I Haven’t Felt This Hockey Unhappy Since 1995
A new desktop background image goes on my laptop today as I sadly have to take down the 2008 Red Wings Stanley Cup celebration photo, and I don’t get to replace it with the 2009 one. IP had told me multiple times that he was in favor of whatever series outcome led to me getting the hairy, sweaty, (and sex-ay!) Red Wings celebrating the Cup off of my screen. Well, there was only one possible outcome, and it’s here. I think I’m going to pick something from Colorado National Monument, Mesa Verde, or Rocky Mountain National Park. (Funny how I pick stuff from the state the harbors a hated former rival.) But man, does this hurt!
I’ll get over it, of course, but I had been hoping for the Cup for various reasons, and the small, cutesy reason I was nursing the most was this:
- 2002: IP and I meet, start dating. Wings win Cup.
- 2008: Wings win Cup. IP and I get engaged.
- 2009: Had hoped Wings would win Cup. IP and I get married.
See how cute that would’ve been? Major milestones for us marked by Cup wins? Le sigh. When I told this to IP last night, he mock-lamented that we were now destined for a bitter divorce. Not what I believe, obvs, but it would have been a cute story.
So congrats to Pittsburgh, who took last year’s disappointment and capitalized on it. That’s good: that’s how great teams are made. It’s what the Wings did after their 1995 loss against the New Jersey Devils. From that disappointment stems the team you see today. Detroit had a spectacular run this year, and they still have a team that’s great. Detroit’s always, always called old and on the way out by the hockey pundits, but the vast majority of the Wings seem to be younger than me these days—that ain’t old. Sure, we don’t have flashy, NHL-marketable players, but that’s okay. Wings aren’t about flash. And they’ll come back strong next year, I’m sure.
Still, this sucks. This sucks, sucks, sucks. I still love Ozzie, though; he played a hell of a post-season. He’d better get inducted into the Hall of Fame when the time comes, dammit.
Updated, 9:15pm: I ended up selecting a picture from Crater Lake to put on my desktop; it’s a great picture of Wizard Island with a motorboat streaming water alongside it. It’s an absolutely gorgeous picture and I love it, but each time I reduce my windows and see the picture, I get hockey sad all over again. :( :( :(