Flyers. Penguins.
It’s been a virtual lock for
a first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series for about two weeks now, and both cities have been
gearing up for it.
There’s a lot of bad blood
between the two cities, yet there are so many connections between the
cross-state rivals, especially for myself.
I spent four years in the
amazing city of Pittsburgh as a college student, and of course, as it is for everyone, it was the best
four years of my life.
A part of my heart still belongs to the city of Pittsburgh.
Many of my best friends — including two
of my Best Men in my wedding — grew up around the city of Pittsburgh, and
together we had a great four years out there.
That’s why this upcoming
series is going to be tough, and yet, fun.
I’m not like many Flyers
fans in that I respect the Pittsburgh Penguins.
I actually root for the Penguins when
the Flyers are out of the race. Some would say this is sacrilegious, but I say
if we can’t win it, I want the other side of the state to. I root for the
Steelers when the Eagles are done, and if it were to ever happen in my
lifetime, I’d root for the Pirates if they made it farther than the Phillies.
It’s why I was hoping the
Penguins wouldn’t leave Pittsburgh in 2005.
The franchise was extremely
close to being moved to Kansas City — yeah, Philly vs. Kansas City in
Round 1 just doesn’t have the same appeal.
The Penguins were in dire
need of some help and they finally got it, being able to stay in the city of
Pittsburgh, which was a win-win for the entire state. It was a win for Philly
because we’re able to have this great division rival. It was a win for
Pittsburgh, obviously, because this is a passionate fan base and they got to keep their team.
Many people in Philadelphia
don’t understand the passion that a good majority of Penguins have, because there is a large group of Pittsburgh fans who solely care about the Penguins.
They don’t care about
football.
Baseball means nothing to
them, and that has nothing to do with the 19 straight losing seasons.
All they care about is
hockey and their beloved Pens.
It’s an amazing thing to
see, considering how Philly is. Some of us like one of the main three teams —
Phillies, Flyers, Eagles — more than the other, but we all love them the same.
It’s why when the Phillies were losing in the eighth during the late 90s, we used to chant “Let’s
Go Flyers” in the 700 level of Veterans Stadium. We always have another team to fall back on.
But my friends in Pittsburgh, they live
and breathe Penguin hockey. It means the world to them. It’s all they have, and
I respect that.
I also respect what they’ve
gone through. From the depths of the NHL, the Pens organization has built a
contender.
You can argue that any team
that was bad enough to draft Sidney Crosby would be a Cup contender, but Crosby
didn’t win the Cup by himself, and he sure as hell didn’t get this team into
the playoffs this year. He spent most of the year on the shelf as the Pens
weathered the storm with other stars stepping up. That’s what a winning
franchise does.
And the great thing is,
Crosby is back just in time for this series. There can be no excuses now. It’s
Pittsburgh vs. Philly.
Crosby will get his share of
boos in Philly, just as Jaromir Jagr will get his share in Pittsburgh.
Philly fans can say they
hate Crosby, and Pittsburgh fans can say that we’re just jealous, but I’ll tell you
what it really is: It’s respect.
If you get booed by Philly,
it means one of three things: (1) You’re damn good; (2) You’ve wronged us; (3)
You’re damn good and you’ve wronged us.
Crosby is damn good. The way
he moves on the ice and dekes without losing the puck, it’s a wonder why we
don’t check his stick for super glue. How does he make the passes he makes; how
does he make the shots he takes? It’s amazing. It's a sight to see and it's why when I lived in Pittsburgh I went to Penguins games, to see the great talent with my own eyes.
So while I hate Crosby, I
love him.
It’s like Wes Mantooth said
to Ron Burgundy in “Anchorman”:
“At the bottom of my
gut, with every inch of me, I plain, straight hate you. But dammit, do I respect you!”
I think that sums it up
perfectly.
And Wednesday, when this
series finally faces off, I will banter back and forth with my good friends
from the Burgh, and no matter the outcome, we’ll still be great friends after. I
respect them, they respect me.
I just hope I don’t have to
click a hyperlink to a YouTube video of the Pens hoisting the Stanley Cup before I see a higher
quality video of the Flyers hoisting the Cup, because the grainy 1975 Cup
YouTube video doesn’t quite count as smack talk when my friends can send me HD
quality video of a Pens’ Stanley Cup win.
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