I'm Back

Batteries recharged... I'm good to go again.

Thanks to my regular readers for staying patient and for returning. I appreciate it a lot.

As anyone could have quite easily guessed, my break was induced by the Ducks winning the Stanley Cup. I still haven't gotten over it, and I never will. It hurts me to my very core. And I'm not exaggerating in the least bit; the Ducks' cup win has seriously made me re-consider my passion for sports, what I want to do with my life, just about everything.

"It's just a game!" "You shouldn't take it so personally!"

Yeah. Right. Got all that.

The problem is, you don't get to decide what makes you tick. You can spin certain events in your life by looking at them in a positive or negative way; but if something hits you directly, there really isn't much you can do about it.

I frequent on http://www.letsgokings.com, a message board created by a Kings fan, run by Kings fans, for Kings fans. Thousands upon thousands of fans visit this site daily and talk Kings hockey. I never saw myself as a message board person (and still don't), but this is one site that is simply an exception.

Fans of all ages gather on this site, teenagers, but mainly fans in their 20's, 30's, 40's, and above. Most of these people have been dedicated Kings fans for their entire lives... many have been for the entire 40 years the Kings have been in the league. These thousands of fans only scratch the surface; how many more tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands are huge Kings fans but don't hang out on the message board?

I won't get into why I hate Ducks fans again... I know I've been a broken record. If you want a recap, click here. I'm sure I come off as whiny and unprofessional, but so be it.

It just isn't fair. I know "Life's not fair". But sports to me has always been an escape from the bitterness of real life for me. Despite the fact that my teams have never won, the point is that when I was having an awful day, I could turn on a game and get lost in it. That's been shaken a little, because my dream-like sports world has been shaken back to reality.

It doesn't matter that there are many more Kings fans than Ducks fans. It doesn't matter that there are many bandwagon Ducks fans. It doesn't matter that Cleveland Browns fans never won a Super Bowl, but THEIR TEAM moved to Baltimore and won a championship there. It doesn't matter that millions of people have lived their entire lives as Cubs fan (or until recently, Red Sox fans) and millions have died lifelong Cub fans without ever seeing a championship. It doesn't matter that loyal fans of every major sport team in Philadelphia and Cleveland haven't won a damn thing in years. The list goes on and on and on.

It doesn't matter how much you care or how much you love. All that matters is who's got the best team, and who's got the bounces on their side.

And that hurts me. It is hard to come to terms with the fact that the thing that brings you the most joy in this world; pro sports; is just like everything else. People get screwed. People get heartbroken. Great fans live and die unrewarded and bandwagon fans celebrate 20 championships.

But with each terrible loss comes a great win. With each dream shattered comes a dream come true. That is the beauty of sports... and its also its dark underbelly.

So I return to you a bit broken, a bit bitter, a bit disillusioned, but 100% still in love with the world of sports.

I hope you'll take me back with open arms.