The Detroit Red Wings

Disclaimer: If you're not a hockey fan, you're going to get bored with this one.

Last night, Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals started off at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. My Red Wings battled their way to the finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second year in a row.

Let the media/fan hate-on begin.

All day today, the net and facebook have been crawling with people complaining about everything from the springy sideboards at the Joe to the fact that Detroit "always makes it to the playoffs". Give me a fucking break!

The Detroit Red Wings went 41 years without a cup. Their dry spell went from the 1954-55 win to the 1995-96 win. That's more than 4 decades...I'd hardly call that "always making it to the playoffs". In fact, they had some really bad years in there. So how did the organization rebound? By building the best strategy of hard work, talent, and persistence. This is an organization that went out and got the fans, got the players, got the scouting, coaching and support staff, and got over itself.

The players coming into this organization learn very quickly to tame the ego, because it's all about the work ethic. It's about being solid, not flashy. To demonstrate my point, I raise the name Steve Yzerman, the man also known as the Quiet Superstar. He embodied what about this team makes them deserving of their Stanley Cup wins in the last 15 years: hard working, adaptable, contributing points, great with quick thinking. If he didn't have a shot, he passed off to someone who did, he wasn't out to earn a points tally, he was out so his team could win the game. And he was an incredible hockey player to boot. And I saw the writing on the wall...when Steve was getting ready to retire, he took young Pavel Datsyuk under his wing, and to his credit, Pavel is on his way to becoming the same kind of superstar.

Just ask Chris Osgood. As the goalie at the helm during the 95-96 and 96-97 seasons, he thought he was Da Bomb. He went elsewhere with that big ego, and learned a lesson in humility: one superstar a winning season does not make. Now he's older, wiser, and back in the lineup, and committed to being on the hardest working team in the NHL.

So given all of this, I scream and pull my hair out trying to understand why the media and hockey fans are so brutal with their hate-on for the Red Wings? Take a cue from the players in the league: they might not like playing against the Red Wings, but every one of them admits to having respect for this team, for their work ethic, both on and off the ice. So show some respect for that!

Warning: cynical rant ahead.

Actually, I know why the media's doing it: Sidney Crosby, the darling pet of the NHL is back for a second chance...everyone loves a show pony. But someday, he'll understand why he's no Gretzky or Howe; his whining earns him no respect. But for now, he's the new face of the league, and the sponsors wet themselves to get him. The media follows him like a heartsick puppy because sponsors do. It's sad really. And in the meantime, they are willing to slag one of the best teams in hockey to earn those advertising dollars. Jerks.