I always hear people talk about how much "fun” rivalries are, and to me, I have never been able to categorize a heated rivalry like the Avs and Wings as “fun.” Sure, there is the over jubilation after a hard fought victory over your sworn enemy, but the anxiety leading up to the win oftentimes overshadows the win itself. The horn sounds, the Avs have won, and I let out a huge sigh of relief, after nearly having had multiple heart failures over the last sixty minutes. Then there are the losses. Where the anger, hate, disappointment, and sometimes tears, pour out of you. Near heart attacks, or violent torrents: neither would I call “having a good time”.
However, as it turns out, you can teach an old fan new tricks, because last night against the Red Wings was fun. Of course we won 3-1. Perhaps it was because neither team had anything to lose, including their pride (we both lost that awhile back). The Red Wings are 28th in the league, and will be missing the playoffs for the first time in 25 years. It will be the end of the longest active postseason streak by any NHL, NBA, NFL or MLB team in history. Man, it feels so good to even type that. So perhaps it was with the knowledge that it really didn’t matter that I was able to sit back, relax and actually have fun.
Who am I kidding? Of curse it mattered. I walked into Pepsi Center expecting to get blown out, but was secretly telling myself that as long as we beat the Red Wings at home, I could cope with the pathetic mess this season has been.
When we first got to the game, I was greeted by the overwhelming amount of red (no surprise there), but then the Red Wings fans started their notorious “Let’s Go Red Wings” chant. There was very little rebuttal. The Red Wings put one up on the board five minutes into the first, and I thought that we might be in for a long game.
However, as the game carried on, Duchene got the equalizing goal, and breaking his 12 game scoreless streak, with only 1 goal in the last 25 games. Only two minutes later, J.T. Compher slammed the puck in for the go-ahead-goal, and getting his first NHL goal. It would be Carl Soderberg who gave the Avs the 3-1 lead, though it could have been 4-1 if Landy had made his penalty shot. By that point it was easy for any Avs fan to become more vocal. At the end of a particularly solid “Let’s Go Red Wings”… “Red Wings Suck” standoff, did I notice the very loud Red Wings fan and the Avs fan behind him high-five after the chants ended. I won’t be cliché and say that is the moment when it all sunk it, but I will say that it caught my eye. Neither teams have much to cheer about this season, but the energy in the building felt like it was the old days.
Sitting along side my best friend, who I grew up going to games with, the collective “Red Wings Suck” chants echoing the halls of Pepsi Center, and strangers on the street talking to me about the game the morning after (I wore an Avs hat to work, or course), brought me back to the days of yore. Though, on my way home, a quasi-bum did say to me “Home girl, I don’t know how you can wear that hat”. Nothing like a man sitting on a curb to bring you back to reality.
The Avs - Red Wings rivalry roots run deep, and that is what we can appreciate about one another. The days of Roy and Osgood have long since passed, but that heated passion still lives among the fans. It is the fans that keep the rivalry alive. We may be dead last in the standing, but I want to thank the Avalanche for the win last night, and helping me remember why I even have this blog. I love the Avs, and the game of hockey, and no matter what happens, I will always and forever hate the Red Wings.