Yes, We’re Still Still Alive

Whew. It’s not often that a massively hyped weather event lives up to its press, but damn, Hurricane Sandy was a beast. We’re nowhere near the Shore, thank goodness, but even so we were right in Sandy’s path. But despite the lashing rain and terrifying winds, somehow stately IPB Manor remained unscathed. Many of our neighbors suffered damage from entire trees toppling onto their houses or cars, or from basement flooding, but we had none of that. Well, we shouldn’t say none. We did lose one tree:

Of course, that was our Granny Smith tree, which was planted poorly and leaned at a hideous angle while growing all lopsided and horribly. We’ve spent the last few years trying to figure out how to justify tearing it out so we could put something nicer in its spot, so… thanks, Sandy.

Our final tally from the storm, so far, is three days off work, one unloved tree removed, three and a half days without power, and we learned how to use our generator and our camp stove. Not too bad. Of course, none of the businesses in our town are open yet, so the scorecard might go a bit more negative if we need groceries soon.

Yes, Hockey, We’re Still Alive. Which Is More Than We Can Say About You

Dear Hockey,

So… you were supposed to be here by now, weren’t you? Looking back at this time of year last year, we seemed to be in an endless tizzy of excitement at every glimpse we got of you. First we were going nuts about seeing preseason games on TV, then it was all, “Yay, NHL opening night!”, and then it was the thrill of the first full-slate Saturday, and so on and so on. But this year? We kind of haven’t noticed you’re not around.

Look, hockey. We love you. We’re always going to love you, and you’re always going to take horrible advantage of that. We’re not so stupid that we don’t realize that this relationship is a one-way street. We’ve been through a lockout before, and while it was excruciating, humiliating, and painful, it was also a learning experience. And you know what lesson we took away from it? That we can live without you. Seriously, hockey, last time we spent an entire non-existent hockey season writing a fictional account of what could have happened if you hadn’t left us, which is the fan equivalent of standing on your lawn holding a boombox over our heads playing “In Your Eyes”. But when you did come back, we discovered that we kind of didn’t care that much. It took us a full season to really get back up to speed as fans, and back then we literally had nothing else to do.

Yeah, hockey, remember over four years ago when we started this blog? Our lives consisted of three things: work, watching hockey, and talking about watching hockey. We had to start a blog because we just had so much time to fill to talk about being hockey fans. Well, since then we’ve added quite a bit to our plates. We’ve got tons more hobbies and pastimes, and tons more things to be spending our entertainment dollars and hours on. Are you wondering what we’re doing with all the time that used to belong to you?

Nice cans!

Let’s see how late into winter we can harvest shit this year!

Fabric and thread will never get mixed up in stupid labor stoppages!

There are only so many hours in the day that a girl can spend on becoming a hipster, so hockey, you lose.

Hey, when you want to leave your house for some kind of entertainment, your options aren’t limited to hockey. Who knew???

So yeah, hockey. We’re not going to say anything stupid like, “This time we mean it — we’re never coming back!” because that’s just blatantly false. Of course we’re going to come back. But here’s the deal: you’re not leaving nearly the hole in our lives that you think you are. So whenever you get your shit together, that’s fine. Just don’t expect us to care until then.

Love,
The Ookies

Farewell, 2011-2012 Devils

There wasn’t any champagne in our glasses this year, but hey, at least we got to a point where it was worth dusting the glass off in the first place. Thanks, Devils! And thanks to you, stalwart Gentle Reader, for making this already fun season even funner. We hope everyone has a fabulous summer.

Oh Historic SCF Comeback Attempt, We Barely Knew Ye

So, is this the point where all of our “tra la la, we’re so happy the Devils just managed to get this far!” gives way to heartbreak?

Oh, Henrique’s Mustache, We Barely Knew Ye

So, is tonight the night? Or do we live to fight another day? Either way, we really hope Henrique keeps his mustache. That’s our new favorite thing ever.

Oh, Stanley Cup Final, We Barely Knew Ye

We jumped aboard Devils fandom at the start of the 1995-96 season, immediately after the team had shamed itself by failing to make the playoffs immediately after winning the Stanley Cup. In the 14 seasons that followed (spread over 15 years) we were conditioned to believe, the entire time, that our team was a “contender”. Twice we got to actually see them win the Cup, which is truly, truly amazing. But the other 12 seasons involved watching our team come up woefully short; 12 years where we committed massive energy and emotion in a grueling nine-month slog, only to give the experience a final grade of “fail”. There’s nothing wrong with this — being a fan of a contender (even a self-described one) can be a ton of fun. You get to see more wins than losses, for one thing; every game can feel much more intense when you think you’re watching a Team of Destiny; and you can put a little swagger in your step right up until the moment it becomes clear that your team isn’t going to end up champion. But it also means, in the likely event that your team doesn’t win the Cup every single year, that you’re going to have a lot more bitter, angry, or sad hindsight than fans who had no expectations for their teams. Take, for example, the 2000-2001 Devils. That team was a remorseless winning machine, a juggernaut of a defending Cup champion, and got all the way to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Do we look back on that season with fondness in our hearts, or an appreciation for how lucky we were to see our favorite team be that good? Nope, not at all. Because they should have gotten that one last win, at least in our assessment. For better or for worse, our memories of that season are shaded primarily with a belief that the team came up short. Our memories of so many of the seasons during the first 15 years of our fandom are of wasted opportunities and squandered greatness.

Last year was the first time we experienced our Devils falling off a cliff. We expected it to be much harder than it was, but as it turns out, life goes on when your hockey team is decidedly not a contender. And more than that, it gave us a sense of perspective. Thanks to John MacLean, Terrible Head Coach, we suddenly got an understanding of what other kinds of failure a hockey team can have. Sure, losing in the first round when you’re the top seed is something worth being pissed about. But you know what’s worse? Being actually, sustainably, across-an-entire-season shitty. Last year’s experience was an epiphany for us: we don’t ever want to be back in the same place we were after losing in the first round to the Rangers (and all their attendant Avery-ness), where an entire hockey season of fun fandom is wiped out by one week of crap. It’s a polar shift for us, no question, but the thing is that being happy is… well, nice.

This spring’s Devils run has been a fantastic ride. Each step has been a further one out of our old mentality, starting with “we just hope the first-round failure is relatively painless,” then “how can the best regular-season penalty kill in the history of the league be giving up this many power play goals to the Panthers???”, then “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Who knew winning a wholly winnable first-round series could feel this unexpectedly sweet???”, then “hey, just one win against the Flyers will make us happy,” then “HOLY FUCKING SHIT, WE’RE MOPPING THE FLOOR WITH THEM!,” then “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Who knew getting to the Eastern Conference Final could feel this unexpectedly sweet???”, then “hey, just one winning period against the Rangers will make us happy,” then “this playoff thing can actually be fun, even if we don’t win,” and then “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!” Because seriously, guys, the Devils won the Eastern Conference Final. The Devils are the Eastern Conference Champions. They beat the Flyers and the Rangers to do that. This is, without question, fabulous.

So who knows what happens now. Maybe they’ll salvage some pride and force a Game 5. Then maybe the ridiculous will happen and they’ll force a Game 6. Then maybe the insane will happen and they’ll force a Game 7. Then maybe the divinely outrageously magnificent will happen and they’ll win the Cup. Most likely, though, the Kings will win comfortably tonight, and the Devils will end up having been swept hard out of the Cup Final. It’s all cool, because you know what? We will not look back on 2011-2012 with even the slightest shred of anger, bitterness, sadness, or “what might have been”. This season was TRULY AWESOME.

Gametime Already?

Yikes! It’s almost time for the puck to drop! Man, the first day after vacation is so disorienting. Here’s hoping the Devils are more put-together tonight than we are.