The Merciad is the school newspaper here at Mercyhurst College, and I've been asked to write a column here, and have been doing so for a few weeks. I referenced this column on the air, and I wanted to make it accessible to everyone here.
Let’s Clear the Playoff Air
This column is purely to end some arguments before they happen with respect to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and specifically my Pittsburgh Penguins.
I would first like to apologize to NHL fans everywhere. We did not make Sidney Crosby the league posterboy. It is not the Penguins,’ nor is it their fans’ fault that he is shoved down your throats by the media. I will not refute the talk of his complaining, because he does do that, but the NHL is a very superstar-oriented league, and every star gets special treatment (yes, even Daniel Briere), and Wayne Gretzky was worse than Crosby in this. Now can we please shut up about him? I am sick and tired of people complaining about his complaining. That’s hypocrisy. Get a grip people.
Second, many people have a problem with Penguins fans. A great many of them are not Penguins fans, but merely bandwagoners. If a person claiming to be a Penguins fan cannot tell you 3 people from the X Generation (I’ll even include X Force), or have no idea what you are talking about, they are not Pens fans. They are bandwagoners, and they make us all look bad.
Let me clear some things up. If you cannot name anybody from the X Generation, you are a bandwagoner. If Ramzi Abid, Dick Tarnstrom, Konstantin Koltsov, Sebastian Caron, and Alexei Morozov mean nothing to you, you are a bandwagoner, or a sorely uninformed fan. If you cannot name when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, you are a bandwagoner. If you didn’t follow the team for years because they weren’t very good, no matter how big of a fan you were as a kid, you ARE a bandwagoner!
But there is hope if you are new to the Penguins fandom: do not claim to be a super fan, listen to facts and stories, never claim that this team is our best team (see: 1992-93), never think that Crosby is better than Lemieux, and never, ever, consider yourself a bigger fan than those who cheered through the horrible losing seasons.
It happens with all teams. My freshman year, I learned to hate the Buffalo Sabres because of their fans, when in fact, it was only a bandwagon which has since dissipated.
So do not hate all Pens fans, look a little deeper and better direct your hatred; everyone will be a lot happier.
John Baranowski
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1 comments:
John, is this some sort of sick therapy you're going through? Hate is a strong word, but admitting your problem is the first step I guess. Now you know how I felt when I grouped with idiots, errr bandwagon fans.
You know I get the same flack for my being a 14 year fan of Detroit? I get grouped as a bandwagon fan for being an impressionable kid who loved to watch Stevie Y, the White Russian Fedorov, Fetisov, Konstantinov, Kozlov, and every other -ov out there. I suppose if I get that label of a bandwagoner treatment, then as should you for your red, white, and blue, your number two, the Habs, as I say before adieu. Poetic, no?
I'm just busting your chops. Where's the online segments we put together for our loyal viewers? Transfer them already, will ya? Stay tuned fans for a new show in the coming days.
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