Grypho

Matt and all the fans here made it extremely easy. Not all forums are created or run equally, and you'd be surprised, I think, how fans from other teams are mistreated on some other forums, regardless of their behavior or attitudes coming in. With Wings fans it's been a decidedly different experience. The love of hockey itself seems to trump everything, which is how I think, so sitting in the company of Wings fans feels like a natural. Slap a Winged Wheel on my chest, as you have all made it VERY easy for me to root for the Wings for the duration. Best bandwagon I've ever been on, hands down.

I suspect you'll find the Ducks fans an amicable lot, with the expected exceptions for any team. I joined their boards a while back and received and extremely warm response. LGW still takes the prize in the hospitality to other team's fans department, but the Ducks fans that I've encountered have all been gracious hockey lovers - and their arena is definitely one where wearing the other team's colors doesn't put your life in danger, unlike Dallas some other teams.

Took the words right out of my mouth. GO WINGS!

Scoot over and make room for me on this bandwagon. It's a good one. I want for the Sharks, at the very least, to be able to say that they were beaten by both the number one seed in the WC, in addtion to the Western Conference Champions, if not the winners of the Stanley Cup. Great series, the Winged Wheel is now solidly on the Road to the Cup. Aim wisely...

It's not kissing ass. Wake up and smell the fat lady's armpits.

Good series, Wings Fans, Hasek will get his shutout, good luck with the Ducks.

Maybe some reverse Mojo is in order. My sig is handing this game to the Wings.

Best 5 Stooges episode I've ever seen.

Oohh, you used the word tampon. Not good. That's the jinx word for the Red Wings.

Will Chelios get suspended for that? I noticed that he used his curved ended hockey bat in a what looked like a very unseemly way. I feel a sternly worded letter coming on.

Can't believe you pulled the Rat Jinx out. I would have waited until the final moments of the game for that. That was low. Now they're going to think we're a dirty team.

I called RW and told him that the team that leads 2-0 in any game in this series is bound to lose. So glad he listened to me. We've got you right where we want you, Wings. MOOHOOHAHAHA!!!

So I went on a fun little search to see how many vids I could find that showed pics of sharks eating an octopus or winged creature of some kind, and came across the following two instead. I had thought about keeping them to myself, but then changed my mind, thinking, "Screw it. I found them, fair and square when I wasn't even looking for them. Let them see them and have their fun." Enjoy! National Geographic: Albatross Vs. Tiger Shark Watch the video. At the very end comes the prophetic comment: (shark vs. octopus - far more apropos for this series from a Wings fan perspective): The final words: Uncanny, or what?

I agree, which is why I'm picking the Sens in 6. I also agree that it's going to be an amazing series to watch.

Have to admit that because I was looking for vids that gave the opposite impression, when those two hit me square in the face I laughed my ass off. Even the temptation to shove them under the carpet cracked me up, as I found myself laughing at yours truly -- twice, no less.

I order hot wings, and somebody sneaks in crow. Not the same! Party foul! Do you know just how strange it is to have Chinese people take the time to call you early in the morning to comfort you on a loss you didn't even know happened yet, in a game they don't even understand? (my internet connection was knocked out in an electrical storm last night) Crap. Now every time the Rockets lose a game, I have to make half a billion consolation calls, or else I lose face. (btw, is there such a thing as a Heimlich maneuver for sharks?) Great win, Wings fans. I'm sorry my Sharkies didn't take the game, but I am sincerely happy for all of you. Well, I hear a fat lady in the background doing vocal warmups, and that's my cue to go entice her to shut up and sit back down with a bucket of bon bons -- or else put a pillow over her face.

10pm for me. This is one of those strange games where it's like living on the east coast and watching a 7PM PST game. A little late for me, but I actually get to watch a game at night for once!

Sharks in 6. What.

Did you consider that having Homer out for the first three games might have been a blessing in disguise? The first three games are usually the most telling in terms of teams figuring each other out, and just when the Sharks and Wings have their plans of attack lined up, enter the lone anamoly - a player that the Sharks weren't able to include in the equation until Game 4. It's certainly possible that Homer could have made a difference in Games 1 & 3, but it's also possible that he would have influenced the pace of the Sharks early on. Regardless, I agree that he's has been a strong factor than I would have credited him for before his return.

Wow, really thought the Devils were going to pull it off there at the end.

Well, if the Wings do take this series, and it looks like they may well, they had DAMNED well better take the Cup, that's all I have to say, little misses and misters, or in the words of Butters there will be HECK to pay, I tell ya, HECK! And you don't want to see me when I'm angry and spitting up on myself. I have been known to write sternly worded letters, and have even been known call people a name on occasion. So tremble all ye who tread lightly, for you have been warned.

So what happened? Last I saw (before an electrical storm knocked out my internet), the Sharks were in the lead 1-0, so I figured it was safe to say that the game was in the [Wings'] bag. Killed me to miss the rest of the game, but now I'm thinking that the hockey gods were just being kind to me (the game started at 2am here in China), and all I could do was go to sleep. 4-1. Wow. I said I thought it was going to be a 4-2 game, just didn't know who. I never thought I'd see the Sharks on the verge of elimination in this series. I really thought they'd take the Wings in 5, to be honest, 6 at the very most. Now it could very well be Wings in 6. Humbling! Good game, Wings. That was a critical game for either team, and based on the final score, there can be no doubting that the better team won. Cheers to Hockey Town.

Two primary reason I see that the Sharks are dominating play thus far; first, strong defensive support from forwards, and trapping up the neutral zone -- but the biggest reason isn't the most obvious, but it's something that's been true of every game, because in the first period the Sharks managed to deflect play away from the middle and along the boards. No matter what, they refused to battle the Wings in the middle - where the Wings would surely have killed them, and made them look weak. Watch the puck action in the next period. If the Wings manage to keep the battles in the open, watch the momentum shift toward the Wings. If the Sharks manage to keep it along the boards, they will continue to dominate, both zone and puck possession.

Hear hear. I know a lot of fans can't get their minds around this, but if my team is going to be beaten, I want it to be by nothing but the best. I hear fans say that they want the opposition that defeats them to get destroyed in a subsequent round, and all I can think is, "Why, so you can be satisfied that they are losers, which would mean that your team was an even bigger loser for not being able to beat a loser?" I know the thought process doesn't go that deep. They're just thinking in the ***-for-tat mode of, "You hurt me, so I want to see you hurt," but when you think about it, that has nothing to do with either team. Whichever team wins this series, I want that team to go on and take the Cup. If it's the Wings, then so be it; color me red for the rest of the season, and call me a Wings fan to the end. If the Road to the Cup isn't the one my team takes to the end, at the very least I want to be able to say that it went through the Sharks, and that we were defeated by no less than the eventual Stanley Cup Champions.

I hope everybody says that. I don't know about the winner, but I think it will be a 4-2 game.