Hate is the Only Thing Stronger Than Hope

A wise man (Donald Sutherland), once said (in the Hunger Games movie), "Hope, it is the only thing stronger than fear."

I politely disagree with Mr. Sutherland and posit that there is something stronger than Hope: Hate. Hate, it is the only thing stronger than hope.

When I first heard that the Penguins were going to be playing the Flyers in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, I felt fear.  When they went up three games to none on the Pens, that fear was confirmed.  I then felt hope, that the Pens would come back against the Flyers and ultimately defeat them in the best-of-seven series.  When that didn't happen, there was only one thing left to feel: Depression.

Well, that, then Hate.  See, I hate the Flyers more than any other team in the NHL and they're my second-most hated team overall after the hated Ravens.  I actually had to start referring to the hated Ravens as "Baltimore" at some point because I was tired of typing "hated Ravens."

My hatred for the Flyers actually has a longer history than my hate for the hated Ravens, since the hated Ravens have only been in existence since 1996.  I have hated the Flyers for almost my entire life.  I'm sorry, I'm sure I hated them in the womb and for the first three years of my life, but I had more pressing concerns, like getting out of the womb, finding my hand, and pooping in a designated location.  When the Flyers advanced to the Cup Final in 2010 and a lot of people were rooting against Hossa and his quest for the Cup, I offered up some hate and was ultimately rewarded.

That is why I believe in the power of hate. Until recently, I wasn't able to hear the name Eric Lindros without balling my hand into a fist.  I hate Eric Lindros and I hate the Philadelphia Flyers and that hate has made me powerful.

I hate the New Jersey Devils, but I hate them less than the Flyers, so they are the lesser of two evils.  I will root for the Devils to win.  I have hope that they will win because I hate the Flyers.  I will root for whoever wins the Rangers-Capitals series to beat the (expletive redacted) (expletive redacted) (expletive redacted) (expletive redacted) Flyers even if it's the (expletive redacted) Capitals and that (expletive redacted) (expletive redacted) Ovechkin.

Therefore, I am not going to trim my playoff beard until the Flyers are eliminated.  The hockey gods respect hope, but they also respect hate.