Last year, every game I saw of the Pittsburgh Penguins' Stanley Cup playoff run I watched at home by myself. It was great having total control of the food, drink, and TV, but when we scored and won games I had no one with whom to celebrate.
This season I've been watching some of the playoff games at Foley's in Herald Square. It's the home base for the NY Pittsburgh Penguins meetup group. I've met some great people, talked hockey, reminisced about Pittsburgh, and watched the Penguins. I tried watching some Steeler games at a bar near my apartment last fall and while that was fun, somehow it felt like more of an effort. Maybe it was all the beer drinking on a Sunday afternoon, something I'm not used to doing. And the group at that bar didn't feel all that welcoming of newcomers. But the Penguins fans at Foley's have been friendly and engaging. Tonight is game 7 of the conference semifinals against Montreal, and I wouldn't miss watching it at the bar. There will be some live-tweeting. I'd live-blog the entire game, but it's hard enough to avoid spilling beer on my phone. I'm sure my laptop wouldn't survive the night.
Let's Go Pens!
Showing posts with label Penguins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penguins. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Friday, December 11, 2009
Some random musings about the Steelers
My reaction to the Steelers' fifth straight loss last night (to the Cleveland fucking Browns) was to finish off a bottle of rum and send texts and e-mails that I would later regret. Sleep did not make me feel much better.
I'm not here to swear off my team or call for anyone's head. The Steelers won the Super Bowl last year and have two championships in the past five years. I've been blessed as a fan. But five-game losing streaks are not something I'm used to seeing from my team. Especially when those losses are to the Chiefs, Raiders, and Browns, all among the worst teams in the league. Now we can include Pittsburgh in that group. Those six wins on the schedule look like flukes now.
I have a plane ticket and a game ticket for next week's game vs. the Packers. I'm going to get up before dawn next Sunday morning (also my birthday) and fly to Pittsburgh to see my team. Two weeks ago it looked like a playoff contender showdown. Now the Steelers are just playing for respect. I'm going to the game with Holly, a Packers fan (though I won't hold that against her). It's the first time I've dated a serious football fan and then had my team play her team. That scenario alone will make the afternoon more interesting. If we don't kill each other during the game we'll have a great time.
It's going to be hard to watch the playoffs without the Steelers. The good thing is that my blood pressure will go down and I won't order my best friend to leave my apartment because he's rooting for the other team. And then there's the long off-season of regret and ruminations. The Steelers won't be down for long. I have faith.
And I have the Penguins.
I'm not here to swear off my team or call for anyone's head. The Steelers won the Super Bowl last year and have two championships in the past five years. I've been blessed as a fan. But five-game losing streaks are not something I'm used to seeing from my team. Especially when those losses are to the Chiefs, Raiders, and Browns, all among the worst teams in the league. Now we can include Pittsburgh in that group. Those six wins on the schedule look like flukes now.
I have a plane ticket and a game ticket for next week's game vs. the Packers. I'm going to get up before dawn next Sunday morning (also my birthday) and fly to Pittsburgh to see my team. Two weeks ago it looked like a playoff contender showdown. Now the Steelers are just playing for respect. I'm going to the game with Holly, a Packers fan (though I won't hold that against her). It's the first time I've dated a serious football fan and then had my team play her team. That scenario alone will make the afternoon more interesting. If we don't kill each other during the game we'll have a great time.
It's going to be hard to watch the playoffs without the Steelers. The good thing is that my blood pressure will go down and I won't order my best friend to leave my apartment because he's rooting for the other team. And then there's the long off-season of regret and ruminations. The Steelers won't be down for long. I have faith.
And I have the Penguins.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
And I thought I had some bizarre game rituals
Nothing I've ever done for the Penguins or the Steelers -- wearing particular clothes, watching a game from a particular place, or standing in my kitchen through most of game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals -- comes close to what these people put themselves through for their team. God bless each and every one of them. Especially that "Youngblood" guy. He's really taking one for the team.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Presented with little commentary
Here is my favorite quote from this story about the delirious revelry that overtook Pittsburgh last night:
Sir, I applaud your enthusiasm.
"Its awesome!" shouted Dan Jacobs, 23, of Baldwin, who was back on the South Side after four years of college in Boise, Idaho. He joined up with friends at a party on 17th Street. He paused to show off his Jordan Staal jersey -- "because he's so hot" -- before rushing off with girlfriend Renee Amendola to find a rest room.
Sir, I applaud your enthusiasm.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are your 2009 Stanley Cup Champions
I've been waiting a long time to see the Pittsburgh Penguins win a 3rd Stanley Cup. I was barely a hockey fan when they won their first two championships in 1991 and 1992. I knew little of the rules of the game and I watched only a few of the games in those playoff runs. I remember watching the clinching game 6 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final, but I wasn't really aware of what it meant to be a hockey fan.
Two years later at Georgetown, I was surrounded by sports fans of all kinds. I bet all of my friends on my dorm floor that the Penguins would repeat (or "threepeat") in 1993. And when the Penguins won 16 or 17 straight games at the end of the regular season, it seemed like a safe bet. Sadly, the Penguins lost in the conference semifinals, and I learned not to bet on my teams again.
Since then, I've watched the Penguins falter in the conference finals in 1996 and again in 2001, and then last year in the Stanley Cup Final. When the Penguins were in 10th place in February, I didn't expect them to even make the playoffs. They switched coaches and went on a tear. When they were down 2-0 to the Capitals, I thought Ovechkin had their number. Then the Pens came back to blow out the Caps in game 7 in Washington. They swept the Carolina Hurricanes, something I never expected, and that put them back in the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. They were overmatched by last year's Red Wings squad, and I feared the same fate would befall them this year. When they were down 2-0 to the Wings, once again I thought all was lost. I should have had more faith in my team. They won every must-win game, beating the Wings at home in games 3, 4, and 6, and in the process overcoming a terrible 5-0 blowout in game 5. Going into game 7, all I could think was "anything can happen."
The Penguins played out of their minds in game 7. They controlled the puck, clogged the area in front of their net, and blocked shots as much as possible. Marc-Andre Fleury deserves all the credit in the world for bouncing back from a disastrous performance in game 5 to allow only two goals in the last two games. The Penguins played most of game 7 without team captain Sidney Crosby, who left the game early in the 2nd period with an injury and only played two shifts in the 3rd. Throughout game 7, my heart was in my throat. I thought I got worked up for Steelers games, but it turns out that it's easier for me to watch football than hockey. In football, I scream at the TV on every play, but each play is only 10 seconds long. Then I get a break and a chance to breathe. During game 7, I held my breath every time the Wings got the puck into the Penguins' zone. As the game wore on and I saw my team playing their game for the first time all series at Joe Louis Arena, I was able to relax a little. Then the Wings tied the game and I was back to hyperventilating and trying not to scream at the TV.
When it was over I nearly forgot to cheer. I saw my team carry the Stanley Cup around the rink. Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Fleury, Staal, and the rest will have their names on the Cup along with Lemieux, Jagr, Ron Francis, and the rest of my heroes from those great teams in the early 1990s. It was a great night for hockey. Now I need to make room for a Penguins poster on my Steelers championship wall.
Two years later at Georgetown, I was surrounded by sports fans of all kinds. I bet all of my friends on my dorm floor that the Penguins would repeat (or "threepeat") in 1993. And when the Penguins won 16 or 17 straight games at the end of the regular season, it seemed like a safe bet. Sadly, the Penguins lost in the conference semifinals, and I learned not to bet on my teams again.
Since then, I've watched the Penguins falter in the conference finals in 1996 and again in 2001, and then last year in the Stanley Cup Final. When the Penguins were in 10th place in February, I didn't expect them to even make the playoffs. They switched coaches and went on a tear. When they were down 2-0 to the Capitals, I thought Ovechkin had their number. Then the Pens came back to blow out the Caps in game 7 in Washington. They swept the Carolina Hurricanes, something I never expected, and that put them back in the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. They were overmatched by last year's Red Wings squad, and I feared the same fate would befall them this year. When they were down 2-0 to the Wings, once again I thought all was lost. I should have had more faith in my team. They won every must-win game, beating the Wings at home in games 3, 4, and 6, and in the process overcoming a terrible 5-0 blowout in game 5. Going into game 7, all I could think was "anything can happen."
The Penguins played out of their minds in game 7. They controlled the puck, clogged the area in front of their net, and blocked shots as much as possible. Marc-Andre Fleury deserves all the credit in the world for bouncing back from a disastrous performance in game 5 to allow only two goals in the last two games. The Penguins played most of game 7 without team captain Sidney Crosby, who left the game early in the 2nd period with an injury and only played two shifts in the 3rd. Throughout game 7, my heart was in my throat. I thought I got worked up for Steelers games, but it turns out that it's easier for me to watch football than hockey. In football, I scream at the TV on every play, but each play is only 10 seconds long. Then I get a break and a chance to breathe. During game 7, I held my breath every time the Wings got the puck into the Penguins' zone. As the game wore on and I saw my team playing their game for the first time all series at Joe Louis Arena, I was able to relax a little. Then the Wings tied the game and I was back to hyperventilating and trying not to scream at the TV.
When it was over I nearly forgot to cheer. I saw my team carry the Stanley Cup around the rink. Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Fleury, Staal, and the rest will have their names on the Cup along with Lemieux, Jagr, Ron Francis, and the rest of my heroes from those great teams in the early 1990s. It was a great night for hockey. Now I need to make room for a Penguins poster on my Steelers championship wall.
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