Wings Fans at LGW

[Grypho 195]

I don't guage forum fans based on the few trash talkers or the young, well intending, but ignorant homers who attack anything not "their color". I look at the best of the best, and also the majority average, and I just wanted to let you all know that I think you have a lot of class here. LOADED with a deep love, knowledge and appreciation for the game, I've been very pleasantly surprised by the personal moderation shown by so many posters here.

And the forum. What a forum. You welcome everyone, you don't even allow long-time members to make new members unwelcome (you actually have a RULE for this!), you keep the boards wide open and BEAUTIFULLY formatted. You allow sigs and off-site avatars, you only call the worst of infractions -- in other words, you run the forum the way a hockey game should be run. ALL OUT.

Without question, this is one of the best designed and run forums in the NHL, and the fact that it's not even run by a team or the NHL, but by fans, makes it all the better.

So much class, depth and heart. You have my undying appreciation and respect. Almost makes me want to start a forum for Sharks fans, and pattern it after this one. I am SO tempted.

My hat's off to all of you - if'n I had me a hat.

One Wings/LGW appreciating Sharks fan.

Edited April 28, 2007 by Grypho

[Viperar 16]

just a point...careful with putting those smilies in your posts as they are similar to spam posts haha

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Wow! This kinda got me teary eyed. LOL

First off, welcome to the boards! What a great first post. It's greatly appreciated, and we really hope you stick around.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Thanks for those kind words.

On a totally unrelated topic, what on Earth is your avatar?

[Grypho 195]

Viperar, you're right, I didn't even consider it. Smiley removed!

Thanks for those kind words.

On a totally unrelated topic, what on Earth is your avatar?

It's just something I had fun with -- a bunch of layers I played with a while back using Photoshop and ImageReady. I'm a fan of the original Alien movie, which means I'm also a fan of H.R. Giger, the designer of the original Alien from his Necronomicon series. The image I put myself in (that's me in the background)...

...is a modified version of something Giger did. Add some gears, some water sheeting over the top with corona sparks flying, and I end up with my little mini-tribute to HR Giger - kind of, after a fashion.

[DaKineMaui 8]

I don't guage forum fans based on the few trash talkers or the young, well intending, but ignorant homers who attack anything not "their color". I look at the best of the best, and also the majority average, and I just wanted to let you all know that I think you have a lot of class here. LOADED with a deep love, knowledge and appreciation for the game, I've been very pleasantly surprised by the personal moderation shown by so many posters here.

And the forum. What a forum. You welcome everyone, you don't even allow long-time members to make new members unwelcome (you actually have a RULE for this!), you keep the boards wide open and BEAUTIFULLY formatted. You allow sigs and off-site avatars, you only call the worst of infractions -- in other words, you run the forum the way a hockey game should be run. ALL OUT.

Without question, this is one of the best designed and run forums in the NHL, and the fact that it's not even run by a team or the NHL, but by fans, makes it all the better.

So much class, depth and heart. You have my undying appreciation and respect. Almost makes me want to start a forum for Sharks fans, and pattern it after this one. I am SO tempted.

My hat's off to all of you - if'n I had me a hat.

One Wings/LGW appreciating Sharks fan.

I thought the same things too till I got my invoice. I guess they bill $70/post. I'm out 2.2 million dollars now. LEAVE! Don't walk. RUN

aloha and welcome

[puertoricanWingsfan 5]

Thanks for the kind words my friend. It's impossible for me as a wings fan to complain about other teams fans unless we Red Wings fans represent well... I'm glad we've made a good impression upon you. Let's keep up the good work ladies and gentlemen!

[Seraph 240]

We're all about the classy, which you too have shown. Thanks for the post.

[eva unit zero 271]

Sorry, you missed one of the rules...

Members who joined since 2004 are not allowed to start topics, think, or breathe.

[Viperar 16]

Sorry, you missed one of the rules...

Members who joined since 2004 are not allowed to start topics, think, or breathe.

isnt that convenient

[DyingAlive 27]

I agree, this is one of the best forums in general that I have been on.

The majority of the members are not idiots. The fact alone that we discuss with enemy teams I think is so cool.

LGW is seriously a classy place. Props!

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Great post Grypho.

LGW is without doubt one heck of a site!

[Zetter is Better 0]

I don't guage forum fans based on the few trash talkers or the young, well intending, but ignorant homers who attack anything not "their color". I look at the best of the best, and also the majority average, and I just wanted to let you all know that I think you have a lot of class here. LOADED with a deep love, knowledge and appreciation for the game, I've been very pleasantly surprised by the personal moderation shown by so many posters here.

And the forum. What a forum. You welcome everyone, you don't even allow long-time members to make new members unwelcome (you actually have a RULE for this!), you keep the boards wide open and BEAUTIFULLY formatted. You allow sigs and off-site avatars, you only call the worst of infractions -- in other words, you run the forum the way a hockey game should be run. ALL OUT.

Without question, this is one of the best designed and run forums in the NHL, and the fact that it's not even run by a team or the NHL, but by fans, makes it all the better.

So much class, depth and heart. You have my undying appreciation and respect. Almost makes me want to start a forum for Sharks fans, and pattern it after this one. I am SO tempted.

My hat's off to all of you - if'n I had me a hat.

One Wings/LGW appreciating Sharks fan.

Thats my LGW! **whipes away a tear**

Welcome to the boards! This is definately an awsome site

[spydrwebb 0]

pleased to have you aboard, grypho. hope your stay is memorable.

you're right, this type of forum is rare these days and we certainly don't take that for granted.

[Grypho 195]

First, thank you all who have welcomed me to your forum, publicly and privately. It just served as more reinforcement for what I had already concluded. Secondly, I've been crawling this site, poking around, reading threads, and I have to say that I am still awestruck.

The Pre-GAME 2 (4/28): Sharks @ Red Wings thread that aflac9262 did - WOW, WOW, WOW. Once again with the spectacular eye-candy. Every other board, including my own, now feels utterly barren to me in comparison, you lucky bastages! You take the time to lay the entire playing field out, right down to right-column links to the opposing team's relevant sites!

LGW members, I want to say that you're SPOILED, but I don't think that's the case at all, because you do seem to appreciate every bit of what you have here. I'm enjoying your site so much, it makes me want to become a contributing supporter (EDIT: which I am as of now), and if this is any indication of real life fans, then I am very much looking forward to seeing a game in Detroit one day. I've been to a lot of other arenas, and I've been to Hockey Town, but not during hockey season, so I haven't been to the Joe yet either.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to today's game, which should be more than exciting, to say the least. (I watch via Sopcast video streams, and today's/tonight's comes on at midnight here in China -- but usually early in the morning). Wish we were in a pub watching it together. It's a lot more fun when you're watching it with the opposing teams fans, with a rivalry that is truly friendly. For that reason, I'll stick around and lurk the GDT; probably won't contribute, but I'll be there, especially between periods.

GO HOCKEY - THE GREATEST SPORT IN THE UNIVERSE!

Edited April 28, 2007 by Grypho

[vladdy16 2,154]

I missed this thread until this morning.

Thank you so much for the kudos. Matt, the founding father, will be very pleased. He takes great pride in this site, as well he should, and I'm sure he will greatly appreciate your many kind words.

We have long-term members from several different teams that add much to the discussion on a regular basis, and some are even community supporters. (This was done clandestinely to protect them from their respective team's brethren!) It's really nice to see hockey fans in general appreciate the hard work Matt puts into this site.

I think, though, that lurking is not nearly as much fun as contributing. While I am certain you will run into the rabid fan that will disagree with you just because you're a Sharks fan, I am equally certain you will meet three times as many fans that will appreciate your point of view. By all means, feel free to contribute any insights or observations you may have from your most interesting of hockey vantage points. (China? !)

[betterREDthandead 58]

The Pre-GAME 2 (4/28): Sharks @ Red Wings thread that aflac9262 did - WOW, WOW, WOW. Once again with the spectacular eye-candy. Every other board, including my own, now feels utterly barren to me in comparison, you lucky bastages! You take the time to lay the entire playing field out, right down to right-column links to the opposing team's relevant sites!

LetsGoWings: Ruining the other hockey message boards for everyone since 1996

Welcome aboard, Grypho! As good as LGW is, I've got no doubt it got better when you joined. But China?? I thought I had it bad when I lived in Virginia and nobody seemed to care about hockey much.

[Grypho 195]

We have long-term members from several different teams that add much to the discussion on a regular basis, and some are even community supporters. (This was done clandestinely to protect them from their respective team's brethren!)

Screw that, and them. I'm a Platinum Supporter now, I want my badge, and let it serve as an example to them. If they offered us HALF as much as what LGW offers its fans, I would pay there as well. And if any fan on my side took me on over it, I could handle any or all of them. Trust me on this one!

YOU HEAR THAT MATT? I want my badge. I need my stinking badge!

It's really nice to see hockey fans in general appreciate the hard work Matt puts into this site.

It's nothing short of all-out awe-inspiring to me.

I think, though, that lurking is not nearly as much fun as contributing. While I am certain you will run into the rabid fan that will disagree with you just because you're a Sharks fan, I am equally certain you will meet three times as many fans that will appreciate your point of view. By all means, feel free to contribute any insights or observations you may have from your most interesting of hockey vantage points. (China? !)

Well, I hear you, but if I do contribute, it'll be pretty neutral. I have no problem cheerleading in my own camp, and ribbing my Wings fan friends in person back and forth, but in a setting with a lot of strangers, as a guest in someone else's house, I won't ever forget my manners.

Yeah, China. VERY cool place. I've lived here since January, running a small company that supports the semiconductor industry here. Absolutely loving it.

[hockaholic 1]

What a nice Sharks fan...

[Zetter is Better 0]

GO HOCKEY - THE GREATEST SPORT IN THE UNIVERSE!

Amen to that

[Grypho 195]

I keep thinking about the fact that most fans in the NHL are without a hometown horse in the playoffs race; that many of them don't even have a team that came even close to making the playoffs. But a great many of those fans are still in it, and passionate, and interested, and jumping on bandwagons out of the sheer love of this game. I know it's in my blood. I was in on the Sharks expansion early years, and was excited to go watch my team get SLAUGHTERED by every other team in the NHL. I cared, but I didn't care.

<---------------------- I got my badge! Yeah baby. That's what I'm talkin bout. :beerbuddy:

No sport I've ever seen has come anywhere close to getting this deep into my veins. It completely replaced football for me, which took a back burner in my heart many years ago. Still interested, but start dropping pucks during Monday Night Football, and watch me change channels fast.

I know I'm stating the ridiculously obvious, but after this series, only one of our teams will advance. You all hope that it's the Wings, I hope it's the Sharks, and there's nothing wrong with any of us. But if it's the Wings, that will NOT mean that I, as a fan, am out of the playoffs, or that I hate the Wings, or that I don't completely love my team. How could I? Look where our teams got us even before the playoffs! I'm ecstatic that the Sharks clinched a berth, with one fun, wild ride along the way. Detroit fans, your team clinched the division and conference with the top seed in the West!

So yeah, I love my team, but it just so happens that I love the game itself even more. If San Jose had no team, I would have to go shopping for one, and that's a fact. And it would have to be one that had a ton of fans that loved the game in the same way that I do, which would put Detroit right in the running.

[BetweenThePipes 0]

Why can't more people be like you???

Welcome!

[murf 0]

There's Gryph, making friends everywhere he goes.

Agreed, this site is pretty cool. Definitely a step up from most places as far as the format/content goes. But most of the regulars seem to only respond to personal posts.... be they attacks or shoe drivelling. Posts about hockey, the teams, the rules, strategies, etc go largely without response or dialogue. Just an observation from my infentesimal time here, and probably unfounded, but hey.

If nothing else, thanks for the civility LGWers. That in itself is a breathe of fresh air.

[vladdy16 2,154]

Posts about hockey, the teams, the rules, strategies, etc go largely without response or dialogue. Just an observation from my infentesimal time here, and probably unfounded, but hey.

I can only answer this from my own point of view. First, as a moderator, I have very little time for actual hockey discussion anymore. It's a pretty big site to keep track of, and it's hopping normally during the playoffs. This is the least amount of traffic I've seen on the site in my tenure here during the playoffs. I can't explain that at all. But it's still quite a bit to keep track of for the 10 or so of us that are here on a regular basis.

Secondly, unfortunately for newer members, those of us who have been here for a while have pretty much discussed everything, hence we don't really contribute to the more recent threads involving those same topics. Thanks for the suggestion. I will personally try to contribute more often.

If nothing else, thanks for the civility LGWers. That in itself is a breathe of fresh air.

Don't worry. This will wear off in another game or two.

[Grypho 195]

But most of the regulars seem to only respond to personal posts.... be they attacks or shoe drivelling. Posts about hockey, the teams, the rules, strategies, etc go largely without response or dialogue. Just an observation from my infentesimal time here, and probably unfounded, but hey.

If nothing else, thanks for the civility LGWers. That in itself is a breathe of fresh air.

It's natural on any board, I think, for regulars who know each other well to prefer the interpersonal. The in-depth talk about teams, rules, strategy, etc., happens as well, but I think a lot of it depends on the context in which it is presented. A stranger from an opposing team, with no introductions, will have a harder time engaging others in an "objective" exchange, and even the reticence is understandable, because too often it becomes a rhetorical back and forthing, as one "objective" observation is one-upped by yet another "objective" observation from the other side. It's difficult and rare to get a completely objective and honest exchange in a public forum. But here, given the civility you mentioned, at least you've got a shot. I got caught up in a flame war on my own boards with fellow fans within my first few posts, and we weren't even on opposing sides! I'm glad that's behind us, but I didn't face anything like that here, as making "noobs" feel unwelcome is grounds for banning.

My favorite debates, if you want to call them that, are ones that I have with my friends, where I take their team's side, and they take mine. We don't get to be homers. It's not that we're cheering for each other's teams; it's just that we're taking a more modest approach, as we find out what we truly agree on about both teams, both ways. That's makes for an interesting exchange. And that goes hand in hand with another observation about this site - something that I also witnessed on the Canucks site, although not to quite the same extent: There are many fans here who are more than willing to concede any point to get an accurate read on any situation. I've seen this pounced on and thrown back in their faces faces in a "yeah, you do suck" mode, when that's not what they were saying at all. Don't even want to cite any examples, because they're not important, and I'm happy to ignore them. But seeing the Wings fans even make repeated efforts to be diplomatic and civil, and beyond all the homer talk, was something that I found profoundly impressive. And it wasn't just a few fans either. It was like that spirit of discussion permeated the forum.

Anyway, I think all the deeper talk you'd want is there in spades, if that's all you're truly looking for. You just have to get to know them first, I think - and the ones who are convinced will answer back eventually, if a point is truly provocative or insightful (as opposed to provoking and inciteful).