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Playoff only fans
Posted 12:17 PM ET | Comments 14
I am going to rant here so take a deep breath and here we go.

I hate fans and media types that only watch the playoffs or select one play to write about. I live in the DC area and read the Washington Post daily yet there is almost no hockey coverage at all during the season. One game summary article is typical. Very little effort. But now the Caps made the playoffs so they send a writer (who obviously knows nothing about hockey) and he writes this. This is a direct quote from the article link shown below.

Did we mention they show fights on the video scoreboard every period here, more than most arenas show dunks in the NBA?

Something about this R-rated environment is just not conducive to Ted Leonsis' Family Pack Night or Ovie on Ice. The contrasts are so stark and revealing.

The Caps' postseason slogan: "Rock The Red." The Flyers? "Vengeance Now," which comes across as less of a slogan and more of a sequel to Charles Bronson's "Death Wish."

The Capitals didn't come out as Eastern Conference foes; they entered the playing surface like Russell Crowe entered the Coliseum in "Gladiator." Flyer fans didn't want to beat Washington as much as see Ovechkin bludgeoned, his teammates emasculated.

It's almost impossible to fathom, but the Capitals took the ice in front of a building as loud as Verizon Center last Friday. The fans wore orange instead of the Capitals' red, and many of the women and children looked as if they could work security for Megadeth.

On I-95 entering town there is a billboard of Riley Cote, a stumpy rogue who engaged in 24 fights this season, twice as many as Capitals tough guy Donald Brashear. Cote's wild-man eyes and his quick fists are the only features shown of the Flyers' player.

Five minutes into the game, they showed a video of Philly's top brawls this past season, many involving Cote grabbing hold of an opponents' shirt for leverage before pummeling him to the ice, which is just a swell environment for children -- children of Patrick Roy.

They flat-out market and sell violence here, sanctioned, unbridled assaults disguised as sport.

The Flyers are an instant repudiation of what Gary Bettman wanted the league to become. They are a reminder of the NHL's pugilistic past that just won't go away. The result Tuesday night was Hartnell and Daniel Brière popping Cristobal Huet, making the Caps' goalie retaliate because no one on his team seemed interested in having his back at the moment.

Article Link: http://www.washingtonpost...041503786&sub=AR

Could he be any more insulting to the Philly fans? Listen closely during game 5 and you will hear the PA announcer say "Offsides" or "Icing" as the play stops to explain the game to the DC fans. I know because I have been to countless games in DC. And I will be at Game 5 - supporting my team!!
Filed Under:   Flyers   Capitals   Playoffs  
April 17, 2008 12:38 PM ET | Delete
Sounds like that project writer came from his exciting daily routine of reporting on CSPAN and other government activities to a hockey game. He is clearly struggling to understand and having a tough time comparing the dishonest and underhanded slimy dealings of our government officials who are willing to sacrifice the American public and the American public's earnings for their own personal gain to that of overt warriors who ARE willing to sacrifice themselves for their mates. What a joke.
April 17, 2008 12:40 PM ET | Delete
Phig...I read this the other day...JS pointed this out in one of yesterdays blog. I was dumbfounded to say the least. Regardless of what his opinion his, this caters to hockey fans and the most passionate fans to boot. This clearly points out why hockey will never carve a niche in the US. The reporters are just idiots. JS sent an email to the guy. I was going too but I thought not responding was the best way. JS, handled it with class. Let's go Flyers!!!
April 17, 2008 1:08 PM ET | Delete
What an absolute joke. That is a disgusting article and just a disgrace to the paper. Is BS from the Washington Post normal like it is here in the Tennessean?
April 17, 2008 1:15 PM ET | Delete
That article makes me want to hit him....
April 17, 2008 1:48 PM ET | Delete
"It's almost impossible to fathom, but the Capitals took the ice in front of a building as loud as Verizon Center last Friday. The fans wore orange instead of the Capitals' red, and many of the women and children looked as if they could work security for Megadeth." Perhaps the dumbest paragraph of this joke of an article. Impossible to fathom?? Philadelphia is among the few American cities that rival Canadian cities in attendance ratings year in and year out. The Caps I think sold out eight times this year? Thats what I read in another post. Unbelievable...of course insulting the women and children in that way after being elitist about what they should be watching on the scoreboards is also laughable. Absolutely disgusting.
April 17, 2008 2:03 PM ET | Delete
I agree with Pocono Flyers Fan. 'Nuff said
April 17, 2008 2:05 PM ET | Delete
The Author, Mike Wise, has a regular column but doesn't typically write about hockey (The Post has a hockey beat writer, but columns are rare). I'm sure I'm going to get hammered here, but what specifically was so objectionable about what he wrote ? I took his column partly as humor and partly to show what hockey in Philly is about.
April 17, 2008 2:18 PM ET | Delete
Welcome to Philly, I would have it no other way. hahahaha......Besides, what's wrong with my mom working security for Megadeth?
April 17, 2008 2:26 PM ET | Delete
I like how he called Cote a "stumpy rogue!" He writes like he is auditioning for some sort of pretentious magazine where they hate everything...
April 17, 2008 2:33 PM ET | Delete
He is......it's called the Washington Post
April 17, 2008 2:39 PM ET | Delete
MadCap, from the sense I get, he wasnt trying to be funny. It seemed like he was trying to shame Philly hockey passion which in my mind is shaming all of hockey passion. If he meant it as a joke, it is actually humorous but I did not take it that way.
April 17, 2008 2:52 PM ET | Delete
If it was all tongue in cheek, he did a poor job of getting that point across. It looks bad after a game in which the home team (Washington) got pounded. It looks like sour grapes. But anyone that downs the enthusiasm of hockey fans to me should never write about sports period. We hockey fans are loyal. Hell I watch all but 4 or 5 games last year when the Flyers sucked! I enjoyed every win last year and learned to appreciate success even more. By the way the slogan VENGEANCE NOW has been the Flyers marketing slogan since last summer. They owe all the teams that pounded them last year some payback.
April 17, 2008 11:06 PM ET | Delete
Just saw Ek's interview with the author from the Washington Post. This was not a tongue in cheek article. He says that the Caps are like "Disney on Ice" and the Flyers are a violent Gladiator type of hockey. What an @ss!
April 18, 2008 1:41 AM ET | Delete
Wise plugged a paragraph in the beginning and end about bribing officials to set an "ironic" tone and then spent everything in between bashing Philly fans. Because his criticisms/"jokes" are written so strongly, it's hard not to take them seriously in the heat of the playoffs. The idea is there in the article, but not well executed. If he had taken time to learn the sport first, maybe he could have drawn more ideas from the on-ice events instead of the fans for his humor - much as some of the Hockeybuzzers like SYF do in their blogs. IMO - either he just didn't realize how intensely we hockey fans love our teams and that his article would enrage people OR he knew fans would be upset and wrote the article to grab attention.
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