Yeah, and the fact that 'local' teams aren't at all local anymore kinda gets me too... So what exactly are Edmonton fans cheering for? The players, who aren't from Edmonton anyway? The team management, who while based in Edmonton, are mostly in it for the money? The concept of a 'team' regardless of how relevant or substantial any part of that concept actually is to Edmonton?
If the 'team' wins the cup, but by next season almost all of them are traded away somewhere else, do the new players take some pride in being in a city with the cup, even though they had nothing to do with it?
I think if I was a hockey fan, I'd be tempted to swaer off team loyalty in favour of player loyalty - whatever team player X was on, would be who I'd want to win the cup. At least people are real, and their histories mean something... 5 years from now the Edmonton Oilers franchise could be sold, all the players completely swapped out, and the name changed to the whim of the new owner, and yet Edmontonians would still sit a cheer on the 'local' team like it meant something.
And yeah, my family kills me too. They're pretty much why I'm not a hockey fan - All I remember from my childhood about hockey is lots of pointless yelling, stat-quoting and name-dropping and a lot of heated fights between my dad and my brother. Nothing I wanted a part of... Though the 'excuse to party' aspect of it is something I could enjoy now, if I could get into it. :)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2006-06-16 11:27 pm (UTC)If the 'team' wins the cup, but by next season almost all of them are traded away somewhere else, do the new players take some pride in being in a city with the cup, even though they had nothing to do with it?
I think if I was a hockey fan, I'd be tempted to swaer off team loyalty in favour of player loyalty - whatever team player X was on, would be who I'd want to win the cup. At least people are real, and their histories mean something... 5 years from now the Edmonton Oilers franchise could be sold, all the players completely swapped out, and the name changed to the whim of the new owner, and yet Edmontonians would still sit a cheer on the 'local' team like it meant something.
And yeah, my family kills me too. They're pretty much why I'm not a hockey fan - All I remember from my childhood about hockey is lots of pointless yelling, stat-quoting and name-dropping and a lot of heated fights between my dad and my brother. Nothing I wanted a part of... Though the 'excuse to party' aspect of it is something I could enjoy now, if I could get into it. :)