Road to the Winter Classic: Rangers/Flyers (part 1)

OH MY HOLY SWEET JEBUS

Okay. I have more that I want to yell at you but I just have to contain myself. This isn't tumblr....

Time for the serious. Pffft.

Anyway. I loved it! As you've probably gathered.

The narrator sounded like the guy who does some of the History Channel stuff. It just made it that more intense.

I love love love Ilya Brygalov. There are a whole slew of quotes I could bombard you with, but I won't. Do some searching and you'll find out why he has the awesomesauce award. His kids get awards too.

Max Talbot. There's so much I could say about you but I don't know where to start so I won't.

I wanted to cry when they highlighted Claude Giroux. Watching that hit was painful. Watching his subplot was painful. And I feel like they're going to continue following it in some respect so that's just a point of depression in the series.

(side note: Liev Schreiber is the narrator. And apparently he’s done a lot of work for sports stuff. Which is why I recognize his voice!)

The difference in the teams was clearly highlighted.

The Rangers are city boys. Going to upscale restaurants and just seeming a bit like pretty boys. (Avery is a model!) It’s not negative, though. They work where they work and that has an effect on them. I don’t think I can really capture it in words.

But it could also come down to the lighting and shots used for the Rangers clips. Low lighting and up-angle shots. The camera operators spent a lot of time putting the Rangers in positions of power in the way things were filmed. 

The Flyers. Oh gosh. They're just so much fun! Not that the Rangers aren't. It's just a different kind of fun. They all seem a little bit rough-and-tumble while still being good-time-guys. I think the best word for them is: dorks. And I mean that with a heart full of love. They get the Southern "Oh, [insert name here]? Bless his heart, that boy..." and two thumbs up. 

I think it was their post-win dance to Mac Miller's "Knock Knock" that sealed it. 

I need to go purchase that and Chelsea Dagger via iTunes. Infectious songs. 

Can't wait for part two! 

Me Roosta

So.... Claude Giroux is currently out of action for the Flyers. Along with Pronger, Gustafsson, Lilja, Laperriere, Schenn, and Betts.

It's painful. I can say that much. The French-Canadian red head has quickly become a favorite. He's energetic, loves the sport, and plays as well as some "unmentionables."

As much as I love his on ice persona, my enjoyment of watching the Flyers will only be slightly diminished. They're a great team.

That being said, I'm looking forward to the 2012 Winter Classic! My top two teams going at it.

(I know I'm a walking contradiction for loving the Rangers and Flyers with all the bad blood between them but I don't care.)

GET WELL SOON ROO!

Really NHL? 4 conferences? Really?

COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!

This is utter stupidity! 

Seriously.

Okay. So I get the teams concern about traveling and all that jazz. But seriously. It's jank.

Why are the FL teams in the same conferences as Buffalo and Boston and all them fools? How is that alleviating geographic stress?

Would four conferences do away with the Circus trip?

NHL....what kind of stupidity are you running up there? Address the fans, broski. Address the fans. Plenty of them think this is over doing it.

Maybe it's just a classic reaction to change. A immediate cry of, "Resist the man!" But in this case, I think it's warranted.

"The four conferences are designed to alleviate geographic concerns among several current Western Conference teams that had been unhappy about their extensive travel through one, two, and sometimes even three time zones. Some of those teams argued that the late start of road games in the Pacific time zone were affecting fan interest, especially among younger fans."

Part of the hockey appeal is that they do this rough and tough sport with a crazy schedule.

Also, y'all are FREAKIN NHL TEAMS. You make money. It's not affecting fan interest.

Let's be honest. As a young person not to far out of my teens, I can tell you that if a kid wants to watch a sports game, they're going to watch it. They'll find a way to sneak and watch it. Or follow it online. Either way, they're finding out about the game.

If we want to make an argument about fan interest, how about this: Uh... why do I have to pay for extra channels to be able to watch 90% of the games of the regular season? Even the games in my division get bumped for other things. I barely see the Canes games. And can someone explain why I saw a Preds game on FSSO if we're the Eastern and they aren't?

I follow most games online because the games I want to see aren't played in my region. I'm 6 hours from Carolina and Nashville yet I barely see their games. That's not helping fan interest. Screw WHERE they're playing. I want to see the Canes games. All of them.

(And I'm not stupid. I know networks have contracts with teams about how many and which games they will be able to air exclusively. But I'm bitter so get over it.)

Heck. Even when the Thrashers were here, I didn't get to see all of their games. What. The. Heck.

Okay. Enough ranting and raving about the stupidity of the NHL peeps. Time to offer a solution. One I've shared in numerous places and have seen others also state on their own....

My solution as shared on the NHL Facebook page:
 Making this WAY more difficult than it is. Move Peg to Central in Western and then either the Blues or the Preds to Southeastern in Eastern. Preds make more sense cause of geography but the Blues make more sense to keep the conference like it was when the Thrashers were here. There's no need for four conferences!