A Playoff Bandwagon Fan; the Next Day
By kara
After what was a crazy and emotional game, the Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 in overtime. The series that went five games ended in heartbrteaking fashion. I’m sure it was an emotional moment for the men on the ice. I can’t even begin to imagine the excitement the Kings felt. But to see the looks on the faces of the Coyotes could bring a tear to your eyes.
Being a Flyers fan, I don’t give too much attention to Western Conference teams until the playoffs. Even with the trades of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, I didn’t hop on the Kings bandwagon. In fact, a fair amount of Flyers fans jumped ship and couldn’t move on. It caused a large amount of Flyers fans to turn against the Kings. I was one of the fans to turn against them. I just never thought seeing my bandwagon team lose would affect me the way it did.
Sure, it wasn’t as painful as seeing the Flyers getting eliminated. Nothing will compare to that, but it stung. I watched every Coyotes playoff game. Mainly because of Keith Yandle. I have always admired him. Watching a team in every playoff game can cause you to have a crush of sorts. Not a huge one, but enough to where you want them to advance. Well, you assume it’s only going to be a small crush anyway.
That’s exactly what happened to me with Phoenix. The more I watched them, the more I was rooting for them. They were the underdog. The team no one thought would make it out of the first round. I always root for the underdog. You start to admire guys like veteran Ray Whitney, who quickly became one of my favorites. You enjoy offensive powerhouses like Captain Shane Doan. And you gain respect for goalies like Mike Smith. The goalie that flew under the radar and made a lot of hockey fans eat their words. Put that all together and I found a team I was and still am in awe with.
I never expected them to go five games. I’m proud of them for making it to the Western Conference Finals. I’m happy they avoided the sweep. Despite all of their accomplishments, I’m still feeling a mix of emotions. Part of me is angry and another part of me is heartbroken.
I’m angry because of what all those who jumped ship are saying. I’m not Bitter in the slightest. Honestly, I’m happy for the former Flyers and I wish them well. I’m heartbrken for the Coyotes. The men who played their hearts out to fall short. I’m heartbroken to see the tears in their eyes. I’m sad to see the team that I develpoped a crush on end their season.
People think bandwagon fans don’t care. Which in most cases, I agree. But in some situations, I beg to differ. Tell that to the hockey fan whos team has been eliminated. Tell that to the hockey fan that’s in awe of another team because of it. Because for us, the season isn’t over until June. A lot of us pick our favorites of the series and we hope for the best. You think that you can move on easily and you can. But first you need to deal with the sting. At least it’s not the pain you felt seeing your team eliminated.
Email me: Kara.Seaver@gmail.com
Follow me on Twitter: @TimonenPumba