Forgive my sports/hockey rants but i just get all riled up and gotta let it out!
Let me say that I am psyched for the Avs season. I haven't been this excited for an Avs season since '01. No thats a lie. I still remember summer 2003. where I was when I heard not only would Peter Forsberg be playing with us but we had also aquired Paul Kariya and Teammu Selanne. In case you were interested I was at Victoria Beach. That was the beginning of the end for the dominant Avs. Expectations were high, and we the fans were gravely dissapointed with the results. For the pathetic years after, the organization has been giving their followers false hope time after time as they try to piece back together a championship team. And every year, expectations are failed. The people of Denver were living in a high that came from winning the Cup the first season we had a team. We expected nothing less.
Well this year is different. The many mistakes of the front office are behind us and instead of reminiscing about the glory days lets find pride in our new young Avs.
This year we play with the lowest expectations an Avalanche team has ever had and I for one am elated. No more dissapointments. I dont believe that any players on this Avalanche team are fit to be playing in the NHL but that kinda makes it fun. When you have nothing, there is nothing to lose. These young players have already proved in preseason and camp that they will work harder than their opposition. Their futures in the NHL depend on it. I hope Foote can teach his disciples a thing or two this year so that they will have the experience neccessary to carry on without tested veterans in the future. Stastny and Wolski had huge amounts of pressure put on them to save the organization and they failed miserably. I hope that they can find their places on this new team without all the pressure to win. Finally, I hope the loyal fans of Denver can have patcience with our newcomers and with results. Lets accept that we are the underdogs for once. That we most likely wont have a winning record. But lets watch our team develop and let us be a part of these development years instead of turning our noses up.