After standing on a train for 3 brutal hours, stuck next to the young bimbo with the straw hat, listening to the Black Eyed Peas and sporting a yapping yorky in her Louis Vitton (I hope I spelled that wrong) bag and the already drunk banker squeezing to and from the restroom every ten minutes with a beer in hand and two in his pockets, I finally arrive in Sag Harbour. I say to myself, the traffic was worth it. Now I'm here at the beautiful beach, sparking up the grill, popping open a cold one and kicking it with my friends and family. So standing on the Long Island Railroad for a few hours is fine. I can deal with it.
More often than not, I arrive at the coliseum after sitting in 2 hours of traffic, and my attitude isn't quite the same,rather, I ask myself, is this worth it? After all, I have a large HD TV to watch the game on, a couch, dinner, beers,email etc...If the Isles are losing, I'll simply swap channels and watch the Rangers lose to make myself feel better.
Like many Islanders fans, in their mid 20's like myself, we missed the boat. We are the unlucky bunch that got on the wrong train, heading in the wrong direction. To me, its like leading a strictly religious life and then right before you die, your told that its all bullshit and you could have done whatever the hell you wanted.
But for how long? Is 2010 going to be another year where we finish at the 12th seed. Is Rick Dipietro going to play 4 games and hurt his knee again? Should I really spend all this money on tickets, tolls, beer and bad food at the coliseum? How come the guy with the gold hair is at every game, isn't he sick of losing and spending money on season tickets? Can we just watch the Ice Girls dance in a bar instead of going to the game? How long does it take to rebuild a hockey team? Does any good UFA want to join us? Are we even trying to bring any stars in?
Well, I can go on for quite a bit. This is what happens after years of losing, but for some reason, we continue keeping the faith and hoping for the boat to turn around and head in the right direction.
Guess What? I actually believe, the good days are near.
Although many Eastern Conference teams have improved (Devils, Pens, Tampa etc...), I'm confident with our youth and have bought into Garth Snow's annoying yet, semi successful (TBD)system. "SLOW AND STEADY REBUILD". Although I hate those words, its guys like K. Okposo, JT, Robbie Schremp, Josh Bailey that help me keep the faith.
Granted all Isles fans are frustrated by the off season thus far. Snow has made offers to several good UFA's but was turned down, because guess what, the Isles have sucked for too long, and good players don't want to be involved in it. The only option is to improve with what we have and eventually lure in some bigger pieces to the puzzle when the time is right.
The Islanders picked up three new players this year, Jurcina, Eaton and some tough guy from Tampa. These small additions may prove to be helpful, but guys like Freddy Meyer and Sutton have been lost in the process. In terms of defense, I worry, as we have lost some of the physical players, but added some size overall.
In terms of offense, can we rely on Matty Moulson scoring 30+ goals again? Will JT put on some much needed weight and muscle, protect the puck and have an even better season? How about Okposo, Baily, El Nino, Hamonic...Will they eventaully become the Pittsburg Penguins?? I dont have the answer, but I'm optimistic and excited for the future (god I hate the word future).
Simply put, our young team is going up against some serious talent this season and I personally think that the playoffs are already out of the equation. However, I think we will improve from last season, and in a few years with the addition of some super star along the way, the Isles will be back and will win a playoff series. I'll keep the word Stanley cup out of all posts until I feel its warranted.
Go Isles!
Several hours before the arbitration hearing in Toronto, the Islanders and Matty M. agreed to terms on a one year $2.45 million deal. Nowadays, that seems decent, but g-d knows we have seen some ridiculously high deals in the last decade. To put Matt's one year deal into perspective, its $6,712.32 a day for the next 365 days. Being a professional athlete ain't too shabby.
