By Anne
Yes, Tone, this shit is getting old.
Aaaaaaand just like that, we're back on the rebound.
I couldn't watch most of this game, once we were losing to TORONTO by 3 GOALS, I had to turn it off. S(h)ara and I drowned our sorrows in dessert with our friend Tina at Pano's.
It's tough for those new to the love of Buffalo sports to accept defeat. After years of disappointment, I've become a hardened veteran. I grew up during Wide Right, the forward lateral pass in the 1st game of the playoffs v. the Titans, I watched No Goal in my basement family room with my parents and jumped up and down and screamed at the TV at the tender age of 13 and I've irrationally hated Brett Hull ever since. I hung onto the dream that when I moved back to Buffalo in the fall of 2004 I'd have Sabres games to watch....only to see that yes, really, the NHL had canceled the season. I'm still not sure how it got that bad. I watched the '06 playoffs with the starry eyed gaze of a child on Christmas morn, and it took me a long time to stop holding that penalty against Soupy. I, sadly, had to listen to us lose to Ottawa last season and almost cried right there in my car, driving along delaware when we lost. So, I'm used to losing.
It doesn't make it any easier when them team is redhot like they were last season, I still got mad and forced players to sleep on the couch when they made bone head plays, but they usually were able to quickly redeem themselves by being BA the next game. This season, not so much.
Yet, somehow, I'm not really sure how, I've developed an optimism defense mechanism, I still believe firmly that we'll win every "next game" or "next year". A tiny part of me kind of believes its possible for us to win "it" this season. That part of me is tiny and foolish, but it's still there.
Losses like last night are a little easier to swallow because it was to Toronto who until recently, haven't been able to buy a win. They're whole organization is falling apart. Carlton the Bear is about to be instated as GM. Things are tough. Although, maybe if mascots played more of an active role in contract negotiation, they'd be a little jollier. Sundin might ask for his no movement clause to be waived so he can be traded, the team might be sold, fans are quiet at the ACC and ticket prices are apparently sky-high? This is a dark time to be a Leaf's fan, so I suppose we can give them that win, give them something to be happy about while their franchise seems to be crumbling around them.
And, in spite of the many reasons why I shouldn't love him, Jason Blake, you are probably NHL BAMF. Dude has leukemia, takes medication for it everyday, and still plays hockey like nothing is wrong. You're pretty damn tank-ass Jason Blake, sorry your organization is unraveling. He's 5th in the NHL in shots on goal with (200+) that's pretty sweet.
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