As the pain of the Caps’ loss fades to a dull ache, I find myself watching the Bruins-Lightning series with great interest. It’s exciting stuff—unpredictable, fast-paced, and… confusing. Because while I’m a fan of neither team, I still like to pick a horse if I’m going to bother watching a race. Whom to pick?
My wife takes a simple yet elegant approach: root for whoever’s losing at that exact moment. Stay with that team while they’re losing or tied… then switch to the other team if the lead changes. The Underdog Special, basically. Effective, if a bit murky before the game’s first goal.
But I can’t watch this series that way; it feels like I should be following one of two schools of thought:
School 1: If the team that just beat your team does really well—maybe even wins the Cup—it’s a little less embarrassing to lose to a team that’s obviously on a roll.
School 2: No rooting for divisional rivals, especially not those who just beat your team.
So what are your thoughts on the matter?
18 Comments
Well … it’s fairly easy for me. My second team (from childhood) is the Bruins. Plus Tim Thomas graduated from UVM … a Vermont school. So, I’m rooting for the Bruins, despite having a grudging respect for Tampa.
Sorry, but rooting for Tampa just isn’t going to happen. The bandwagon ads that the Bruins ran (and then pulled) were the funniest thing ever. Can’t wait until next season and I hope that we take them to the woodshed the first time that we play.
not only do i hope the bolts lose, I hope they get herpes.
You should be promoting division rivalries….its funnier that way
I want to see St Louis player cards in urinals
For the record, I’m definitely rooting for the Bruins, and whoever wins will then lose to Vancouver. But I wanted to appear non-partisan until *after* folks voted.
Not only do I want the Bruins to win this series, I want them to win the Cup. They’re really the lesser of four evils left in the post season. I’m a little tired of watching teams who cam into the league after the Caps get a Cup. Tampa has one already, so eff them. San Jose have Heatley, so eff them.
I can live with the Bruins winning. Original Six teams get a pass in my book. Well, except for the Rangers. And the Canadiens. And, um, Toronto.
But the rest are cool. Well, except the Wings.
I’d like to see the Bruins win this series, then lose to the Canucks in the finals.
One season ago, the Bolts were in the toilet. Vinny and Martin were lost and lonely souls. Our Caps were President’s Cup winners, bound for stardom.
I admire and congratulate Tampa Bay for re-making themselves into a contender so quickly.
Ted…George…Bruce…you guys gotta clue?
As the great Bruins ad “You Never Date Within the Division: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gBc84L7-Vs” dictates, you can never root for a divisional foe.
I voted for Tampa solely for the reason that will keep any of NBC 7 out of finals, and really annoy the suits at Rockefeller Plaza
Still feeling the hurt…Go Bruins!!! Beat Tampa into submission. We can’t go into next year with the attitude we had after the Penguins won. “We were so close” is so far from the truth.
For this series, I have to go with the Bruins. The Lightning won the Cup seven years ago, and their fans suck, so it seems unfair that they should win again; plus, I can’t root for the team that swept us. I’m rooting for whoever comes out of the West for the Cup, though, because the fans of Boston have had enough winning for a lifetime over the past few years, between the Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics, and they have been pretty insufferable about it.
Heh, good call SKINS. Earlier I was rooting for a Nashville-Tampa final, just to see Gary Bettman’s head explode.
SEC105 you make a good point: “We were so close” is not a valid conclusion.
I think you have to go with a mix of option 1 and 2 and add in a 3rd rule. You can never ever ever root for any team that is a member of the axis of evil…like Pittsburgh. I could never root for them under any circumstance.
-DCSportFan
What I’d like to see happen is for Tampa to win this series, only to get swept by Vancouver. That way, TB’s last game of this season will be an EPIC failure on home ice.
@ MARSHALL I admire your clear understanding of Schadenfreude… that would be a helluva dagger to Tampa. But part of me cringes at the idea of Tampa making it to 2 Cup Finals (even if they lost this year’s) since the Caps made it.
If the Bruins and Canucks can get to the Finals this year, we can do it next year.
Anyway I think both of these teams were due.
MadCap wrote on 23 May, 2011 at 10:02 am: “I’d like to see the Bruins win this series, then lose to the Canucks in the finals.”
Weren’t the Canucks and all their fans surprised..!! In retrospect, no one should have rooted against Tim Thomas.