Post by Yzerman Is The Man on Aug 21, 2015 15:26:36 GMT -6
We will be starting a new tradition of having a weekly blog that will be posted on this board. I would like to personally thank glove_was_stuck for this beauty and hope everyone here reads this and enjoys it as much as I did. Comment away and have a good conversation. I am looking for next week's blogger, if you are interested, feel free to PM me.
Why I’m Glad the Big Bad Bruins are Going to Die.
So this is my first and probably my last crack at writing a blog. I figured since I read a ton of them maybe I can write one too. Right? Sure… Anyways a big thank you to Yzerman is the OELest for giving me a shot. You’re the nut sack bro Namath!
So why the hate for Big Bad Bruins then? Simple. The Big Bad Bruins lose. They excel at it. Sure the Big Bruins of 70’s were tough, they were skilled, they would beat you on the scoreboard and they would beat you. Unless of course you were the Montreal Canadiens. Time and time again OEL and painful, and sometimes embarrassing loses at the hands of the flying Frenchmen. Then what happened to Big and Bad? They got old. Orr’s knee was shot and what seemed could have been a dynasty never happened.
In the 80’s I was given the gift of borderline psychotic love for the game of Hockey by my father and my uncles. What I love the most of course is the Boston Bruins. I have lived and died by this team since about age 6 and it gets worse every year. At 33 years old it still does. So I had the likes of Neely, Bourque, Oates, Courtnall, Byers, Wesley, Juneau, Galley, Sweeney…both of them and those were some good teams. In 88” I was 6 watched the Bruins get all the way to the finals only to be obliterated by the dynastic Edmonton Oliers (which also captivated me and I am still an Oil fan today. I enjoy punishment.). Big and bad sadly, was big and too slow and way out gunned. It happened again in 1990 and Oilers were without Gretzky for that one. Didn’t matter. Big and bad had failed again.
In the 90’s and the early 2000’s the tough guy bullshit was all Bruins fans really had. Sure they were always good enough to be 1st round fodder for typically the Canadiens or the Devils. But other than Jumbo Choking Joe Thornton, they weren’t very big but they were realty really bad. At least PJ Stock kept us entertained with a nightly David vs Goliath scenario. They also a revolving door of vets at the very ends of theirs careers coming to Boston to hang em’ up. Woo?
Then the Chiarelli era happens. Hockey in what seemed to be an overnight change was alive and well in The Hub again after a long long hibernation. Big and Bad were back baby! It eeven said so on a huge banner that hung from the rebranded TD Garden and sporting the ugly mugs of Lucic and Chara. The Garden was rocking again and holy was shit was it good. We all know what happened during this run and there are a lot of moments that will be forever burned into the minds of Bruins fans.
For me it was the end of 2013-2014 season that finally killed my love affair with big and bad. I sat next to a really good buddy of mine in section 315 row 11 of the balcony, it was game 7 vs Montreal and the cost of the ticket was equal to the amount of 2 of my paychecks. When that game ended we sat hammered, dejected, utterly disgusted… and lost. “What the fuck?! How the fuck could they just not even show up like that?! Looch didn’t even move!! It was Iginla vs the Habs!! WHY IS GREGORY CAMPBELL STILL A THING!!!!? “ I asked over and over again, beer after beer after whiskey after whiskey. Even the Habs fans bought us couple rounds. They didn’t troll like they’re famous for, they pitied us which for me was the worst part. I have never witnessed the city of Boston so quiet. It was awful dare I say even demoralizing. I am rage quitting life even typing this.
Why did the Habs win? The same reasons they always do. The Big, Bad Bruins can’t beat them without a lucky bounce and Tim Thomas playing like goalie Jesus. The Habs goad them into stupid penalties and they successfully make Milan Lucic even more useless than he already is. Its’ not just the Habs either, Chicago did the same in 13” except the employed more skill and more firepower. Kane made Chara look downright foolish in that series…fucking rapist (allegedly)
You’ve read this 40,000 times before I’m sure…The league has become faster and skilled up front and the big hulking forwards of the Bruins get burned. This is not new info. It is however seemingly not lost on Sweeney like it was on Chiarelli before him. The Hamilton and Rinaldo failures aside, Sweeney does seem to have a plan. That plan is to bring speed, skill and transition into the Bruins lexicon. He displayed this in the seemingly bizarre draft choices made at this summer’s draft. With these picks, Sweeney is laying the groundwork for the transition/retool. So far I’m board. Especially if you look at the puke fest that was this free agent class, options to retool via free agency where just about nonexistent.
I will hold fast as I always do but this time I am welcoming the change, If it works (and I believe it will), and the B’s are winning, nobody outside the old timers are going to care if it speed and skill or guts and grit getting it done. Embrace the change and thanks for reading.
Why I’m Glad the Big Bad Bruins are Going to Die.
So this is my first and probably my last crack at writing a blog. I figured since I read a ton of them maybe I can write one too. Right? Sure… Anyways a big thank you to Yzerman is the OELest for giving me a shot. You’re the nut sack bro Namath!
So why the hate for Big Bad Bruins then? Simple. The Big Bad Bruins lose. They excel at it. Sure the Big Bruins of 70’s were tough, they were skilled, they would beat you on the scoreboard and they would beat you. Unless of course you were the Montreal Canadiens. Time and time again OEL and painful, and sometimes embarrassing loses at the hands of the flying Frenchmen. Then what happened to Big and Bad? They got old. Orr’s knee was shot and what seemed could have been a dynasty never happened.
In the 80’s I was given the gift of borderline psychotic love for the game of Hockey by my father and my uncles. What I love the most of course is the Boston Bruins. I have lived and died by this team since about age 6 and it gets worse every year. At 33 years old it still does. So I had the likes of Neely, Bourque, Oates, Courtnall, Byers, Wesley, Juneau, Galley, Sweeney…both of them and those were some good teams. In 88” I was 6 watched the Bruins get all the way to the finals only to be obliterated by the dynastic Edmonton Oliers (which also captivated me and I am still an Oil fan today. I enjoy punishment.). Big and bad sadly, was big and too slow and way out gunned. It happened again in 1990 and Oilers were without Gretzky for that one. Didn’t matter. Big and bad had failed again.
In the 90’s and the early 2000’s the tough guy bullshit was all Bruins fans really had. Sure they were always good enough to be 1st round fodder for typically the Canadiens or the Devils. But other than Jumbo Choking Joe Thornton, they weren’t very big but they were realty really bad. At least PJ Stock kept us entertained with a nightly David vs Goliath scenario. They also a revolving door of vets at the very ends of theirs careers coming to Boston to hang em’ up. Woo?
Then the Chiarelli era happens. Hockey in what seemed to be an overnight change was alive and well in The Hub again after a long long hibernation. Big and Bad were back baby! It eeven said so on a huge banner that hung from the rebranded TD Garden and sporting the ugly mugs of Lucic and Chara. The Garden was rocking again and holy was shit was it good. We all know what happened during this run and there are a lot of moments that will be forever burned into the minds of Bruins fans.
For me it was the end of 2013-2014 season that finally killed my love affair with big and bad. I sat next to a really good buddy of mine in section 315 row 11 of the balcony, it was game 7 vs Montreal and the cost of the ticket was equal to the amount of 2 of my paychecks. When that game ended we sat hammered, dejected, utterly disgusted… and lost. “What the fuck?! How the fuck could they just not even show up like that?! Looch didn’t even move!! It was Iginla vs the Habs!! WHY IS GREGORY CAMPBELL STILL A THING!!!!? “ I asked over and over again, beer after beer after whiskey after whiskey. Even the Habs fans bought us couple rounds. They didn’t troll like they’re famous for, they pitied us which for me was the worst part. I have never witnessed the city of Boston so quiet. It was awful dare I say even demoralizing. I am rage quitting life even typing this.
Why did the Habs win? The same reasons they always do. The Big, Bad Bruins can’t beat them without a lucky bounce and Tim Thomas playing like goalie Jesus. The Habs goad them into stupid penalties and they successfully make Milan Lucic even more useless than he already is. Its’ not just the Habs either, Chicago did the same in 13” except the employed more skill and more firepower. Kane made Chara look downright foolish in that series…fucking rapist (allegedly)
You’ve read this 40,000 times before I’m sure…The league has become faster and skilled up front and the big hulking forwards of the Bruins get burned. This is not new info. It is however seemingly not lost on Sweeney like it was on Chiarelli before him. The Hamilton and Rinaldo failures aside, Sweeney does seem to have a plan. That plan is to bring speed, skill and transition into the Bruins lexicon. He displayed this in the seemingly bizarre draft choices made at this summer’s draft. With these picks, Sweeney is laying the groundwork for the transition/retool. So far I’m board. Especially if you look at the puke fest that was this free agent class, options to retool via free agency where just about nonexistent.
I will hold fast as I always do but this time I am welcoming the change, If it works (and I believe it will), and the B’s are winning, nobody outside the old timers are going to care if it speed and skill or guts and grit getting it done. Embrace the change and thanks for reading.
