I’m never gonna love any team the way I love the Blue Jackets. I’ve made my choice, they’re tattooed across my heart. They’re the team I’ve cried over. They make me act all stupid. I spend money I work really hard to earn, and even money I can’t spare on the Jackets. I spend time on them. There’s pretty much nothing they could do (short of bringing back Adam Foote) that would make me leave. I’ve said I’ve hated the team and felt it in my heart, only to break something, gather myself and take it back even though, no one was listening. I’m in love.
However…I’m a fan. If there’s hockey going on, I’m gonna look. It’s a natural, physical reaction. Hockey fans are just wired that way. Even crappy hockey is hockey and bad hockey (is there such a thing?) is better than none at all. A little puck now and then does wonders for the soul. I’ve said it over and over, I need to be pucked. Often and well. I think that goes for all hockey fans. Give me some pucking and I’m good for long time. If you’re in love with a team and the pucking is not so good, you’re understanding and patient. But you still want that good puck. I watch the OSU boys. I get energy and youth and I get closer to the players than I ever could with an NHL team. The Buckeyes are a breath of fresh air and give me something my beloved CBJ cannot. I don’t stray from Nationwide too often but when I do, I’ll always come home. I just need a bit of OSU sometimes.
The hockey team next door is always special. They’re good boys and play well and it makes for a great story if you fall in love. But secretly…it’s the bad-boys down the road who are really interesting and great to watch…they’re mesmerizing and you can’t deny the talent. Even if you’re not supposed to like them…how can you not take a look? How can you not be fascinated and at least day dream of what kind of good pucking that would be? But it’s all looking over the Plexiglas into someone else’s rink. I’ll never be anything but Union Blue…but I have to admit sometimes Teal is interesting…or Black…or Red.
Stepping Out…well, sometimes even the most die-hard faithful fan slips. We hurt the ones we love. We get hurt and frustrated. We start thinking, “Gee…wonder if I’d look good in Black and Gold?” or you find yourself flipping thru pages of Hockey News looking at anyone but your beloved team. You always go back. You just needed to go crazy for a bit. It didn’t mean anything.
I’ve stepped out with OSU, flipped thru glossy pages looking at boys in Teal and Black and dudes with Devils on their sweaters. But I’m in love with Union Blue. I’ll be looking over a fence pretty soon as the season ends, but it won’t mean a thing…just a little something-something to get me thru ’til October. These boys are from Cincinnati…
But, there’s a season to see thru and we’re in the play-off push. Union Blue meet Oilers tonight in their house at 9pm.
(When my Ethan was 4, he would say “The Jackets are playing their Lawyers tonight instead of Oilers. I have to say, I would pay good money to see the Union Blue or any team for that matter, get out there on the ice and play a bunch of Lawyers. Or Politicians…)