Sunshine and Lollipops and...Ah, Hell, Life Sucks

If I haven't mentioned it before, I hate football. I tried to get into the sport when I was young and foolish and in love--back in high school--but could never see any sense to it. However, I hate most (not all) Packers fans even more. Last night's Vikings win over the Packers was one of the happiest nights of my life--just because so many people I know are/were miserable because of it. And the fact that Favre played for Minnesota made the win even better. Last night I thought anything was possible and that the Wings and Tigers are doing everything to have great seasons. Then I woke up today and it was raining--and it WASN'T raining Starburst and Skittles. I woke up to reality.

I'm going to ignore the Tigers as much as possible. I would like to ignore the Wings, but can't. The season is just starting. And after last weekend, it is going to be a long, long season--and I ain't talking playoffs, either.

I won't go on about the losses--that can be found on any of a hundred sites. Instead, I will recycle the same old things I said last year about the team. And add some new, as well.

• WHY won't Babcock put Z and Datsyuk on the same line? The Wings won the Cup with them on the same line, so why the hell is the man being so stubborn? While I understand his reasons, I still think the situation stinks.
• Is the PK ever going to get better? Good grief.
• And do we even talk about goaltending? Yes, Ozzie brings it for the playoffs, but really. And do we even talk about Howard?
  
• How much longer do we have to listen to 'we know there are problems and we're working on them?' TALKING does nothing--ACTION does.
• While I almost had heart failure last year when The Husband said that Babcock might need to be replaced, I'm now wondering if he isn't right. Whatever he is saying to the players doesn't seem to be registering--at least it didn't last year and there is little evidence it is so far this year.
• If everyone--players included--'know' what the problems are, what is being done to address them? And, considering they are the same problems as last year, why aren't we seeing much change if they are trying to fix them?
  
• Do the Wings even have the concept of a 60 minute game? COULD they play a full 60 minutes if they had to?
  
• If the Wings--which pretty much IS the Swedish National team--can't get up enough for games in front of their 'hometown' crowd in Sweden, then what the hell is going to get them excited enough for the regular season?
• And everyone talked about how 'disappointing' it was to lose in the 7th game to The Boy and Co. How bitter they were about losing at home. How that was going to be motivation for this year. HA! When are we going to see it? I thought they would come out of the chute with all guns blazing--AND play 60 minutes a game, full on. In two games--and yes, I know it's only two games--it didn't happen.
  

I know, I know, the Wings are the best team in the NHL--and have been for many years. And yes, we Wing fans are spoiled and don't appreciate what we have. Big fricking deal. They aren't playing the way we KNOW they can--and didn't last year, either--and it isn't right. With the talent on the team, they should be running rings around every team they face. And until that happens, we won't be happy people.

Not Hockey, But...

Living in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has many challenges. Of course, we have the weather to contend with and the rural living, but it is more than that. Other than our identity with being Yoopers, most of us are divided as to how we view ourselves. While we ARE a part of Michigan, we have the tendency to identify more with Wisconsin--the northern part, anyway--than we do with the Lower Peninsula. And, frankly, it seems as if the LP would rather the UP just go away and leave them alone--kind of like hoping an unwanted step-sister would disappear. So, we are a divided people--and nothing shows this more than the way we follow sports teams.

There are as many--probably more--Packer fans here in the UP than there are Lions fans. And the Packer fans are very typical. And I haven't found one yet that I like. (They are really obnoxious--at least the ones I know.) This means that I have to be bombarded with Packer news 24/7. When a Packer player finally shits after being constipated for a few days, I hear it--multiple times through multiple media venues. So, this brings up the whole Brett Favre saga.

Red Wing fans have been accused of whining. I guess there is a case to be made for that, in some instances, but I think most people would agree that the Penguin fans whined WAAAAAAY more over the whole 'Hossa moving to Detroit' deal than Wing fans ever had about anything. This brings me to Brett Favre and Packer Backers. WHOA!!! These people are so over the edge about this entire thing, that they are fast becoming the whiningest fans in sports--even worse than Pens fans. As I'm a football hater, I couldn't care less about where Favre plays, I just wish he would go away. I'm tired of hearing about him, but I think I'm even more tired of the Packer fans and their whining about the whole thing. Get over it already!

By the way, even though I hate football, I hope the Vikings beat the snot out of the Packers when they play each other. I'll smile.