May 25, 2004

The Greatest Show On Earth

You can keep your World Series and your NBA Finals. The Stupor Super Bowl comes close - but it's only one game and, really, one night of sporting activity. No, for my money, I'd rather watch the Stanley Cup finals, thank you very much.

This year appears to look like a good series once again instead of the four to pumpkin blowouts that have been all too common in the finals (and even a blowout in the Cup final is preferable to an exciting World Series here at the Funny Farm).

We see that there are some bloggers over at OSP on both sides of the fence. Being a dual citizen gives me (in my own mind, where it matters most) the privilege of rooting for either team this year. And there are definite pros and cons no matter which side you choose:

Calgary is (i)Canadian; (ii)a nice town, and (iii)fairly fanatical without being psycho about it. Tampa Bay is not only American, they are also from the heart of JEB!Land. Although they are also a smaller market / smaller payroll team (this year - Bill Davison is focusing on his Pistons a bit more right now. Maybe he just doesn't want to be photographed by all of the public surveillance they have in town...), and the city is pretty, too.

Calgary is young and fast. They have a few veterans and quite a few who will be playing for the Cup for the first time. Tampa Bay is also young and fast, and they only have a couple of veterans who have even been to the finals.

So, I'll let you know that my reasons for rooting for the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Cup are personal:


If they win, then my favorite team will have lost to the Stanley Cup champions;

I'd like to see a new name on the Cup this year;

Tampa Bay embodies my favorite style of hockey, the so-called 'firewagon' style of fast skating, freewheeling excitement that shows up in the NHL from time to time (although Calgary could be said to play a somewhat more, um, boisterous type of that style themselves. They remind me more of the old Leafs than the old Habs this year, though... and of course we have no use for the frelling Leafs here at the Funny Farm).

And, finally, Calgary took a Cup away from my beloved Habbies in 1989.

So, for purely selfish reasons, I am rooting for the Lightning to win this year. In any case, I hope that the Cup Finals prove to be an entertaining series of games.

How do you feel about it?

Posted by (: Tom :) at May 25, 2004 07:38 PM
Comments

I lived in Tampa for 6 years, and I was a fan back when they were drawing 10,000 (sometimes less) a night, most of whom were rooting for the visiting team. Their win in the playoff series vs. the Flyers (their only true rival) was so incredible that I couldn't bear to see them lose the Cup finals.

Go Bolts!

Posted by: blunted at May 29, 2004 03:31 PM