Fans can be a funny lot sometimes. Tell them exactly what they think but in the wrong way and they’ll jump all over you. That’s happening with the St. Louis Blues fans right now.
You have to love St. Louis Blues fans. Positively or negatively, they provide so many different story angles. I could probably write half my stories on fan reaction alone, paying no attention to the actual team.
Being a fan myself, I know that we are all an odd bunch. No matter who we support, but especially in this case being the St. Louis Blues, we take our support to interesting levels.
It is an interesting window into the human mind, really. Like a dysfunctional family, you can rip your team to shreds left and right and talk about all the bad things ever.
When an outsider comes in and says the exact same things, watch out. We can say whatever we want about our team because it is our family. We don’t let others talk trash on them though.
Just such an instance has occurred. Scouring the interwebs for ideas to discuss, I came across a fan posting discussing ESPN’s recent article about the Blues’ success. You can read the original article here.
It is funny enough to look to ESPN for anything hockey related anymore. They gutted their entire hockey staff and it seems even John Buccigross doesn’t talk about the NHL except on his Twitter. I digress.
You can tell the article was going to set some off right from the start. Afterall, the title basically says the Blues are for real, but…
Right there, you have enough fodder to go after as a fanbase. We already have to deal with all the perceived disrespect from NBCSports.
Getting into the meat of the article, there is not much inflammatory information. All three analysts basically dug their teeth into the Blues injury problems and that they were surpassing expectations.
If you really want to dig for something, you might pick at Greg Wyshynski’s second paragraph. The use of italics might irritate a few nerves.
"“They’re not this good. With a PDO of 103.32, the Blues are bound to have some level of regression. They’re averaging 3.27 goals per game, up from 2.84 last season. They’re probably facing a course correction on the defensive side, where their expected goals-against is a minuscule 1.88 per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, down from their already-impressive 1.97 last season. Plus, they’re living off the spark of their top line of Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz, which has produced 37 percent of the team’s total goals this season.” – Greg Wyshynski of ESPN"
It’s understandable that any fan would come to their team’s aid when someone from outside says they aren’t as good as they are. What about that old saying that you are what your record says you are?
Why was there little to no mention of regressing to the mean when the Minnesota Wild ran off to an incredible start last year? Why does the negative focus always seem to fall on poor St. Louis?
My only real contention with the national pundits commenting on the Blues is they likely have not watched many games, if any. We can all look at box scores and analytical stats, but there is something to be said about watching how a team is actually playing.
On the flip side, it is somewhat comical to see Blues fans jump to the aid of their team so forcefully. Not because it is not honorable, but because many feel the same way. They just don’t want to hear it from outside of the area.
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Now that the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs have won it all, Blues nation might have taken over the mantle of expecting the worse to happen eventually. We are not even a fourth of the way through the season and there have already been rumblings about a first round playoff exit.
It is understandable to an extent. Any fan who is older than say 12, has dealt with enough sadness and heartache to just try to prepare for the worst.
We cannot control what the pundits say though. The best we can do is enjoy our team as the boys rub it in everyone’s faces.
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In all seriousness, most of these articles are not done with any malice. Believe me, as someone who tries to come up with something interesting on a daily basis, sometimes you just put something out there and see if it sticks.
We all think similar things too. None of us believe the Vegas Golden Knights will hang on the way they have. That would likely not sit well with their fans.
On the flip side, everyone was handing Nashville the title in the preseason last season. I was called crazy because I predicted what happened in their regular season. Then, of course, I was made to eat my words when they went on a huge playoff run.
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It’s all just people saying what they think in that moment. Some just have a larger platform.
The truth is most of us expect this team to regress a little. We all are, in the back of our minds waiting for the other shoe to drop. If that’s true, why get all hot and bothered if someone else thinks the same?
We can’t control what others think of our team, so why bother trying? If they want to be doubters, let them. If Blues fans themselves want to be doubters, we can’t stop them. The majority of us are enjoying the ride.