A Dark Day in Carolina

Today is a dark day in our neck of the woods -- yes its dark because its been raining off and on for the last week, but it's also dark in a figurative sense because our two brightest hopes for springtime glory were set back on their heels this weekend (no pun intended)!

The Carolina Hurricanes (and it's no secret I'm a huge fan!) were division leaders all season -- only fell from first place for 14 days out of a 6 month run -- and were whomped in the final 2 weeks of play by a team that flew from last place in the division to division champs in 2 months!
It was SO HARD to watch the Canes slide from an 8-2-0 "last 10" record to a 5-4-1 "last 10" in the last 2-3 weeks, but it just happened.

Then, to make it worse, we watched the Capitals beat the Panthers last night (not sure why we put ourselves through that, but I guess we had some slight hope that the Panthers could be a spoiler), and when it was over, we quickly switched to the Kansas-UNC Final Four game to cheer ourselves up. Well, for those of you who followed THAT game, you know that we weren't any happier! Kansas handed UNC their worst loss of the season! We didn't even watch the game after we saw the score in the first half -- switched the channel to America's Most Wanted, where we actually win sometimes !! :)

But there's always a "But..."

You know, I think it's human nature to live vicariously through people or groups of people who can do something we don't have a prayer of doing. AND, I think it's also human nature (for some people, anyway) to be attracted to people or events that rise above a significant challenge or two to put the nay-sayers to shame. That's the way I feel about the Canes! The year I lost my job to a bunch of idiots who took control of my destiny away from me was the year the Canes won the Stanley Cup. After wallowing in self-pity for a couple of months, I was bouyed up by the adrenaline of the race for a large shiny (ugly) trophy that was called a "Cup" but didn't look anything like one -- by a group of guys that were paid a lot of money to beat each other up on an ice rink in June! I had never watched hockey much, but the fire and grit of that team as they thumbed their collective noses at the NHL (who has always behaved as if southern hockey was a mistake) by proving all the pundits wrong was intoxicating in so many ways!

I really credit that 2-month period with getting me out of the funk I was in that spring, and as a result, I will always believe the Canes are special, regardless of how poorly they might do. Do I hate the fact that they are out of the playoffs for the second year in a row after winning the Stanley Cup? Of course! Do I hate the fact that all their hard work after months of injuries and two long rounds of the flu came down to one game that they couldn't win?? Absolutely!

But, I am a "forever fan" (FF), and I'm already looking forward to July 1 when training starts and I am already getting caught up in the talk of trades and acquisitions and the makeup of the 2008-09 team. For me, the Carolina Hurricanes are a constantly evolving story of guys trying to beat the odds in a league that thinks their division is a joke, and I hope those guys enjoy a much-deserved vacation while they heal and get ready for the next round! And whoever's on the team in the Fall will be my champions for the entire season -- hell, I can hardly skate, let alone play 60 minutes of hockey at that speed!! They certainly have my respect, and they most definitely have my appreciation, and win or lose, they give me something to root for when the rest of my life seems very ordinary and stressful.

Let's go, Canes!!!