The Fandom Menace

Let’s recap:

VAN 4 – PHI 1

EDM 4 – PHI 1

CGY 2 – PHI 1 (OT)

PHI 3 – WPG 0

Of a possible eight points, the Flyers earned three during their recent Canadian road trip.

&*^$%

The good news (?) is that three of the four games were on TV, so I was able to get familiar with the new faces … and continue to lament the Hartnell trade from two years ago. My guy Giroux is sorta kinda averaging a point per game, but as of this writing, Jake Voracek has yet to score a goal despite fifty-plus shots on net, thus proving that the release of his bobble-head hero action figure earlier this year may have been premature.

Oh, I’m too hard on the kid. Top the league in points just once and there’s only one way to go. Regrettably, fan expectations remain high, and likely he’s feeling the pressure from management, too, though in my opinion, foisting a new coach on the team was patently unfair. Sure, they missed the playoffs in 14/15, but that’s ’cause they dug themselves a hella hole in October and spent the rest of the year playing catchup. They were—here we go again—getting used to a new coach and had—here we go again—goaltender issues.

The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over while expecting to gain a different result. After years of watching pro hockey, season after season after season, I have deduced that I, along with every other fan of a sports team, must be crazy.