Passion, belief and other matters

I've finally had enough.

No, not with the Jackets; with the lack of passion from the fans.

I get it; I really do. Your team is making a habit out of losing and you're sick of wasting your time and money on watching it happen. There are no changes being made to lead you to believe that things can turn around. There's no yelling and screaming and calling out in the locker room, the coach can't force the players to buy into the system and the GM's patience is much like that song that never ends. (Yes, it goes on and on my friends.) Your back is slowly turning on this team and it's getting to the point where you could care less anymore.

All I have to say to that is you know where the door is, please let it hit you hard on the way out.

It breaks my heart to see so-called fans give up on their team. It kills me to sit at a game that the boys are losing and watch the drones of fans leaving early while the team watches from the bench during a T.V. time out. What could possibly be going through their heads in a moment like that? That's no kind of motivation in my opinion and in a time such as this I think the boys need their fans more than ever. Unfortunately, right now their glass is half empty and they see the fans leaving, not the ones staying until the bitter end. You can't blame them for that; it's all part of being human. It's easier to see what stands in front of you than what stands behind you and when the fans stand to leave they see them giving up; their failures are magnified and a part of them is sick inside because of it. Lately, a big portion of fans who have stayed behind have only stayed behind not to support, but to express their frustrations to the team when the final horn sounds. As if their wounds weren't deep enough, now the salt is just being poured all over them.

Something happened in the Phoenix game on December 17th though, that brought me to a realization. I watched for the first two periods as the Jackets faltered scoring chance after scoring chance. Even from home I could tell the crowd was starting to say, 'here we go again!'. But then something happened. A gust of wind hit Nationwide Arena, (and no it wasn't from Tyutin's whiffed shot) as the entire crowd breathed a sigh of relief when Rick Nash hit it home on the power play with a little over eight minutes left in the third period. Fans cheered loudly, they clapped along with the goal song beat and stood on their feet in support of their team.

And they didn't stop.

For eight minutes of regulation, five minutes of overtime and six shooters of shootout, the fans stayed behind their team and that's when I realized that all the fair-weather fans, all the negative words and all the frustrations that the city has with the CBJ could never outweigh the fans who enjoy, support without waivering and believe in this team. I even believe that the fans who find themselves grinding their teeth and debating whether to go to a game or not, still have a belief in this team.

It's hard not to believe in this team with all the promise it has, but lately there have been too many disheartening and disgusting comments made toward and about the Jackets that don't sit well with me as a fan. I can take it from the media; their job in a loss is to highlight what the Jackets did wrong, look past what the opposing team did wrong and skip or graze over anything that might've went right. As a fan however, I simply do not understand the lack of support and passion.

Like the Jackets, I have a high boiling point. Being a Cleveland Browns fan for upwards of twenty years proves that. I've heard it all with them just like I'm hearing it all now with the Jackets, but the difference is the Browns don't have what it takes yet. That's not a knock to them; I love the Brownies. I will admit that I've watched very few games this season, not because I'm falling off the fan-wagon, but because it breaks my heart to see them fail week after week in a system that just isn't working. The feeling is different with the Jackets. Minus the teams record, I believe we have a very good thing going. I don't see a glitch within the organIzation that suggests to me changes need to be made. I think our GM is a God send, I could literally sit and talk to Hitch for a week straight because I think the man is a genius and I don't believe there is a player in our locker room who isn't at least trying to contribute in their respective manners.

So then why is it so hard for this team to win a game?

No one has the exact answer to that. One day it's this, the next it's that. I'm wondering if it's just simply the weather.....haha, just kidding.

I don't think when they tell us that the answer is in the locker room they are simply feeding us a line of crap. I truly believe that. I could break the roster down player by player and tell you exactly why I think that player belongs on this team. -Maybe I'll do that in my next blog ;)- We have what it takes, but for whatever reason we just can't turn that into a win.

Maybe I'm beating a dead horse; maybe this is just another loss in many more losses to come for the Jackets and they'll never get things turned around this season. If that is their fate then so be it, but I won't accept that fact if and until that fact is official.

In the meantime I'm going to do what I do best and believe in this team with all I've got, root them on every step of the way and carry my flag, along with the flags that have been dropped along the worn and beaten path. If I could single handedly pull the boys out of the wreckage you can bet your bottom dollar that's what I would die doing, but until they come summoning my services I will continue to set an example for true, passionate, unconditional love for my team. I hope you will follow. :)

GO JACKETS! CARRY THE FLAG! I BELIEVE!