Before we all burn our Wild jerseys…

by FinnPryde on Mar 23, 2011 2:42 PM CDT

As another frustrating season nears its unfortunate end, it is understandable for people to be upset and angry and demand better of the team. I expect that. I expect that from the fans, the players, the management and the organization. No team should ever expect less than a winning season. No team should ever aim for less than a Stanley Cup. Most importantly, no team should ever be content with losing.

That said, nothing infuriates me more than the when the season ends and people become irrational and completely lose all perspective. "It's been a decade and nothing, time to throw in the towel." REALLY?! A decade? That's all they get. Glad I don't live in Vancouver. Or Buffalo. And what about those poor bastards in St. Louis & L.A.? Hell, even The Great One couldn't bring a Cup to either of their cities.

There are, in fact, twelve other current teams that have NEVER won a Stanley Cup. Twelve! Eleven of them have been around longer than the Wild. The four teams listed above...they've had over FOUR decades with nothing to show for it. Let us also not forget the other nine teams that haven't won since before the Wild first took to the ice. Four of those nine, including Boston & Toronto, have not won in my lifetime (I was born in July 1983). In all, there are 21 teams BESIDES the Wild that have not won in more than a decade. We're not the only ones guys. There are 30 teams in this league and it's not an easy task to be the last one standing come June.

Yes, let's demand better from the team, but let's also remember that building a championship team takes time. A little history lesson...of the 17 current franchises to have won a Cup, 8 took longer than a decade to get their first. One of them was Toronto and they didn't have as much competition back in the 1920's and 1930's.

Having patience is not easy and yes, getting to the playoffs needs to be the goal since it is the all important first step to actually winning a Stanley Cup. Along the way though, let's try to keep a little perspective. Remember that we're not the only ones trying to get there and to do so is a long and difficult road. Yes, missing the playoffs is always painful, but is it really that much less painful than making it there, only to choke on the Tootsie Rolls you bought to toss at your victory parade?

The opinions posted here are not those of Hockey Wilderness

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Great point

Very true very true, the Wild are not the only team to struggle to make it. Look at the Red Wings, they were horrible until the drafted Stevie Y. After that their team started making strides to become the powerhouse they have been this decade. Rome wasn’t built in a day, however it was destroyed in one.

Blood and death are waiting like a raven in the sky
I was born to die
Hear me while I live
As I look into your eyes
None shall hear a lie
Power and dominion are taken by the will
By divine right hail and kill

Man-o-war

Death to Technowild the Scarecrow & MKIA the Dopey dwarf #7

by FightingWild on Mar 23, 2011 2:47 PM CDT reply actions

Tell 'em Steve Dave!

by Rob Sasser on Mar 23, 2011 2:51 PM CDT reply actions

Awesome

but is it really that much less painful than making it there, only to choke on the Tootsie Rolls you bought to toss at your victory parade?

This is one of the greatest sentences I have read in awhile. Well played. Great post as well.

Editor:Hockey Wilderness Assistant Editor:SBN Minnesota Now with more Twitterness: ReynoldsSBN

Rule #17: You may not impersonate representatives of Hockey Wilderness and handout NHL themed wrist bands.

by BReynolds on Mar 23, 2011 4:46 PM CDT reply actions

Thanks. It’s hard to pass up any opportunity to stick it to the Canucks.

by FinnPryde on Mar 23, 2011 5:26 PM CDT up reply actions

Great perspective.

My theory is that if I want to honestly celebrate when the team wins, then I need to stick it out and continue to support them when they are losing. So all these people throwing in the towel this year will be bandwagon fans when the team starts to win again – may they be viewed with scorn and ridicule.

"Pain heals. Chicks dig scars. Glory lasts forever." Shane Falco

by minnesotagirl71 on Mar 24, 2011 11:59 AM CDT reply actions

Yup

I mean, if a guy like me, who everyone says has NO reason to root for the Wild, will stick with the Wild for better or for worse, there is NO reason for anyone else to give up on this team. Seriously.

JS, Champion of the first ever Hockey Wilderness Playoff Bracket Challenge! WHOOOOOOOO!

Not the loser of the first official Hockey Wilderness Fantasy Hockey League

Owner of the Bertrand Acadians of the Hockey Wilderness Fantasy Hockey League

Author, watchdog, enforcer and french-canadian connection for Hockey Wilderness.

twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Mar 25, 2011 1:56 AM CDT up reply actions

I’ve just become a hockey fan, more specifically a Wild fan, in the middle of a horrible losing streak. Right now I’m just content with learning the game and I’m big time into learning more about our prospects, RFAs and other signings to occur during the offseason. From what I’ve seen, it’s going to take awhile to flush the trap defense mindset and the people we put in place to suceed with a defense-first playstyle. You can’t just change a whole system and culture at the drop of a dime. Or at least that’s what I see from my novice armchair perspective…

by TC Mooch on Mar 29, 2011 1:49 PM CDT reply actions

Yup, that's exactly it

Fletcher wanted our team to be like the high-flying Penguins, but the fact of the matter is we don’t have a squad that’s built for that yet and that’s why we’ve got trouble scoring. The Wild have always been better at scoring off counter-attacks, so once we get more new blood from Houston or the draft or even other teams that are more used to a high-flying system, things should fall into place. If we change coaches however, we’ll need one who won’t just cancel out the work Fletch and Richards have been doing for the last two years, or else it’s back to square one.

JS, Champion of the first ever Hockey Wilderness Playoff Bracket Challenge! WHOOOOOOOO!

Not the loser of the first official Hockey Wilderness Fantasy Hockey League

Owner of the Bertrand Acadians of the Hockey Wilderness Fantasy Hockey League

Author, watchdog, enforcer and french-canadian connection for Hockey Wilderness.

twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Mar 29, 2011 2:47 PM CDT up reply actions