Some of you really don't seem to understand the level of parity that exists in the current day NHL. Not to mention just how DIFFERENT the parity is in the NBA and things like college basketball or football. The fact that these other leagues/conferences are so lopsided and have the amount of legit blowouts that they do, makes for a terrible argument/comparison.
A huge reason I became a CBJ fan (from MI) was because they were an expansion team/underdog, and because I hated the NY Yankees-like roster that teams like the Wings put together in the late 90's and early 2000's. Thank god the days of THAT in the NHL are gone. College sports have almost always been like this for as long as I can remember. Even though some "high level" schools/teams/programs go through ups and downs, for the most part, you know who is going to be good or bad. The difference in skill level between many "top" teams in a conference and a "bottom" teams is ridiculous. Unfortunately it can be seen pretty easily, through sports, how "society" has "changed". Jumping on a bandwagon and rooting for a heavy favorite in nowadays seen as the "norm" or the right thing to do. Maybe its ALWAYS been like this, I don't know. The "American Way". Its NEVER been my thing.
From seeing what some people have said over time about "being the best", what some of you have to say about Ohio State football in this thread and what other things are being said in Panarin threads to "talk up" Columbus, its clear that there are some "weird" PERSONAL emotions involved in something that they shouldn't be involved in. You could call it "American Emotions". Not to mention the "connection" between these things and the NHL, a "connection" that should NOT be made.
If you WENT to the school, good, great, embrace your emotional connection to a jersey or certain colors. But, that's where my pro- 'geographically related sports fan restrictions' feelings stop. Growing up, I've liked certain players, or the WAY a team (in my mind) played. Still, I gravitated towards the "underdog" most of the time. But, I never really understood the idea that you "had to" or "should" root for your hometown or "home state", and I don't "get" the UofM vs MSU or UofM vs Ohio State "rivalry". Not to the extent, anyway. My reasoning is pretty simple. Just using football or basketball, (because hockey or nearly ANY other sport would highlight it even worse) what % of the 50 (or 15) or so players on the Ohio State football team are from Ohio? How many players playing on UofM or MSU, are from Michigan? I'm not looking, but Ohio State could very well have more players from Michigan than they do Ohio, and vice versa. Same could be said for MANY programs/"rivalries" across the country.
These people that are so "worked up" about being or not being the "best", seem to not only have issues realizing that SOMEBODY has to be the "worst"/last, but that NOT LONG AGO, the CBJ were legitimately RIGHT THERE with those teams.
) major points or questions that they should focus on.
