It’s all a matter of perspective. The things we do to follow and support our team. With the wonders of the worldwide media today, you don’t have to live in a particular town to support a particular team. Are you any less of a Blues fan because you don’t live in St Louis and/or can’t go along to Scottrade and watch the games? Of course not. Passion is what it’s about.
The clenched stomach and nervous tension still happens before games – whether you’re sat in the stadium or in front of a computer. You still search out the latest gossip or news; feverishly work out the calculations and connotations of every night’s games; go through the same dumbass rituals that you’re convinced will help your team win. (For me, it’s like wearing a particular tshirt…listening to a particular song…having the same sites open on the computer…hell, even making sure I have a certain brand of drink there. God forbid, the Blues should lose because I was wearing the wrong tshirt.). I can’t watch the game online because every single time I’ve done that…the Blues have lost. So I daren’t.
To US this is normal. It’s just part and parcel of the “fun”. For my non-hockey friends it's stupidity at its height. As an example, take last night. Blues v Dallas. I'm in the UK. Game started here at 1am. I went to bed at 2.30am just after Backes scored to make it 3-2 Blues – keeping up with things on the GDT on this site. Could I sleep? Could I hell. I didn’t want to give in, get up and turn on the computer so I texted a friend…got the score of 4-4 and leapt out of bed. Got back to the GDT just in time for Dallas to win. I should have gone back to bed. But I stayed up to see the Nashville result. Got back to bed at just gone 4am – admittedly grumpy as all hell and unable to sleep for about an hour.
Dedicated or stupid? Probably a bit of both! The thing is I also support a soccer team here in the UK. But I wouldn’t have done that for them. I did it for the Blues. But I would not have done it for the soccer team.
I guess there IS something to this bleed blue business after all. I love this team - and love "makes you do the whacky".
Anyway the point of this is…I’ve just related a couple of dumbass things I’ve done/do in support of this team…so now it’s YOUR turn.
Come on…humour a Brit who has only ever seen two live games (the Ducks/Kings season openers in London) and let me know that I’m not the only idiot who does this stuff…