Everyone that I’m friends with know that I have a very laidback personality and I’m pretty sure that those who read the blog or listen to Sportscall on a consistent basis get that as well. So, it’s even shocking to me when I get upset quickly over something. It takes a lot for me to get angry, but it didn’t take long once I saw the people had the audacity to actually be upset over what Linus Omark did last night in a winning shootout goal against Tampa Bay.
I couldn’t believe what I was reading when some people were calling the move “disrespectful” or as one Tampa Bay player called it, “horse(bleep)”. I get that in the heat of the moment, the Tampa Bay players may have taken issue with it because they may feel slighted after a tough loss, but for anyone else other than the Lightning to suggest that it has no place in the game is simply delusional.
If you watch the video again, look at the reaction of the woman seconds after Omark scores the goal. It’s almost like she’s in disbelief. Turning to people behind her, whether they be friends or not, she has a smile from ear-to-ear as she no doubt is saying, “Did we just see that?” The roar from the crowd indicated that everyone in the building was like this woman. They were amazed at what they just saw and they were happy that their home team won in such an incredible fashion.
Does that last paragraph seem like a problem to you? If you believe that the Omark goal is bad for the game, then the last paragraph is something that is a problem to you as well. In a league that lacks personality whatsoever, why are we always in such a rush to try and stifle anyone that shows any little bit of it?
As the NBA, NFL and MLB have all figured out by now, it’s not the teams that drive people to go see the games live, it’s the players that create bigger-than-life personalities. If I’m going to an NBA game, I want to see Lebron or Kobe and not necessarily the Miami Heat or Los Angeles Lakers. If I’m going to an NFL game, I want to see Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning, not the Patriots vs. Colts.
And yet, anytime a young guy comes into the NHL and shows a little bit of spunk, the powers that be make sure that he gets the message to become more vanilla or face the consequences. We saw it already this year with PK Subban as rumour has it that the veterans on the Canadiens wanted him benched to send a message for him to tone down his personality. I’m sure the Oilers won’t do the same thing, but after Omark’s shootout goal, there’s some in the media that wouldn’t seem to mind the same thing happening.
As a hockey fan, all I want to see is for the game to be as exciting as possible and I just have a major problem with stuffy-headed, “old-school” know-it-alls who think vanilla-attituded hockey players will uphold the “morality” of the sacred game of hockey. Memo to those people: The rest of the public didn’t ask for your morals and ethics to be bestowed upon those who suit up night in, night out. Let them play the way they want to and let us continue to be entertained. For one night Linus, you are the man!