A Blues Fan Soapbox: Look In The Mirror

Edtitor's Note: If you would like to contribute your own piece, please e-mail me at hildymacgt at gmail dot com or Brad at gtbradlee at gmail dot com. We're a fan run paper and site, and we want to give a voice to as many fans as possible. Mi soapbox es su soapbox.

I have been a St Louis Blues fan since I was old enough to walk. I remember the old barn and the excitement of that building and the anticipation of waiting on Oakland Ave to get into the parking lot to enter this magical arena!

The musty smell of spilled beer and popcorn still remain a mainstay in my brain until this day. I was 7 or 8, but I can remember the die hard loyalty of these crazy fans, the sense of pride in the fans, and whether or not the team won or lost, the effort on the ice is what mattered. The players were as blue collared as the fans, and their commitment to giving them 100% every game is what meant the most. Can we say that about the Blues team of recent memory, or the "I bleed Blue" fans? I think not!!

The fans are too much enthralled with the current core roster of Backes, Oshie, Bouwmeester, Steen, Berglund, Jackman and what they do for the community and not what they do on the ice. Hey, I think what these guys do for St. Louis is great, but wouldn’t you trade a goody two shoes for a Stanley Cup? I would! The fans who fill the upper bowl of the "whatever corporate sponsor that pays the most name" arena that we play in now would agree! It makes me sick to my stomach to go to a game five playoff game last year and have 5,000 Blackhawk fans in my building! What?

I see too many corporate seats being sold to the highest bidder, usually Blackhawks fans, watching and cheering for their team in our building. I think we as fans need to realize that idolizing players for what they do off the ice instead of on it, and allowing out of town jerks from other cities to infiltrate our building can't and won't be tolerated.

I want tough guys who give their all every night. Maybe they aren’t the nicest guys in the world, but they do what it takes to win! I want the fans of St Louis to attend the God damn games instead of selling their seats to asshole Blackhawk fans, and for God's sake I want a gritty beat your ass playoff hockey team that brings me a Stanley Cup!