Faceoff Factor

Let’s Get Back To Basics.

Jesse Marshall | Pittsburgh Penguins

Jan 29, 02:21 PM | Hype this story!

I will never fault a person for being passionate about hockey. I can remember, as can many of you, sitting in my room, watching the Penguins as a kid and waking the entire neighborhood with shrieks of joy and cries of defeat. I remember nearly popping a blood vessel in my head on May 8, 2001, when Mario Lemieux scored with 1:18 left in regulation to force OT in game 6 against the Buffalo Sabres in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

We all have moments like that. Maybe you accidentally punched your girlfriend in the face at 1:00 in the morning during game 5 last year against the Red Wings. Maybe your mother called an ambulance because she thought you were having a heart attack.

We’re all fans. These things are not only expected, they’re totally acceptable.

This year more than ever, emotions are running wild. Our team is coming off of an amazing run that took us within an inch of the Stanley Cup. We could imagine how the champagne would taste just as much as the players could. We invested our time, money, and most importantly, our emotions.

During the All-Star Break, the city was abuzz with talk of the Penguins, even in the midst of the Steelers Super Bowl run. People wanted to know what was wrong. They pointed fingers, demanded trades, made accusations, and called for heads.

Fellow writers at PSAMP lashed out at the hatred for the Penguins at the start of the break. It seemed as if the city was divided into two; there were those that were downright tired of the Penguins play and those that were downright tired of the people who were tired of the Penguins play. It was a civil war.

Winning eases all fears, however. And last night the Penguins allowed us to exhale just a little bit with a 6-2 drubbing of the New York Rangers.

Last night we had our first trip back to a playoff atmosphere. When the Rangers opened the scoring in the first, you could feel that oppressive weight on your shoulders. Maybe your heart was racing. Maybe you tensed up during all six of our first period scoring chances.

This article isn’t about me telling you what a true fan is. It’s our right to voice our own displeasure. It’s okay to scream and yell. It’s your right to have a whipping-boy.

What I want to remind you is that we’re all a part of the same community. We, collectively, are the seventh man on the ice. We’re the ones that can change the momentum of a game with the swell of our chants.

More than that, though, we are the ones that appreciate and love the game of hockey.

As the Penguins begin a tumultuous stretch towards a post-season berth, keep one thing in mind: we came close to losing this, there was a time where all of this was almost ripped away from us. Get emotional, cheer your team, be vocal, but above all, appreciate.

Appreciate the Sidney Crosby lazer backhanders. Appreciate Michel Therrien biting a referree’s head off. Appreciate the talent on the ice, even if it comes from the other team. Appreciate the beauty of hockey.

Don’t think this stuff is worth appreciating? How much money would you pay to see Mario Lemieux back on the ice netting another buzzer-beater in the post-season? How much do you ache to see your heroes take another shift? Many of you, like me, probably find yourself watching youtube’s of Soixante Six and getting goosebumps remembering the magic he could produce.

Let’s all start this Friday. The New Jersey Devils are hosting the Penguins at 7:00. Win or lose, take a moment in the second period and just watch Zach Parise. I promise you that it will be one of the finest things you’ve ever seen.

Let’s appreciate it together as a collective seventh man.