The Stanley Cup will be at Ballpark Village tonight, so brace yourself for a second-round exit

There will be a viewing party for tonight’s game four between the Blues and the Stars tonight downtown at Ballpark Village. Puck drop is at 8:30, so get there early for a table and some beer. If you get there before the game starts and are looking for something to do, you can take a picture with the Stanley Cup.

Wait. What?

The Cup goes on tour more often than an aging 70s rock band hoping to squeeze one more dollar out of Baby Boomers before everyone dies, but if there’s one thing that Blues fans are probably leery of, it’s getting next to the league’s top prize. Superstition is a crazy thing in the NHL and among its fans. I’m wearing my lucky Blues socks today despite the fact that I know that they really aren’t some magic charm for the team to win. I also have never gotten anywhere near that damned Cup.

I’ve had a couple of chances to - at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game in Nashville and at the NHL 100th anniversary traveling exhibit a couple of seasons back. I viewed it from a respectful distance. I may’ve taken a photo of it in Nashville. But I didn’t get next to that thing.

Your mileage may vary when it comes to sports superstitions, like touching the conference trophies and so on. To be honest, the Blues have lost out on the chance to win the Stanley Cup so many times that you could twirl on that thing like a stripper pole and it wouldn’t impact whether or not the team would win the Cup at this point.

So feel free to do what you want with the thing. Just know that if the Blues get knocked out of the playoffs, it’s all your fault*.

*it is not