First of all, a hearty welcome to all of the FBI and CIA agents who just stumbled onto this post after our headline triggered those pesky anti-terrorist red flags. Drop us a line in the comments!
And now, please sit back and bask in the enlightenment that you so desire on this Monday.
It’s no secret that the Red Wings travel well. Detroit fans are a passionate bunch, and that extends outside the confines of Joe Louis Arena, as well as the state of Michigan. With a large contingent of Michiganders opting to take their talents to warmer climates during the winter – climates that aren’t traditional hockey markets – it’s no surprise to see Wings fans out in full force at road games. This past week when the Wings took their jaunt through Florida, both Lightning and Panthers fans got a bit of a shock as they watched their seats fill with Wings jersey, listened to chants for the “other” team and glared as octopi rained down on their ice surface. Adding insult to injury in Tampa was an overzealous employee of the Lightning organization hitting the ice to scoop up one of the aforementioned octopi, only to skate off twirling it above his head a la Al Sobotka.
Apparently, that was too much for one Lightning fan, who took to the comments section of the Tampa Tribune and shared his true feelings about Red Wings fans. Proper spelling was optional:
I think the 4000 or so folks who call Tampa Bay home but still rooted for the Red Wings are total losers (right there with Yankee, Red Sox and Philly fans).
I think it is totally pathetic that folks who left those loser cities to live in our Paradise, pay taxes, send their kids to our schools, and call Tampa home, still root for nothing more than a Jersey and a memmory! Pathetic…absolutely Pathetic losers!
If you love those places so daggum much, get in your VW Van and head back nnorth.
They probably root for Al Qeada too…
I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you over the noise of my AK-47 pumping rounds into a nest of Bald Eagles. Let me set down my bong and turn off my Hendrix and properly address you, dooooooooood.
If I had to venture a guess, I’m sure that user “USASoccer” probably couldn’t name any player on the Lightning roster other than Vincent Lecavalier, Marty St. Louis or Steven Stamkos. That said, he may be an incredibly intelligent Bolts fan who truly believes that a passionate group of hockey supporters are a bunch of terrorist hippies. The “Right” runs strong in Florida (my Mom lives in Tampa) and I’ve met a number of folks down there who still think it’s wrong that an African American is our President and that slavery was probably a good idea. Ignorance: They has it. Tact: What the hell is that?
Am I really chapped by this comment? Absolutely not. I find it funny that a threat as innocuous as an arena takeover leads to a tangential connection to a terrorist organization, but this is also coming from an individual that probably wouldn’t be caught dead in a restaurant if it served “French” fries. Meanwhile, the complaints about living in their “paradise” and paying their taxes are pretty spectacular considering the amount of money that brings the region. Those fancy roads? Payed for by tolls and taxes from Floridians and non-Floridians alike. To hell with that though, right USASoccer? Here’s the knife my friend: Go ahead and cut off your nose to spite your face.
Look, I have plenty of friends and family in the Tampa area, and even the later comments in that Trib piece show truckloads of sense and better judgment about what transpired in Florida last week. A lot of the Lightning fans I know and have openly wished that they could re-channel the excitement of the Bolts’ Cup run a few years ago back into the city. I’m sure they will at some point, especially with Steve Yzerman at the helm. In the meantime, let’s all just sit back and enjoy the show that the “true” residents of Florida put on for us.
If you’ll excuse me, I have propaganda leaflets to print now…
Photos Courtesy of msnbc and Yahoo!
Fuckyeah, finally someone recognizes the hippie contingent of Wings fans. I want a red & white VW bus so bad.
It’s not just Florida people. There’s a fine take on Wing fans in an opposing arena complete with the obligatory “Wing fans don’t have jobs” line at a Wild blog, but I refuse to give them the traffic.
I have seen the Wings play as the home team one time in my life, and I have been to over 20 games. It’s an entirely different experience being the “enemy” in an arena, and believe me when I tell you that the opposing fans let you know that you are not welcome (especially when it’s against a rival like the Leafs or Blackhawks). My simple response to them (especially Hawks fans about 5 years ago) is that without me purchasing a ticket, their building would once again sit a third empty to watch their crappy team lose another game in depressing fashion, and that the money I spent on the ticket, concessions and merchandise (if I chose to buy anything) went to THEIR team, not mine, so instead of giving me shit, they should be thanking me for my support.
I’ve been called a lot of things, but “terrorist” is not one of them. “Loser”, “Asshole”, “Pedophile” (not sure why that one was used, but it was), “Bandwagon”, and others. I look at it this way: you don’t want Wing fans taking over your building? Buy tickets and don’t leave any for them to purchase.
I catch the same flak every time I go to Columbus to watch the Wings. It’s ridiculous. I live an hour away, yet they all treat me like I’m some jerk from Michigan even though I’ve been their neighbor for 10 years. Just wait until TBL fans start tackling and fighting Wings fans like the BJ fans do.
BJ fans.. that’s all you gotta say.
AMURRICA!
Wow… as a staunch Conservative… I’m pretty pissed at the comment the guy made about us Red Wing fans. Surely he can see that capitalism and the free market has allowed an NHL team to have such Red Wing fans down there in spite of the distance to their home ice. It’s much better they sell out to all Wing fans and keep the lights on than refusing and going dark… but hey… guess that’s the evil businessman I am. I like money and am not ashamed. This guy… USASoccer… I call him a terrorist and threat to the RED WING REPUBLIC. Soccer lovin’ commie.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you over the noise of my AK-47 pumping rounds into a nest of Bald Eagles.”
Pure gold, sir.
I have had the pleasure of seeing a Wings game at the SO-GAY(now Bridgestone)center in Nashville.I have never encountered a more ignorant fan base ever.They know nothing about the game and actually throw catfish on the ice.Don’t know what their poor kids are going to eat after daddy throws the day’s catch on the ice.
As someone who was born and lives in Cleveland but has also lived in Muskegon, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Orlando, I have to say denizens of the Steel City are by far the worst. I went to Columbus last year for their final home game against Detroit. It was about 40% Wings fans and they said “thanks” to the Wings fans for selling out the arena. I still hate Columbus but the people at the game were fine. At least by me. I also went to a Wings game in Detroit on the Saturday before the Steelers were in town. I was harassed by Steeler fans in the hotel and at the bars for wearing Wings gear in Detroit. Snots. Every single one of them.
As to Florida, I will never forgive them. Ever.
Great read. Gotta say I read the Tampa article and I had to comment there; so here’s what I said to all the haters of folks wearing our team jerseys in their barn:
This guy was a real DB>USAsoccer – Learn how to spell memory. Says something about FL public schools.
To the others who don’t like when we wear our “other” team’s jersey; please get over it. I’m a season ticket holder who’s a Devils fan, and I will wear my Devils jersey to those games. The rest of the games I’m wearing Lightning apparel and supporting hockey in the state of FL. Be happy the Bolts are a growing team with talent. At least your not in Phoenix or south Florida. Oh that’s right, they’ve won a Stanley Cup too.
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