Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Does hockey bring you joy, or is it becoming a drag

Calgary4LIfe · 03-06-2018, 06:28 PM

I still enjoy watching games (I have only missed a handful of games total in probably the last three or four seasons combined).

I have a very weird schedule right now where I basically get an opportunity to have two naps a day for around 2 hours each. I end up giving up my naps during the evening so I can watch the Flames.

I still love them and cheer for them, but I am finding myself getting really irritable these days. This team is not a joy to cheer for. Games are mostly on the boring side. I still watch them because I am a fan, and because I am always afraid of missing something memorable, but after most games I think to myself: "Bad decision. I should have slept."

It isn't just winning or losing. They are a losing team this year, so it makes things worse, but it is really about the style of game. It is cold. Mechanical. Gaudreau and Brodie are the only players that seem to show a lot of creativity. Tkachuk is often the only one that shows a tonne of emotion.

I always watched hockey since I was a kid, and when the Flames first moved to Calgary. I was hooked on it, and later, I got hooked on the NBA as well (and was always hooked on Soccer - it is in my blood). Well, I got absolutely sick of the NBA more than a decade ago. Why? There was NOTHING NEW. Nothing memorable. It became, in my opinion, a really boring product. I don't care what people say, the NBA is incredibly boring these days.

Hockey is going that same way. What makes a game boring? Lack of emotion. Stifling systems without creativity. Storylines.

Hockey is suffering from a lack of emotion most nights. The stifling systems are coming back and teams are playing extremely tight systems. Storylines are often there, however.

The NHL is becoming the "Nothing Happens League" on most nights. I am enjoying the VGK story this year, I am loving Nashville. Some Eastern teams are interesting to follow...

But the Flames? They are both BORING to watch AND they aren't doing well. That's a deadly combo. Yet, every game night, I force myself to watch them. I force myself to come here often and talk about them (or just read).

It has become so... routine. It feels like I am starting to become detached a bit (which says a lot, since I was the only one out of my buddies that continued to watch them every season between the cup win and the 2004 run.

The rebuild did the opposite of what I was expecting - it reinvigorated my love for the team. Now it has started going stale somehow. I don't know what it is about them. It is just a more difficult team this year to really get excited about for whatever reason - even when they were holding a playoff spot and I thought that they would be challening VGK for the division by this date.

I still love watching some teams, and I always switch from whatever hockey (or other sport) I am watching and turn it to the Flames, and I just find it boring.

This is not a Gulutzan thing (I don't think - but maybe).

Watching the Flames sometimes feels like work. I don't know why and I don't understand it, but at the same time I can't stop watching, just in case something memorable happens that makes me smile and once again be proud of this team for something.

03-06-2018, 06:28 PM	#103
Calgary4LIfe Franchise Player Join Date: Jun 2010 Exp:	I still enjoy watching games (I have only missed a handful of games total in probably the last three or four seasons combined). I have a very weird schedule right now where I basically get an opportunity to have two naps a day for around 2 hours each. I end up giving up my naps during the evening so I can watch the Flames. I still love them and cheer for them, but I am finding myself getting really irritable these days. This team is not a joy to cheer for. Games are mostly on the boring side. I still watch them because I am a fan, and because I am always afraid of missing something memorable, but after most games I think to myself: "Bad decision. I should have slept." It isn't just winning or losing. They are a losing team this year, so it makes things worse, but it is really about the style of game. It is cold. Mechanical. Gaudreau and Brodie are the only players that seem to show a lot of creativity. Tkachuk is often the only one that shows a tonne of emotion. I always watched hockey since I was a kid, and when the Flames first moved to Calgary. I was hooked on it, and later, I got hooked on the NBA as well (and was always hooked on Soccer - it is in my blood). Well, I got absolutely sick of the NBA more than a decade ago. Why? There was NOTHING NEW. Nothing memorable. It became, in my opinion, a really boring product. I don't care what people say, the NBA is incredibly boring these days. Hockey is going that same way. What makes a game boring? Lack of emotion. Stifling systems without creativity. Storylines. Hockey is suffering from a lack of emotion most nights. The stifling systems are coming back and teams are playing extremely tight systems. Storylines are often there, however. The NHL is becoming the "Nothing Happens League" on most nights. I am enjoying the VGK story this year, I am loving Nashville. Some Eastern teams are interesting to follow... But the Flames? They are both BORING to watch AND they aren't doing well. That's a deadly combo. Yet, every game night, I force myself to watch them. I force myself to come here often and talk about them (or just read). It has become so... routine. It feels like I am starting to become detached a bit (which says a lot, since I was the only one out of my buddies that continued to watch them every season between the cup win and the 2004 run. The rebuild did the opposite of what I was expecting - it reinvigorated my love for the team. Now it has started going stale somehow. I don't know what it is about them. It is just a more difficult team this year to really get excited about for whatever reason - even when they were holding a playoff spot and I thought that they would be challening VGK for the division by this date. I still love watching some teams, and I always switch from whatever hockey (or other sport) I am watching and turn it to the Flames, and I just find it boring. This is not a Gulutzan thing (I don't think - but maybe). Watching the Flames sometimes feels like work. I don't know why and I don't understand it, but at the same time I can't stop watching, just in case something memorable happens that makes me smile and once again be proud of this team for something.