LP: the proverbial bar has been set a lot higher in Detroit when it comes to the Red Wings, especially when compared to the Leafs. Why? Because we've actually won several Cups since 1967, our playoff record speaks for itself, and we've done all that with low to no name draft picks, thanks to our exceptional scouting, player development processes, and a total and unconditional commitment to excellence. "Making the playoffs" isn't a big deal for us. Even SCF appearances don't matter. What matters, the only thing that matters in the end is winning the Cup, period. I don't expect a Leafs fan to understand any of that.
Secondly, winning or losing at any stage also doesn't matter as much as competing does. Competing with what we have. What we have now is a re-calibrated team with great potential as long as the right decisions are being made by Kenny and all of the players. Now, we remain a force even at this juncture because of who we are, but being a force as I said before, isn't enough.
We have no qualms about losing to a better team or a team that played better despite our best effort, no matter how much it hurts. But not competing because our top guys are having a bad night after carrying the team so far in the season, is a very big deal and not acceptable to anyone from Babcock to fat old me downing espressos 5 in the morning in Dhaka. We competed but lost to the Sharks and nobody bitched about that. The outing against the Sens has outraged people because we didn't compete at all. Did you even watch the game before you responded to my concerns about my team?
Finally, you don't know jack about Detroit, her people and their relationship with the Red Wings, or how deep the club resides in people's hearts. We're not fair weather fans, and as successful as the Tigers and Pistons have also been, and as much as the Lions have sucked in the past, the Wings are what we live and die by. We dealt with your malice and taunting when we were down, and built a team that will not sink that low ever again. It won't because we're diligent, we care and are duly concerned, and that collective concern always leads to rectification.
The Red Wings represent the city and is an integral part of the community the players are proud to be involved with. It is done out of love and responsibility. It is a riverside city of native Americans, French settlers, escaped slaves, radical abolitionists, brave and tolerant homesteaders, and Greek, Arab, and Jewish immigrants who've been living there since 1880. This particular mix creates a sense of closely knit sense of mutual responsibility tough for outsiders to comprehend. So your comment about who deserves what in Detroit, a great city that went from incredible prosperity to total despair in front of my own eyes, is quite presumptuous. We don't do Toronto or Philly there, thank you. It matters to me because I have friends and family there, and that includes anyone who deserves to wear the sweater. Complacency deserves nothing.
On the matter of thugs. I think the NHL does a fair job discerning a thuggish hit and an unfortunate hit that ends up being a career debilitating one. Hockey is a tough, super fast sport played on blades with sticks and a projectile that can kill you. It is a sport where you can physically separate a player from the puck, and when necessary, drop the gloves to balance things out. Awful things will happen here, with or without a sudden rush of crazy blood. The idea is to mitigate criminal intent without mitigating the essential components of the sport, and I think the league has done a fair job so far and will continue to do so.
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"And do not curse those who call on other than GOD, lest they blaspheme and curse GOD, out of ignorance. We have adorned the works of every group in their eyes. Ultimately, they return to their Lord, then He informs them of everything they had done." (Qur'an 6:108)
Last edited by Sohel; October 24, 2013 at 11:02 PM..
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