Stanley Cup 2015

General Discussion
#221

I’m only rooting against Chicago for a hockey pool in which I picked Tampa and the ducks in the final. I’ve won the pool unless toews and Kane have like 15 points in this series. So I’m not even rooting. I just like Tampa more than Chicago but I won’t be at any parades.

It’s funny, the thing I find gayer than gay is the Chicago fans saying stupid shit.

Similar to the days when I’d make fun of b8 s4 owners for doing dumb shit… and then b8 guys would say I hate the b8. I owned a fucking b8. I hate dumb shit.

Like this overblown BS story that Chicago jerseys are banned from Tampa games. They aren’t. There are two little sections where they want it for Tampa fans only. That’s it.

Here’s what you ACTUALLY posted…which is nothing like what you think you posted

Nowhere did you say ‘in two tiny sections’ or ‘Tampa is protecting seats for Tampa fans’.

No, you tried to make it bigger than it was, and then you made it sound like Tampa is scared of Chicago?

So who didn’t check the facts again?

Fail

#222

Didn’t try to do anything. No intent really but I accept the fact there was more or less as it were to the story…lesson learned. Sigh

Looking forward to the rest of the series.

Have a hawks flag out front of the house. Get plenty of go hawks by passers by and the occasional fuck the hawks. Gotta love fan fare, good and bad.

#223

surprised anyone would say fuck the hawks. Sharks fans care?

whenever I’m in the US and I go to a hockey game I get the impression they are giving the tickets away to homeless people in order to fill the place.

the ‘fans’ are disengaged, they don’t have a fucking CLUE what is going on (did I ever tell you guys about the game in Tampa when the guy beside us was complaining that Tampa only had 4 guys on the ice? “Hey…what the hell…we only have 4 guys on the ice. What are they thinking?”)

It’s really odd. It would be like filling an NFL stadium full of me.

#224

Hahahaha! Sharks fans are actually pretty committed. Socal not so much. I am not in Cali anymore though. AZ now. Maybe a Coyotes fan? Even worse

Was thinking along similar lines when you posted about hockey office pool. Outside MN maybe I highly doubt many hockey pools in the states.

#225

It’s pretty simple honestly…unless you live in the lake states (mich, wisc, minn, part of ill) or new england…then no one cares about hockey. It’s a really expensive sport to get into as a kid (way worse now…$200 stick and $400 skates for your mini mite 5 year old??? lol) and the game doesn’t have a lot of “scoring” like other sports. Same reason people don’t like soccer here. Different strokes for different folks. It was so bad a few years ago that a major network (disney (abs/espn)? I don’t remember) ditched the NHL TV contract and part of the cup finals were only on the channel ‘VS’ (now NBC sports), which you only got if you had cable (some providers like directTV didn’t have it).

Sharks fans are actually pretty solid.

#226

the scoring thing doesn’t make a ton of sense

NFL is the most popular sport in america and it averages 4.5 to 5.0 touchdowns per game? Hockey averages 5.5 goals per game.

As for $200 sticks and $400 skates, that’s like saying you can’t let your kid learn to drive because you have to buy him a $2.5 million veyron. It’s not accurate, and there are other options. For example $20 wood sticks and $40 used skates or $60 non-insanely expensive skates.

Anyone here actually ever play hockey???

#227

Not competitive. Just back yard pond stuff as a kid through HS. Loved it. Terrible skater but hey it was still fun. Weird thing is I am a fairly proficient skiier. Would think I’d have been a better skater.

Probably one of less than finer moments that sticks with me to this day was slashing my buddies hand. Hurt his thumb pretty bad. Stills friends to this day thankfully.

#228

The scoring thing isn’t as much of an issue as soccer, but it’s still worse than the other sports. I wonder how much those stats get skewed by empty netters. This chart shows scoring has gone down since the glory years http://www.sportingcharts.com/articles/nhl/average-goals-scored-per-game-in-the-nhl.aspx Football is actually a strange game to explain to people, but it’s ingrained so much in culture. Not really interested in debating which is more “exciting” to watch, just trying to explain why people don’t like it. When I watch hockey, I’m not necessarily looking for goals, I can appreciate other aspects of the game. But most don’t. And they don’t like hockey, think it’s just fights and such.

Whenever I walk into a shop I see kids rocking composite sticks and top of the line equipment. Your kid doesn’t HAVE to get that, but how long is that gonna fly. It’s like using a target bat in little league…you won’t rock that POS when others have TPS and Luisville sluggers. Hockey is an expensive sport to play no matter how you look at it. People in michigan make ice rinks in their backyards. In California, it cost my folks $400 to play for 3 months in a house league at the age of 9. This included weekly games and a weekly practice. Not to mention it took 45 minutes to get there. Soccer was maybe $50 for a season and I could ride my bike there. Basketball I could play in my driveway and throwing a football/baseball is just what you do as kids. I played street hockey on my block, which was a lot cheaper to get going, but it wasn’t the same game…not even close.

#229

Yes…and equipment cost was never really an issue. It’s honestly league fees that kill you if you want to play competitively. Traveling teams are even worse due to tournament entry fees and hotel/gas costs.

I’d never deck my kid out like some morons do, the difference in an ice hockey skate isn’t going to make you significantly better. He will have decent equipment, but I’m not spending $400 on shit until he is older and can wear the skates for a few years.

Now IMHO inline hockey there is a little more that goes into a good skate and the money you spend there can give you an advantage (bearings, weight, wheel compounds and durometer).

for anyone that is interested, hockeymonkey.com has always been pretty great price wise.

#230

I played for about 4 years when I was a kid. I actually was a substitute goalie one game and loved it - we won. But I never got another opportunity at the position.

Similar to football. I played one year when I was 13, and the coach put me at right tackle. The one game I got to play defense I had way more fun and had two sacks.

#231

Grew up playing soccer from 5 until club college. Grew up playing with and against Brian McBride of U S national team. Chicagoland travel teams such as the Soccers and Pegasus and Arlington Aces. His Buffalo Grove HS team knocked mine out of state championship. Elite 8, not so bad. Good times and fond memories. My knees sure took a beating. Now both acl’s have been repaired and since blown out one of those repairs. Fully detached left acl. No bueno.

Loved going to our hs hockey games. Never a dull moment.

#232

2x, slow connection. I apologize

#233

Crab n shrimp boil to nosh for Game 2. Go Hawks!
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/06/06/f8387f735acff02e20f6bf706c927098.jpg

Teavainen good look on the pp goal!

And why do Tampa fans boo Keith only?

#234

Was Keith drafted by Tampa or something?

#235

I wondered same but no. Hawks drafted him. And I noticed them booing whoever started puck from defense zone on pp. Guess it usually is Keith.

Tough loss, good win by Tampa. Sloppy goal tending today by Crawford. Guy is so inconsistent imo.

#236

Can’t stand how quickly Hawks relinquish momentum by giving up goals immediately after scoring one of their own. Killer instinct lacking. Grrrrrrr!!! And such a sweet Hawks goal to boot.

#237

Fuck. Series is over.

#238

Lolol at the despondency after going down by 1

#239

Hawks in 6 :blush:

#240

^^^That’s more the norm in this thread. Blustery confident talk. Windy city style.