I have to amend my statement about coming here and being able to discuss hockey with hockey fans in the past.
After looking at this thread I notice that except for haroldsnepts and hockeytown0001 you are all either newbees or old trolls. Makes me kind of sad, yeah, there was some ribbing both ways but it is fun to discuss hockey between different fan bases. ...
If you want to discuss hockey, try one of the threads discussing hockey. If you want to discuss other teams and their fans, remember that this a Wings board, with a Wings bias, and the prevailing opinion about other teams is going to fall somewhere in the range of 'indifference' to 'they suck'. Deal.
I never said he shouldn't have been booed. I said Hawks fans had every right to boo.
Never stated whether I would boo or not.
Idc if mickey generalized. what im trying to say is that it wasn't classless.
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The right, sure. It's a free country. Those fans have the right to be classless douchebags. And we have the right to call them as such.
Justification is debateable, and it seems we can't agree on that issue. So I guess we should just leave it at that.
I think you are missing the pointof what I am trying to say. Im not trying to say that Detroit dont have loyal fans, because they do. All I am saying is when people try to bash the Blackhawks fanbase and call most of them bandwagoners, then turn around and praise the Red wings fanbase, I just dont think a lot of them have the right to do that. The Red Wings have been in contention for two decades, so most of the fans around here (I didnt say all, I said most), have never had to experience the losing side of their team. Do you honestly think that if the Wings were to suck for the next 10 years all these "loyal" fans would stick around? I highly doubt it. Some of you would, I will even go a far as to say that a lot of them would, but you would see a good deal of them lose interest.
My whole point is if you have never been on the losing side you dont have the right to call out a fanbase that has had to deal with what us Blackhawk fans have had to deal with for a LONG time. That is not a knock on Detroits fanbase, im simply saying that a lot of Wing fans just dont get how bad it has been for Chicago, because they have never had to deal with it. You should be thankful you have had such a great organization, that pretty much any team would kill to have.
Forgive me if I rant a bit here.
I don't have a problem with 'bandwagon' fans the sense of fans who only take interest when the team is winning. Every organization in sports has those. I don't think you have to be a die-hard attending every game no matter how bad the team is to be a good fan. People have limited time and income, I don't expect people to spend what they have on a poor product.
For me, it's the attitude of some bandwagoners that gets to me. The attitude that brings them out in droves to Wings boards demanding respect. We didn't even play you in the playoffs. We were nothing more than an also-ran last season. Why are you here looking for validation? Why does everyone come to us to wave their victory banners, mock us for our failures? Does it really mean so much around the league for teams to be considered better than us? I guess we should take it as a compliment, but I just find it annoying. Let me ask you this; in 2008, how many Wings fans went out policing the Hawks boards for any percieved slights to our status?
Also, the sense of entitlement for some of these fans even though they haven't proven a willingness to pay their dues. I don't mean supporting a losing team. In many ways it's much easier to support a team with no expectations. You can't be disappointed. I mean supporting a good team that loses when you expect them to win.
You talk about how much success the Wings have had in recent memory, but that is a double-edged sword. With that success comes the expectation of more success. Since 1995, our seasons have had only two possible conclusions: Cup or Failure. We might have the most successful team over that span, but at the same time we have also endured the most failure. We are invested in our team to an extent I don't think you really understand. Probably half the leauge would be ecstatic just to make the playoffs this year. For us the prospect of missing the playoffs borders on tragic. A first round loss here is an embarassment. Last year in Phoenix it was an epic achievement, even though they had home ice and could easily have been considered the favorite. When Pittsburgh and Chicago lost to us, fans took it as a moral victory that they made it so far. When we lost to the Ducks and Pens in the same circumstances, they were profoundly disappointing failures. Even when we won the Cup most of the talk around the league centered around the rise of the Penguins.
You all come here playing the victim because we don't idolize every Cup winner, demanding respect that you haven't earned. Maybe it's just the 'instant success' factor; you haven't had a chance yet to take your lumps, but you are willing to. Pens fans probably would have said the same thing, but their bandwagon seemed to empty pretty quickly.
Come back when the Hawks are eliminated. Make excuses, whine about officiating and injuries and bad luck and all the other things you do when you're frustrated because your team let you down. Listen to fans around the league berate you for those excuses, tell you your reign is over. Fans around the league hate the Wings and us fans. Every team has the Wings games circled on their schedule almost like a rival or defending champ. League marketing is even sick of us, and always looking for the next big thing to replace us as headliners. That's what we Wings fans have been doing for over a decade.
You don't deserve the thrill of victory if defeat isn't agony. You haven't shown that yet. Even now you talk about the Hawks struggles like it doesn't bother you, like you expect nothing, like you could walk away from a second round loss with your head held high. Success is wonderful, and much appreciated, but also a reminder of the greater success we've failed to achieve. Your success still leaves you a lot closer to Nashville than it does to us, and you haven't yet demonstrated any emotional investment in your team. Yet you have the gall to step into enemey territory demanding equality in our justifiably biased discussions. Un-*******-believable.
