I drank the kool-aid this summer. Carter, Wiz, Prospal, Martinek.... Ownership spent some money and I thought, we've have finally started to address the real holes in this roster.
LOFT, or Lack Of F-----g Talent, had become Lots Of F------g. I thought, playoffs here we come.
If there is one thing this season has taught me is that I was WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. These days, I think to myself, if only it was just a talent problem.
This may sound over the top, but I seriously wonder if an in-his-prime Wayne Gretzky, the game's greatest player, would find success on this team. And we are talking about a player who racked up 894 goals 1943 assists for an NHL record 2,857 points.
That is just how bad I think the culture of losing has embedded itself into this organization. And the only chance that I think we've got to rid ourselves of that culture of losing is a fundamental house cleaning that starts at the top.
And that is what today's protest is about. It's not about changing players, changing coaches, putting in systems or selling tickets. It's about finally accepting the reality of this situation and taking the necessary steps required to address it. Let's not continue to erode this fan base. Let's fix the problem, save what fan base is left, and start the rebuild.
Will changing the President and GM fix this? There are no absolutes in this world. But, I certainly believe sticking with the 'status quo' and continuing to ride the coaching/player merry-go-round is going to produce the same old results. And that is just not good enough.
This franchise deserves better.
This city deserves better.
We, the fans, deserve better.
For those wondering what in the h-e-doublehockeysticks is gonna go on for 3 hours at this deal - here's the plan.
There will be a PA system. There will be a podium. A riser. There will be music that only Jackets fans will know and love. There will be signs and some other surprises. We have a number of some of the most passionate Jackets fans lined up to speak and deliver our message.
So if you believe in this message, come on down and mingle will the most passionate Jackets and hockey fans on the planet. Given that it's a Saturday in January, the weather looks like it will cooperate. So bundle up and hey, think of this as a dry run for the Winter Classic some day!
After, be sure to warm up in your favorite Arena District establishment.
If you're making the trip, you will want to plan to arrive around 2:00. The meat of this thing will be from 2:15 to 3:00.
I also want to make one thing clear as I just read a post that said Light the Lamp started all of this. I did not start this. I just got on board and helped spread the word. This all orginated from THIS POST on 01.23.12 @ 11:04 PM by CapnCornelius on HFBoards.com. That is just over 5 days ago and look where we are now. I know he probably could care less about getting the credit, but he is the spark and I thank him. He will be speaking today and trust me, you won't want to miss it!
This is our team!
-LTL
