Every Season Needs It's Sideshow
As an avid hockey fan, I must say that I am quite enjoying this season's playoffs. Even though my team lost in the first round, and team management panicked and fired one of the best coaches in the league. As much as I see myself as a moderately successful playoff prognosticator, I did not foresee this outcome.

Last season, there was also a Cinderella story with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks advancing all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. Another event was perspiring that made the whole thing more interesting. A California woman, herself a Mighty Ducks fan, had been pressuring her long time boyfriend to consider marriage. He, also a Mighty Ducks fan, at the beginning of last season's playoffs, said that if the Mighty Ducks won the Stanley Cup, he would propose, and they would get married. Of course the team's run to the Stanley Cup was improbable, given their list of opponents, but on the back of their goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, they made it to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Media outlets caught on to the story, and the couple was flown out to watch the games. He proposed at the beginning of game 7, even though his team still lost. And everybody was happy.

This year there is a similar story. I was talking hockey with my friend at the beginning of the playoffs, and since his favourite team, the Edmonton Oilers were already eliminated, he wanted to devise a new method of growing a playoff beard. He had a list of five teams and as they lost, he would shave various parts of his face (ie. neckbeard, mustache, soul patch, etc.). I suggested he pre-assign teams to the regions on his face, which he did. The unlikely part, is that he assigned Calgary to the left half of his beard and Tampa Bay to the right half. Most hockey experts were picking Calgary to last one round fewer than Tampa Bay, but Rob was not deterred. This is the result. So while many people will be cheering for various reasons, Rob (and his wife) will be cheering for aesthetics.

   [ posted by William @ 5:58 PM ]