OK with the large amount of negativity lately (which I hope my last poll Fanpost didn't add to) So I'm thinking back to Averagejoes peice about being a fan from afar and I think we should all start saying why exactly we watch and love The St Louis Blues. 

Why am I a Blues fan?  Short Answer is one word long CuJo.

Now the long answer.  I was born and raised just outside of Syracuse, NY.  A town that was between Hockey teams while I grew up and therefore Hockey wasn't really on my radar.  Then in 1993 I went to college at Oswego State which is on a lake with Canada on the other side.  They had a hockey team and I quicklt fell in love with the game watching the team play live and screaming things down into the opposing teams penalty box with one foot on the boards.  We'd then go back to the dorm and watch Hockey Night in Canada.  I had to pick a team to route for since just routing for the underdog was getting boring. 

Say what you want about Curtis Joeph but I think anyone will agree he was the single most exciting goalie to ever watch in the net and I enjoyed the hell out of watching him play but then came the day.  It was game one of the second round of the 1993 playoffs.  Blues against the Leafs.  During that game Cujo got kicked in the face by a skate.  Let me say that again HE GOT KICKED IN THE FACE BY A SKATE.  He went off the ice got stiches and was back on the ice in (and I just looked up Hebert's time on ice today) 2 minutes.  You kick me with a skate I'm in bed for a week.  I turned to my friend Bill and said "That guys nuts.  I like him.  That's my team."  We may have lost that game and even dropped the series in 7 but I have never looked back and regretted that day.

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Well I tried to call out Tkachuk for his play recently in the game thread and got shit and pissed on for it.  It could have been the way I attempted to vent my anger, so I will try to make a better argument in hopes of people being able to objectively look at his play and not just think I was trying to get back at Walt for fucking my woman in the sandhole…or something.

I played hockey for 15 years, have been watching the Blues all my life.  I say this because I would like to think I know a little bit about the game and I am not a frosted tip douche bag like those we love to have on the STLtoday boards.  So don’t start with the hate yet.

I will start off with what I would call logical arguments for Walt not playing well.  What is his skill set right now?  He is not a playmaker, a goal scorer, a face-off specialist, or good on the stopper line.  Does anyone have confidence in him to turn an odd man rush, or any kind of rush, into a scoring opportunity when he is carrying the puck into the zone? Not me.  Or what about the energy or skill set to take over 2 minutes of a game when we are tied or down by 1 and need to win.  I don’t think he can do that anymore.  He can’t pass all that well, obviously can’t handle a pass, and in the game against the Sharks (I think) he fell down at least 5 times either b/c he couldn’t skate or was pushed off the puck with minimal effort.  At best, he can win some battles on the board and stand in front of the net to get garbage goals (I don’t mean to take away from the value of those goals…its just that I don’t think it takes any special kind of player to be able to do that.  I think you should be able to stick most any of your players on your NHL team in front of the net and expect them to get the job done).  I know Murray’s style of play emphasizes dumping the puck in and gaining control (something Walt should presumably still be able to do) but if that was the case, wouldn’t he have more assists or at least be at a fairly respectful +/- (as of the time I am writing this after his goal in the first period, he is at a -1 for the year).  Basically, if you put Walt in a different jersey without his name or 7 on the back of it, I’m pretty sure we would all think his ability to help this team on the ice is quite minimal.

Now for some numbers.  Since October 10 in our 2-1 loss against LA (15 games not including last night) he has 4 pts (all assists).  He has 17 SOG and that includes a stretch of four games where he registered 0 SOG.  He has not scored (before last night) since October 8 against ATL.  Now yes, the whole team has been playing poorly of late, and I’m not trying to single out Tkachuk at all.  However, his skill set and style of play makes him one of the most, if not the most, expendable player on the team (or at least the most expendable forward on the team).  Crombeen, McClement and Steen are a great stopper unit and have a solid place on the team.  Boyes, Backes, Oshie, Perron, McDonald, all have enough skill to call what they are going through a “scoring slump”.  Karyia has skill too, but he may be getting to old and I’m not willing to attack or defend him right now.  Janssen will always have a place on this team.  Tkachuk and Winchester seem to be the odd players out.  Winchester had a nice year last year where one could think he may be an ascending player, but he sure doesn’t have the history or pedigree to warrant any kind of slack and thinking he will be a good-solid player.  That just leaves Big Walt (along with Berglund who is an enigma. I don’t wanna go near there).  Again, I am only talking about on the ice contributions here.  For a team that is struggling so much on the power play and to score goals, I don’t see where to give someone like Walt a significant amount of ice time or even put him on a prime line.  Even with his limited role, his play seems so bad that he makes the best of not helping the team even though he has a limited role.  Basically, if everyone is playing shitty, something has gotta give.  And that something, to me, seems to be Tkachuk.  He is a cool dude and great leader, but this team needs on ice skill right now.  Make him a coach if you want him around this team.  Again, I know this team has a lot of problems right now. As a team, we take too many low percentage shots and don’t open up any kind of a shooting lane.  Our defensive core as a whole is no where near dynamic enough. But for the most part, this is the same team as last year.  As well as we played in the 2nd half last year, we played just as poorly in the first half.  You can make just as good an argument saying that we would be a bad team this year based on our first half as you could thinking we would be good this year because of our 2nd half. 

If you disagree, OK…what does Walt bring to this team while he is on the ice?  What does he bring on the ice that no other, or few other players on this team couldn’t bring?  I think his skill set is average at best and replaceable at worst.  And I know he scored last night, but anyone who saw that goal should not be impressed with it at all.  The initial shot was incredibly pathetic and he pretty much ran into the goalie to put the puck in the net.

Well after the Swingers Boyes Fanpost he picked up his game a little.  So lets try one for for Iceberg.  Rutherford says the Techoviking is playing too safe?  Maybe some clerks and metal will loosen him up.  That and this exchange between Olaf and Jay seems like something Oshie and Bergie would actually do to a girl...

				Oshie
		He's moving to the big city next
		week. He wants to be a metal singer.

				GIRL 1
		No way!

				Oshie
		Swear.
			(to Bergie)
		Bergie, metal!

	Iceberg makes a metal face.

				Oshie
		That's his fucking metal face.
			(to Bergie)
		Bergie, girls nice?

	Iceberg looks the girls up and down.

				Bergie
		Skrelnick.

				Oshie
			(laughs)
		That's fucked up.

									
				GIRL 1
		What did he say?

				Oshie
		I don't know, man. He's a fucking
		character.

				GIRL 2
		He really wants to play metal?

				Oshie
		He's got his own band in Vasteras.
		It's called "Fuck Your Yankee Blue
		Jeans" or something like that.

				GIRL 1
		That doesn't sound metal.

				Oshie
		You gotta hear him sing.
			(to Berglund)
		Bergie, "Berserker!"

	Techoviking laughs and shakes his head.

				OSHIE
		Come on, man, "Berserker!"

				GIRL 2
		Does he sing in English or Swedish?

				Oshie
		English.
			(to Berglund)
		Come on, "Berserker!" Girls think
		sexy.

				Berglund
			(relents)
		Da. Da.

				Oshie
		He's gonna sing it. This is too
		funny.

				Berglund
			(in broken English)
		MY LOVE FOR YOU IS LIKE A TRUCK
		BERSERKER! WOULD YOU LIKE SOME
		MAKING FUCK? BERSERKER!

				Oshie
			(laughing)
		That's fucking funny, man!

									
				GIRL 1
		Did he say "making fuck?"

				Oshie
		Wait, there's more.
			(to Berglund)
		Begie: sing...		

				Berglund
		MY LOVE FOR YOU IS TICKING CLOCK
		BERSERKER!WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUCK MY
		COCK? BERSERKER!
 Iceberg busts a crimson metal sneer and cackles deeply.

Dear BrewerHater...

Thank you for pointing yourself out for your stupidity in the first period when the Blues gave up their first goal to the Coyotes.  I kept an eye on you throughout the rest of the game.  Interestingly enough, I noticed that every good play Brewer made, you were turned around in your seat (as in, away from where the game was taking place) explaining to the other idiot behind you, why Brewer is not qualified as a defenseman.  I heard you talk about how he is a -1 now and how that adds to his lifetime +/-.

By the way, where were you when he kept that puck in the zone like a defenseman should, or when he made perfect outlet passes across 2 lines to an open forward?  Where were you when the Coyotes attempted to clear the puck on 3 unsuccessful powerplays and Brewer held it in like he should, and even put a few good shots on net?  Oh yeah, you were turned around away from the play talking about how much you know about hockey and how much you know Brewer sucks...

To Mister 307, Row A, Seat 11, FUCK YOU, and FUCK YOUR HOCKEY KNOWLEDGE.  Go eat shit, and don't ever let me hear you talk shit on the Blues again.  YOU PIECE OF SHIT!

I know, I know, the Blues won and I am as ecstatic as Paul Kariya getting credit for everyone else's work.  But fuck these people that show up at our games...yes OUR games.  Let them go be fair-weather to the Rams or the Cards...I am the first to say they are not welcome in OUR HOUSE!

LET'S GO BLUES!!! AND FUCK DETROIT AND FAIRWEATHER BLUES-BASHERS!!!

K10

I wanted to respond in the original thread, but apparently the comments were closed...

I want to thank Doc Whiskey for giving me the inspiration to take a stand against the stupidity that is the "Powerplay Dance".  I faced ridicule for making that sign that I proudly displayed during 3 powerplays that did not pay off because enough people did not pay heed to the warning.

However, it was all worth it when I witnessed my entire section of 307 sit and applaud the sign and the stats...with the exception of 2 douchebags in Row Y (last from the wall), seats 1 and 2, who found themselves proud enough to mock my sign and do the dance in spite of it...apparently, they weren't paying attention to the stat that my wife was attentively updating throughout the game...fucking douchebags.  We now sit at 10 for 75 (13%).  Thanks cock-knockers, hope you enjoyed bobbing up and down like idiots...and douchebags.

By the way, I would like to thank the couple from 305 that not only liked the sign during the 1st intermission, but happily reported to me in the 2nd intermission that their section halted all powerplay dance operations due to the sign and its ominous warnings.

Anyway I will make this a commitment of mine until that damn dance disappears.  Fuck those 2 guys, the same way I hope Louis The Blue Rat goes to 317 (or whatever the section is that doesn't matter with the guy that we want to jump) without his pants on and fucks towel boy in the ass...(I hope that wasn't too far...fuck that shit, we all know it, we all wish we could say it out loud.)

Sorry for anyone that is unfortunate enough to sit in 307+10.  If you're a part of this site, I love you...Unless of course, you're a douchebag that waves a towel around when we're down 4-1 just so you can show up on the Jumbotron...FUCK YOU. (and FUCK DETROIT !!!)

K10 Patel.

Apparently, we can now text Guest Services during home games if we have a complaint or concern.  According to the article posted on the Blues homepage:

"The system is designed to give fans an additional level of assistance at the games, giving them direct access to assistance from Scottrade Center Guest Services department. Fans should text the word ‘BLUES’ to 69050 and describe their situation, location, question or concern. A representative from Guest Services will arrive to assist fans if necessary."

Does this mean I can now text to complain when Brewer's being a douchebag?  How handy!!

 

 

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Cool story about a Canuck in King Arthur's Court...uh I mean hockey rink.  From the NHL to Altrincham

It is the jewel in ice hockey's crown: the fastest league in the world, watched by hundreds of thousands of fans, three times a week for half a year.

North America's National Hockey League - the NHL - is as good as the sport gets.

Televised, analysed and monetised to within an inch of its life, it is the sport's beating heart. It is a world away from ice hockey in the UK.

To my knowledge, only one man in England's Premier League (EPL) has stepped onto the ice as an NHL star. Now, he's talking to me in a dimly-lit Bracknell car park.

Can anyone help me out please????.....Will compensate($) for 2009-10 St. Louis Blues calendar...this was a promotional give-away game when the Blues played the Thrashers -- I was there and I got one and then I got so wasted I lost it and I would really like to get one back --- if any one can help me find one or has an extra -- I will gladly compensate some how --  please let me know!!!  email me.    rels03@yahoo.com

Who has 4 free tickets and two thumbs? THIS GUY!

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Just to keep tabs on progress, I thought this should have its own FanPost.

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