This Sucks

So enough denial. Enough trying to tell myself it’s not big deal. No more trying to ignore the tide of emotions that are building inside of me.

THIS SUCKS.

I’m talking about the Canucks. My beloved Canucks. The NHL’s 2011 President’s trophy winners. The Canucks with the league best defense and the league best offence. A Vezina trophy finalist in net, and a Jack Adams winner behind the bench. These were the Canucks with two Art Ross trophy winners and a Selke finalist leading the way.

If this team wasn’t a sure thing, then such a thing does not exist.

These Canucks dominated.  These Canucks prevailed. Injuries couldn’t stop them. Bad bounces didn’t affect them. They kept rolling forward with momentum no team could match. Their worst stretch of games in the regular season was when they couldn’t line up 2 wins in a row, but instead alternated win/loss/win/loss.

Until round 4 of the playoffs.

Suddenly, they ran out of steam. Suddenly, their potent offence dried up. Suddenly, their stellar goaltending faltered. Suddenly, their depth at defense appeared thin.

And they lost. They managed to get all the way to the 7th and final game of the final round, 60 minutes away from hoisting the coveted silver trophy, and they failed.

And it SUCKS.

It sucks for the players. It sucks for the organization. And it sucks for the fans.

At first, I tried burying my feelings of disappointment. I tried telling myself that it didn’t matter, that it was just a game, that they’ll be back soon. I tried focusing on the amazing season and great run that they had. I tried even being happy for a few of the Boston Bruins that I actually liked.

But today, I’m letting myself feel, today I’m dropping the facade. This feeling just plain sucks.

There’s no other way to put it. No other way to explain it. I’ve only been a Canucks fan since 2001, really. Since then, I’ve seen a team gradually get better and better, slowly making their way into the top of the NHL’s elite teams. This year, I didn’t want to let myself believe but they were so stunningly convincing in their play that I was suckered into hoping, believing, and before I knew it, I was convinced this WAS our year.

And by all rights, it should’ve been. In one week, in just a few days, what was a sure thing was suddenly ripped right out from under our noses.

And so my rant of the day is that this really SUCKS.

Sure, I know we have a great team. These Canucks deserved to be in the final. They didn’t get there by “beating the odds”. They didn’t get there by luck. They got as far as they did because they are an amazing group of guys, full of talent. And the majority of those guys will still be around next year, meaning that we can expect many years to come of being one of the elite NHL hockey clubs.

But that doesn’t mean a hill of beans right now. Right now, it hurts. Right now, the mountain of disappointment is too real to be satisfied by futuristic dreams and hopes. Right now, I need to simply face the emotions.

It’s just a game, but that doesn’t make this feeling any less real.