Nightfall

For once, we both agree. That penalty call was disgusting.

Wow, you changed your tune quickly. Is that the 102nd time you jumped on and off the bandwagon this season? Welcome back.

He got hit, not "Kronwalled". Big difference.

No problem. Like a typical bandwagoner, the Wings struggle, and you quit on them. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

They aren't beating the Wings with physical play. They are hungrier than the Wings right now and it shows. Their passing is more accurate and they are making great plays in the offensive and defensive zone. Oh, and by the way, the Wings should get their shots on net. Wide of the next 5 times this period so far on great chances. It goes far beyond hitting someone. Any idiot can hit someone else. Its the drive and determination to WANT that puck more than the other guy.

Glad to hear you are off the bandwagon. Please go join the Blackhawks fan board with Mindfly and delete your account here.

When the Wings play badly, he jumps off the bandwagon. When the Wings play well, he jumps back on. So by my count, this year he jumped on the off the bandwagon about 45 times. I should make a sign and make it part of my signature. Mindfly is currently "OFF" the bandwagon.

Best frickin post in this 60 page thread. One loss and Wings nation is hitting the panic button. I wonder if San Jose, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey are panicking right now as well? Please. Its a 7 game series. Howard played very well. The team in front of him did not, and we only lost by a goal. They will turn up the heat next game.

SJS/COL: 4-1 CHI/NSH: 4-2 VAN/LAK: 2-4 PHX/DET: 1-4 WAS/MTL: 4-2 NJD/PHI: 3-4 BUF/BOS: 4-2 PIT/OTT: 4-2 WC Champion: Detroit Red Wings EC Champion: Washington Capitals SCF Champion: Detroit Red Wings

Here were my expectations: The Wings would make the playoffs The Wings would be a competitive team Various LGW members were quick to shove this team under the bus and declare them dead when they were out of the playoff picture at the Olympic break like the fairweather fans they were. Here were my unexpecatations Jimmy Howard taking over as #1. After seeing him play in Grand Rapids last season, I thought he played average. I didn't expect him to catch fire and play like he has. Bert having a pretty successful year. Playing in all 82 games and notching 44 points is nothing to scoff at for a player his age (35) Osgood struggling badly. I know he picked it up for playoffs last year, but it seems like the team just gave up on him whenever he played this year.

Most of these parodies are hilarious. Thanks for sharing them. I like the Yzerman one on TV a little better. The slogan "What if Stevie Y didn't inspire Hockeytown" is spot on. Keep them coming because they are great so far.

Has he been on yet? Keith Tka-up-chuck is on right now.

I agree 100%. I barely knew the game back in 1995. I was still trying to determine the difference between college hockey rules and NHL rules. That being said, I hated the Devils. It wasn't until the NHL came back from the lockout when I started enjoying just about all hockey I could watch. I became a fan of the game about as much as I became a fan of the Red Wings. I think you can call me a magnanimous and reasonable person just based on the fact that while I love the Wings, I can enjoy the sport for what it is. Ignorance knows no bounds. I have to agree that these people who said these things are dumb. However, I hear the same damn quotes from Wings fans relating to players on the Wings roster. Look at the discussion about the Calder voting for instance. Some Wings fans already have a chip on their shoulder because Tyler Myers seems to be getting all the press. Some are already saying "Howard is getting robbed." I don't equate this to ignorant Caps fans, but ignorant fans overall. These are the same fans, when the chips are down and their team is struggling, will bandwagon jump to another team. I completely agree with your assessment as a whole though. I just give the Caps fans a lot more leeway. I think you need to give these fans a little more than 2 years in order to get their attitude in order. Let me give you another example here. I am a Ferris State Bulldogs hockey fan. Always have been. In fact, that was the first team I ever saw play live. Heck, my first game I ever saw was Ferris State vrs Lake Superior State. Anyway, Ferris State has never been a national powerhouse. They have always languished in the middle to bottom of the pack with a couple exceptional years thrown in. In 2002-2003, Chris Kunitz led the Bulldogs to a NCAA playoff birth and a CCHA regular season championship. The rink was full that season as well as the next season. As a fan, I noticed that the rink went from true hockey fans to bandwagon fans in the span of a season. The second year, the fans move from excited to be part of a winning team to what I like to call "right to entitlement". That is the same area the Caps fans are in today. In short, the fans of a winning team want to see more success next season. If that success doesn't come, well, its the refs, league, coach, or player's fault. If the team has more success the next season, then it gets worse the next season. The only way you get fans to calm down is to have a period of 5-10+ years of success like the Wings have done. The Devils would be another success story. Eventually, the fans become more educated about the game of hockey and since fans love a winner, they stick around. It all ends though when the team starts to go downhill again. The fans will leave the game and go to other teams. The true fans will stick around (like my friend in Tampa Bay has figured out), but the mass amount of fans will leave. These are the people that you and I both like to talk to. These are the people that I got to know at Ferris State when the team sucked that stayed with the team and continue to stay with the team today. Its good to know these are true fans of the game and the team. Talking hockey with these people are a privilege. In conclusion, I know you are sick of the Caps fans. I am just asking that you give them a bit more time. In a period of 10 years or so, the Caps will win a Stanley Cup and the team will be slipping back into mediocrity. The fans that stick around when all the bandwagon fans leave will be the ones you will enjoy talking too the most. You just don't know which fans will shake out until the team starts dropping in the overall standings which is going to be a while. Just know its all a vicious cycle. Its going to happen with the Wings eventually. Personally, I watch the Caps on NHL Center Ice quite often. If the Wings don't win the cup this year, I would be a happy hockey fan if Washington lifted it (or any other team who hasn't won it in a while or ever).

I find it funny that some members of the LGW forum are calling out the Caps fans. Especially considering there are a good portion of LGW fans that were willing to throw the team under the bus when they faced adversity this season. IMHO, true fans don't do that to their team. There are some members in this forum that showed their true colors. There is a small part of me that wished the Wings would have tanked this season and missed playoffs just so the bandwagon fans would have left and not come back. That being said, I will say this about the Caps fans. They are passionate and enjoy a good show. That is what the Caps bring every night. A lot of their fans are new, and I am not going to hold that against them. Heck, I was a new fan back in 1995 when I first started watching hockey. Everyone has to start somewhere. I am not going to judge new fans of a team. Rather, I will see how the fans support the team years later. Look at the Tampa Bay Lightning. They make a cup run, the place fills up. Now, their attendance is starting to struggle again. People love a winner, but the bandwagon fans will leave once as the team starts to struggle. Then, when you go see a Caps game, you will meet the fans who know the team and players and love the sport. Case in point on the Lightning, I have a friend who is 68 and retired. He never saw a hockey game before. I took him to a Tampa Bay Lightning game the year before they won the cup and he was a fan. Today, he goes to about 10 lightning games a year and watches them all on TV when he can't go. He is a hockey fan and a bolts fan today. He hated the bandwagon fans that supported the team and then left after the team sucked. He said that it is a lot of fun being a fan today because when he goes to see a game, a vast majority of the other people in the arena are true Bolts fans or hockey fans. Unlike a few years ago when there were people he would sit by that wouldn't know the rules or know anything about hockey. In conclusion, give these fans a chance. Some of them will be great hockey fans and caps fans a few years from now. Just gotta give them time.

I completely agree with you here. I am an avid Detroit Red Wings fan, but I am also a hockey fan. I have season tickets to the Griffins and get the NHL Center Ice package because I love to watch and attend hockey games. I have favorite players that I love to watch like Ovechkin. I am not too wild about the Penguins, but I think Crosby is a great player and I like to watch Chris Kunitz because he was a Ferris State Bulldog hockey player and a 2 time cup champion. Just because I think Crosby is a great player doesn't make me less of a Wings fan that's for sure. Anyone who claims otherwise is an idiot. End of discussion.

Ok. The bandwagon fans can jump back on now. We won. Great game!

What a great game so far. Man, what chances for the Wings.

After having years of crappy goaltending, if I was a Vancouver fan, I would be doing the same thing.

I know. The Wings need to keep the intensity up all game long. Not play hard in the first, play exceptional in the second, and then slack in the 3rd. Damn. 3-3

Wow, Howard saved their bacon on that one.

Actually, I hope the wings fan that called for the 4-2 Canucks victory will eat some crow if the Wings win this game 4-2.

There is a first time for everything.

The bandwagon fans are climbing back on board. In all seriousness, thats a post by a wings fan. Not the belitting crap that I see out of a lot of bandwagon fans that are looking for a reason to jump on board with the Hawks or something.

I want to note that the bandwagon fans that jumped off are not commenting now that the wings are doing well. Maybe they jumped off early?

Holy crap! 2-2!