1 in the series, blow a 3 goal lead with 10 minutes left in game 4 and lose in the 1st minute of OT in one of the greatest meltdowns ever. I totally lost all hope and was furious! Those CHOKERS! They got SHREDDED in the media.

Funny thing happened. We win game 5 unexpectedly (We were up 4-1 in the 2nd when Ilka Sinasalo scored a shorty...our home fans were BOOING loudly...I along with them sensing the frustration). We pummel them in game 6 thanks to Bobby Gould turtling on stupid Dave Brown.

Game 7 we didn't score on 5 frikin 1st period PPs!! Dave Christian missed chance after glorious chance. We fall down 3-0 halfway thru the game and hadn't even reached double digits in shots. I lost hope again...I was FURIOUS! Those CHOKERS!

Funny thing happened. After that game I decided its probably not a good idea to lose hope. EDIT: The whole series I HATED Larry Murphy. Much more than anyone hates Green now! Well it turns out he made a pretty big play at the most crucial time.

 

[ryan519*]

i imagine its a similar feeling to being an eagles fan. that city is completely crazy about that team, some of the most diehard fans ive ever met, and they've never won **** outside of a few division championships

 

[ChibiPooky]

I edited the thread title to remove the implication that it's a private discussion. If it is in fact a private discussion, it needs to be handled through private messaging (and, per the mod handbook, is to be treated as spam).

Edit: Edited it again because I edited it dumbly the first time.

 

[OviTaughtMe]

They always do.

I started watching around the time Jags came through (I was like 7 or 8) and it's been nothing but heartbreak.

The Skins, Caps, and Arsenal make me nothing but miserable for the most part.

 

[FloridaCap]

The other sports teams I root for are a hell of a lot worse, so no matter how bad the Caps do, they're still a breath of fresh air.

With that said, Fire Oates.

 

[artilector]

Sometimes????

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

I want one championship in my life. That's all. I'm in my late twenties and my teams (Caps, Redskins, Wizards, Navy) haven't won a thing. I watched with disbelief as Navy lost to Syracuse by 1 goal in the Lacrosse National Championship in '04, and that's the closest I've come to a title. I was 5 when the Redskins won the Super Bowl so I don't remember it. Hell, I'll consider Navy ever qualifying for March Madness as a win. I don't care for baseball so if the Nats do well I don't even know if I'll be excited and unfortunately for me they probably have the best chance to bring home a trophy.

I get so disheartened some times that I have to remind myself it's just sports. Serving overseas in the military helped shift some of my priorities, but you'd be amazed how big of an impact sports have on deployed personnel. I fondly remember waking up at 0200 local time to watch Navy beat Notre Dame in South Bend, or waking up at 0300 local time to watch Landon Donovan's goal in the World Cup. I've lost entire seasons of the Caps and Skins because they aren't shown very much overseas, but I read every game recap.

Long story short -- yes, they make me furious but I love them and I hate myself for it!

 

[BobRouse]

Long story short -- yes, they make me furious but I love them and I hate myself for it!

I immediately thought of this (not that this relates to you but the comment made me think of this I read the other day): haha

http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-mans-emotional-state-completely-dependent-on,35580/

 

[txpd]

or waking up at 0300 local time to watch Landon Donovan's goal in the World Cup.!

the best thing ever.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

tx, Ian Darke's call still gives me chills. Can't wait for the WC this summer! And Julian Green switching sides... what a coup by Klinsmann.



Speaking of great soccer calls, obviously not a fan of Mexico but the call when Brek Shea saved their bacon is unreal. The announcer eviscerates the Mexican team.

 

[HOLDITHERE*]

i imagine its a similar feeling to being an eagles fan. that city is completely crazy about that team, some of the most diehard fans ive ever met, and they've never won **** outside of a few division championships

Except it's nothing like that. Die-hard Caps fans? Does that even exist? You guys give up on this team when they're down a goal in the first period in October. "Gawd seesons over **** mcfee ovechkinz a jokez lolz".

Some of you suck as fans on this board. Face it, we're that bandwagon team that people hop on when we win, and no one gives two ***** when we're losing.

As far as how they make me feel? I still have hope in this team. Our roster isn't what it was a few season aho, and I ****ing HATE Mojo. But we're still a playoff team, and we still fight tooth and nail for points. I think with Kuznetzov playing a whole season next year, and a few moves in the off season, we can jump back up to where we were.

I'm split on McPhee. You're not going to find someone that makes ballsier moves that actually work out. Sure he's made mistakes, but he's done some great things too. Everyone likes to just blame anyone who hasn't been blamed yet. Blame the players. Blame the ones who don't show up. I don't see why he should be out of a job, but there's definitely a few things he needs to fix. And those of you talking about a rebuild? Seriously? Look at the core we have, we on earth would we ever just sell all of that? The defense is finally coming into it's own, our goaltending is above average, we just need depth. Like every other ****ing team in sports.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Always love the, "I'm a better fan than you because I'm not as negative" routine. Anyone who takes time to post regularly on a team message board is a pretty big fan, in my opinion, regardless of their views. I'm pretty sure all the people on here who have dumped tens of thousands of dollars in season tickets are pretty big fans.

The negativity stems from 40 seasons without a championship and watching the greatest player in the history of the franchise toil in mediocrity and disappointment year after year. Exactly how is rooting for a team that's never won a title being a bandwagon fan?

 

[Stimpy]

You want toiling for years with nothing? I was a Cubs fan since the 60's and a Vikings fan since the early 70's. I've only been a Caps fan for 15 years, so this is nothing. I think I live for the heartbreak and disappointing seasons.

 

[ryan519*]

Except it's nothing like that. Die-hard Caps fans? Does that even exist? You guys give up on this team when they're down a goal in the first period in October. "Gawd seesons over **** mcfee ovechkinz a jokez lolz".

Some of you suck as fans on this board. Face it, we're that bandwagon team that people hop on when we win, and no one gives two ***** when we're losing.

As far as how they make me feel? I still have hope in this team. Our roster isn't what it was a few season aho, and I ****ing HATE Mojo. But we're still a playoff team, and we still fight tooth and nail for points. I think with Kuznetzov playing a whole season next year, and a few moves in the off season, we can jump back up to where we were.

I'm split on McPhee. You're not going to find someone that makes ballsier moves that actually work out. Sure he's made mistakes, but he's done some great things too. Everyone likes to just blame anyone who hasn't been blamed yet. Blame the players. Blame the ones who don't show up. I don't see why he should be out of a job, but there's definitely a few things he needs to fix. And those of you talking about a rebuild? Seriously? Look at the core we have, we on earth would we ever just sell all of that? The defense is finally coming into it's own, our goaltending is above average, we just need depth. Like every other ****ing team in sports.

not every fan is like that. you're right there is a constant negativity and it gets really ****in annoying, especially when you're already feeling like **** during a bad game. im not even talking about this board since i havent been on here long enough to judge, but just the people around me that are fans as well.

sometimes i dont know why some people are even fans of the team if they cant ever derive the slightest amount of happiness or positive feeling out of it

 

[Hivemind]

What does constant, soul-crushing negativity gain you? I'd much rather take a progressive point of view than constantly point fingers and lob insults. "Where do we go from here," rather than constant debate about who's to blame and whining about how much X, Y, or Z sucks. A focus on process-oriented discussion, as opposed to hindsight blinders about everything that went wrong. Granted, asking for objective, rational discourse is often too lofty of a goal for any internet forum, but the blind vitriol and emotional dribble posted here is like sludging through toxic waste. It's not fun to be a part of a community that's sole function is to ***** and moan about how much the team you love sucks.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

What does constant, soul-crushing negativity gain you? I'd much rather take a progressive point of view than constantly point fingers and lob insults. "Where do we go from here," rather than constant debate about who's to blame and whining about how much X, Y, or Z sucks. A focus on process-oriented discussion, as opposed to hindsight blinders about everything that went wrong. Granted, asking for objective, rational discourse is often too lofty of a goal for any internet forum, but the blind vitriol and emotional dribble posted here is like sludging through toxic waste. It's not fun to be a part of a community that's sole function is to ***** and moan about how much the team you love sucks.

It honestly reminds me a lot of the military. People in the military love to try to "out-suck" everyone else.

Edit: Also, I haven't seen anyone on here be negative without giving their opinion on how to fix it. People want George fired because they think he's terrible at asset management and refuses to address the blue line, not because they have a personal grudge against him. People don't like Oates because they feel he hamstrings the line combinations and roster effectiveness with his OCD tendencies regarding handedness, not just for the hell of it. That's how I see it anyway.

 

[BobRouse]

What does constant, soul-crushing negativity gain you? I'd much rather take a progressive point of view than constantly point fingers and lob insults. "Where do we go from here," rather than constant debate about who's to blame and whining about how much X, Y, or Z sucks. A focus on process-oriented discussion, as opposed to hindsight blinders about everything that went wrong. Granted, asking for objective, rational discourse is often too lofty of a goal for any internet forum, but the blind vitriol and emotional dribble posted here is like sludging through toxic waste. It's not fun to be a part of a community that's sole function is to ***** and moan about how much the team you love sucks.

For the most part I agree with this but I see it from the other side too. Technically most of the guys like Brooklyn and Rids, despite pointing fingers, do think of the "where do we go from here". The thing is though that there is always someone to blame and if that person leaves there will be another in line.

Pretty much half the team sucks/isn't living up to their contract/is at highest value=needs to be traded, the coach always sucks (BB, Hunter, Oates) and ofcourse GMGM.

We're all diehard fans of the team tho I can tell you that.