Earlier this week I became engaged in Facebook Altercation with a Flyer fan (shocking, I know). The debate had all of the usual Turnpike-Battle Banter; the '75 Flyers, the '93 Pens, Lombardi trophies, Santa Claus (he brought it up, not me), batteries, ticket prices, the air quality of Pittsburgh in the 70s, the hitting quality of the Pirates in the 90s, etc. Of course the cliched, Sidney Crys-by was thrown around more than once.
Our closing arguments went something like this:
Me: Flyer fans are hockey illiterates that think yelling "Fight" and "Hit 'em" are how you win hockey games.
Random Friend of a Friend: You're so wrong, we know hockey. You're just like everyone else saying we're stuck in the 70s, that's only a small minority, that's not everyone. Pittsburghers just think everything with in 2 ft of #87 is a penalty.First off, yes, I was in said Facebook Altercation with a random friend of a fairly newly introduced co-worker. Anyway, this discussion had me wondering...was I right with my comments, were Flyer fans living in the Broad Street Bully days or had I judged this new generation of fans on their 70s predecessors? Then I re-read the start of the thread.
It had begun when my co-worker posted about having an extra seat to The Game. I noted that I would be at The Game...in a luxury box. My co-worker immediately called me a "sissy." I politely explained that I preferred to wash my hair with shampoo and conditioner and not mucus and beer, but again I was called a sissy. The next comments pertained to how Sidney Crosby is a whiner and a diver. Now, I'll be the first to admit that our dear Captain did have a knack for occasionally imitating a flamingo in his early days, but in the past few years, I'd argue he's been mauled more times without a call, than he's pleaded with a ref for a call on a dive. During this discussion, it seemed the only insult anyone could drum up about the Pens was related to either A. how tough they were compared to everyone else or B. things of the past.
Now I was forced to review why I felt such animosity towards the Flyers...was it because Hextall chased Robbie Brown around the ice like a lunatic? That my friend who I'm going to the game with had a beer dumped on his head when he was 10 for wearing a Lemieux jersey? No...I don't live in the past. It's because I now have to wonder if all of Max Talbot's antics were sincere or just for notoriety, mostly to get a bigger paycheck. It's because Jagr, who once said he was "dying alive" in the city that I love, pulled the biggest tease ever saying he might come back to Pittsburgh only to sign with one of our biggest rivals. It's because I cannot respect a group of men who call themselves a Team while allegations of players cheating with each other's wives swirl around. It's because Chris Pronger stole game pucks that weren't his to take. It's because Hartnell bit Kris Letang's finger in a scrum. You see, in Pittsburgh, it's not just about being a tough guy (though you can ask DiPietro's jaw about that) but more about 'aving 'art. (That's "having heart" for those of you who so quickly forget the Therrien years.)
So not only do we Yinzers have more than a big fist to throw around, but we know the game. Last season I saw the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Flyers in the Wells Fargo/Wachovia/Whatever the Hell it's Called building. During a break the organist played the typical stadium jingle of "dun dun dun," that would normally lead to a cheer of, "Let's Go ____!" Instead, it went "dun dun dun, Cros-by Sucks!" I was shocked. I mean Crosby is a Canadian citizen and Toronto is a city in Canada...but I was confused. I looked to the out-of-town scoreboard assuming that the Pens must have been winning and that I must have forgotten there was a game. Nope. The Pens weren't playing. In Pittsburgh, when the Pens play the Leafs the chant is usually "six-ty-seven" as in the last year the Leafs won Lord Stanley's Cup, something that is relevant to the game of hockey.
So this is why my blog is significant...any Yinzer that has to put up with this level of stupidity and asinine aggression should at least let it be known to those back in the 'burgh. I've also resolved, at least for now, to avoid all Altercations involving Flyer fans until they learn a thing or two about the game and stop living in the 70s. Until then, I'll treat them as such...Losers since 75.
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