Human Nature and the Bruins [OPINION]
Ain't nothing quite like a New England sports fan who has been disappointed by his or her favorite team.
Boston Bruins fans are licking their wounds this morning after losing Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the St. Louis Blues last night. Losing hurts. Especially for sports fans. Boston Red Sox fans prior to 2004 were accustomed to saying, "We'll get 'em next year." Came with the territory. Pats fans, too. It's heartbreaking, I know, but the diehards suffer through the agony of defeat and stand by their guys.
Sports fans can be fickle, too. I generally like to follow the murmur on social media when there is an important game occurring. Lots of smiles and happy face emojis when things are going well. But when things go not quite as planned and the nervous Nellies and bandwagon fans panic, everyone goes under the bus.
Social media was upbeat leading up to last night's game. It was mighty quiet, though, during the first period when, while the Bruins were clearly controlling the puck, they were unable to score a goal. You could sense the tension creeping in as the Blues scored one and then another goal. Slowly, the digs began to appear. By the time St. Louis scored a third time, it was over for many and their beloved Bruins were under the bus tires.
It's human nature, I guess, to temper disappointment with criticism and angry barbs. "Ah, they just don't want it bad enough," was a popular cry on the internet. Really? If you seriously think that the Bruins didn't want it bad enough, you have no business being a fan. The Bruins wanted it badly enough but were outplayed by a very talented St. Louis team. To suggest that the Bruins gave it away is to say that the Blues didn't earn the victory or deserve the win. That's not being a very good sport.
Never much of a hockey fan, I watched every game of the playoffs and I am hooked. I can't wait for the regular season to start up so I can learn more about the game and cheer on the Bruins.
The Bruins gave us one hell of a regular season and a very exciting postseason, and we should be grateful for that. They came up short, but as we old-time Sox fans used to say, "There is always next year!"
Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.