Friday, September 24, 2010

Mea culpa.........



I'll be the first to admit I was overreacting to Price's performance against the Senators on Wednesday night.  Certainly not in the same way as some of the Bell Center "fans" who were booing and mocking Price every time he made an easy save, but for very different reasons.  Deep down I was praying he'd have a shutout and when he let in the first softy I felt that the life had been sucked out of me.

I'm fully aware that these preseason games are meaningless but I'm also very concerned about Price's future with the club.  Bob Gainey said it best last year when he spoke about a young goaltender that had been booed out of LA by impatient fans and ended up having a nice career with the Dallas Stars.  "Be careful who you boo out of town", Bob warned, "you just might end up playing against them one day".

Price's situation also reminded me of an interview between Oprah Winfrey and the poet Maya Angelou that took place a few years ago:


Oprah: Earlier you were telling me that your life is defined by principles. And one principle you have taught me is that we can't allow ourselves to be "pecked to death by ducks."

Maya: That's true. Some people don't have the nerve to just reach up and grab your throat, so they just take....

 
Oprah: Little pieces of you—with their rude comments.


The ducks (vultures) are circling up high in the Bell Center rafters, waiting for a chance to swoop down at  the first sign of weakness.  The situation could quickly become untenable, Hal Gill remarked that it's not just frustrating for Price, but it's affecting the whole team.

I agree (gulp) with Pierre McGuire, management has to take a stand and speak out on behalf of their young tender before Price comes to the conclusion that if you can't beat 'em join 'em.  In Anaheim.

5 comments:

moeman said...

Amen, Moey. Those jackals that need to vent like they did vs. Price are not true fans. Will they be attacking P.K. next? Gauthier (via the voice of Le Gros Bill) needs, once again, to remind some that class outweighs crass.

Kate said...

You got it moe.

Number31 said...

Some dude is filled with so much hate that he's becoming a Sens fan. Ciao dude. I'll pay for his bus ticket.

Guess no one remembers who stole those first two games of the year last year after a similarly average preseason.

I've never seen such stupidity in preseason ever in my life...

Team A's line up is fairly terrible, especially Spacek and Weber. I think their only saving grace has been Lappy's line and Pleky (on his own). But Team B has faced more AHL/longshots than Team A. And sooooo...the meaningless preseason warmups continue!

Kate said...

@31,

I loved being a fan back in the seventies. Ignorance was bliss, there was no internet, I didn't listen to sports radio. They played the game on the ice and more often than not, won a cup. End of story.

I hope they get a team in Quebec City and some of these rabid fans go with it. A proper thinning of the herd is in order.

soperman said...

Moey.

I totally agree with you but Pierre McGuire only seems right because he never stops talking and thus, eventually, something he says will make sense. It is like Don Cherry logging all of his on-camera comments so he can bring back the ones that sorta made sense and pretend he is some type of hockey prophet.

But in short, good point.