Heart of a champion part 2

Well, it's over. Congrats to the Pittsburgh Penguins. They came into Joe Louis Arena and beat the Red Wings in a do-or-die game 7 to win the Stanley Cup. I was 50% on my predictors for a Pens win...I believe Malkin had 1 assist, Crosby missed most of the game, but Fleury did play out of his mind. That last save was the stuff of legend.

As I alluded to before, this was a very bitter defeat for me. I actually forced myself to watch this series the way I never really had before. I think it taught me a lot.

In some ways it is silly to get wrapped up so much in a game. I mean, I'm not even the one playing, or doing any of the work, how can I think that watching these 7 games was in any way going to allow me to partake in any sort of victory? That's what sports is about though. It's a way for us to get involved in some much bigger concepts than merely statistics and scores. It's about sacrifice, it's about discipline, it's about teamwork. It's about groups of people working together for a common goal.

Hockey is the embodiment of this. I actually might chew on shaving some sports out of my watching docket. Basketball is too individual. Football? I'm sure once training camps start, I'll be hooked back in. Baseball has always been a seasonal pastime for me, filling in the gaps between sports that I like to watch. But I've realized that it's the camaraderie in hockey that makes it so appealing. It's the idea that someone would willingly throw themselves into a dense piece of rubber traveling at speeds of up to 100 mph in order to achieve victory. It is the defense of the goalie. It's the way that the team celebrates goals. Even the whole two assist thing. Maybe this is why Americans don't like hockey. The NHL might try to market glitz and glam players and plays, but at its core, hockey is more communist than capitalist. It's about sacrificing self for the greater good.

That's why, as I write this the day after, I am starting to feel a sense of peace and calm about the whole thing. This was much more than a sporting event for me.

I was able to put myself out there, to become vulnerable. Did it pay off? Well...in a sense, it didn't. I was obviously hoping to be able to release unbridled excitement by being able to watch the Wings win another Stanley Cup (one that I actively participated in as much as I could). But I think some day, I'll be able to look back at this Cup final and probably point to it as one of my favorites.

I still believe that the Wings have the heart of a Champion. Some might say that they blew leads of 2-0 and 3-2. Maybe they were just able to stretch the Penguins to 7 games. That might sound defeatist, as though I am trying to take something away from the Penguins. And I'll be honest- in some ways, I don't feel like they deserve the Cup. I still think their stars are too immature to be considered champions (thinking back to Crosby and his slash of Zetterberg in game 5). I would have liked to have heard more Penguins tipping their hats to the Red Wings. Maybe I didn't pay attention to that stuff last year, but I know the Wings are a classy team. I expect champions to have some class...I didn't see enough of that coming out of the Penguins.

Gamewise, if Rob Scuderi (Pens defensemen) doesn't make a couple killer plays in game 6, then we're having a party in Pittsburgh again. Game 7, Osgood baits Talbot a little too much, gives up the dagger 2nd goal. Kronwall hits a crossbar late in the 3rd.

Yes, Pittsburgh had some bad bounces the first two games, so that is why I don't put too much stock in the close calls department. Those things tend to balance themselves out.

Anyways, back to my point. We started the series without Pavel Datsyuk. Jonathan Erickson had his appendix taken out at the end of the Chicago series. We had a couple days off before having to play back to back games to start the Finals. I'm not trying to make excuses here- those are all things that happened. What I am saying is that the Wings showed tremendous resolve to take those first two games, and to battle back and take game 5, and they gave it their all for games 6 and 7. We came up short, but I'm extremely proud of the way they battled.

Congrats again to the Penguins. And congrats to the Red Wings. They may not be the official 'champion', but to me, they have proven that they are indeed, champs.