Well, kids, they say it doesn't get any better than this. I say that it most certainly can get better than this. The Pens could have won Game 6 and closed out the series then. They could already have won the series by pulling away in Game 4. It could already be, say, 9:30 p.m. and the Pens could have a 5-0 or something.
As you know, I don't think that the odds favor the Pens beating the Habs tonight.
I think that they have an excellent goaltender that's an all-around great player and not just someone on a hot streak.
They have the momentum, having won Game 6.
Homefield advantage has not existed in these playoffs, Game 7 or not. The Canadiens already beat the Caps on the road in a Game 7 in round one. But, it's not really possible for a team to come back from a late series deficit only to win the deciding game on the road twice in one postseason, right? Oh. Yeah. That's just what the Pens did last year in the playoffs.
Last year, the Pens had the Eye of the Tiger, they seemed like the team of destiny, and they rode a hot goaltender and timely offense all the way to their first Stanley Cup win since Lemieux was a player.
Logically, given all those factors and the simple fact that the big guns for the Pens -- Staal, Malkin and Crosby -- have combined for two goals and five points for the series and it doesn't add up to a win for the home team.
But...
Anyone who thinks homefield advantage doesn't exist in this year's playoffs obviously didn't watch Game 6. Or Game 4. The Habs fans carried their team and I could feel the energy in the arena through my TV. The players could feel it, too, and they fed off of it. Every time it looked like the Pens would slam the door, the fans bailed them out and carried them to victory.
Honestly, if this were any other night, any other game, I would say that Montreal would, once again, find a way to win. This Game 7, though, and Game 7 is different. This is also possibly the last game ever at the Civic/Mellon Arena.
Will the fans let their team lose to a big-time underdog in a Game 7 and let that be the last game in that arena? Will they allow that to happen? Will the Pens allow themselves to lose?
Before this series kicked off, I said that the Pens seemed to have a switch that they flipped when things really, really mattered and that allowed them to bring their game to another level. Game 7. At home. Facing elimination. Possibly the last game ever at a building that has housed your team since Lyndon Johnson was president. Doesn't really get bigger than that, right? Unless you're talking about the Stanley Cup final. If the Pens don't win tonight, there's no possibility of a Stanley Cup final, so... maybe this is as big as that.
Just like with Detroit last year, my brain has been telling me since Monday night that the Pens have no chance to win this game. Just like Detroit last year -- by the way, the Game 7 against the Caps doesn't count because I was sure we'd win -- my heart won't allow me to believe that we can lose. My brain is trying to protect my heart, but my heart won't listen.
And, really, that's what being a fan of a team is all about. I mean, I'm completely idiotic when I follow sports. Proof: I am going to 11 Pirates games this year even though I know they're going to lose at least six of those games and the games I'm going to in August and September won't mean anything.
I will still be heartbroken if we lose, but I have learned a few things over the years and I have come to realize that sports aren't everything.
I think that Dustin Hoffman said it best in the movie Hero (underrated movie, by the way):
"What you learn, as you get older, is there ain't no truth. All there is is bullshit, pardon my vulgarity here. Layers of it. One layer of bullshit on top of another. And what you do in life like when you get older is, you pick the layer of bullshit that you prefer and that's your bullshit, so to speak."
So, the Penguins won't lose because the fans won't let them and because they can't lose the last game in Mellon Arena like this.
That's it. That's all I got. There are arguments both ways and you could talk yourself into choosing one side over the other.
You know what, though? That's my bullshit and I stand by it.
Basically, we've got a match-up of My Bullshit vs. The Team of Destiny. I think I win.
Take that destiny!
LET'S GO PENS!
LET'S GO PENS!
LET'S GO PENS!
No comments:
Post a Comment