Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Seriously?
I am NO fan of Derek Wills, but thought he had a great call last night. I suspect most of the frustration with him stems more from those who were frequently triggered by Mike Smith's poor performances this year, and Wills's defense of him when people were often unfairly critical. When I heard his "How do you like me now?!" call, I smiled because you know it perfectly captured the spirit of what Mike Smith was feeling in the same building with the same fans who were jeering him a month ago. It's an emotional game, and for all his flaws I thought Wills did a great job of capturing that emotion last night.
If he deserves criticism it is for his lame attempt to make the "Ryan Express" moniker stick. Just let it go, Wills.
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I think if the call was in a vacuum you'd be right. But around the mid-way mark of the season when Wills and Pinder were really going at it, that's when Wills started making these comments all the time. Pre-game, in game, and post game - every chance he got he would make a passive aggressive remark either towards Pinder (who was never there to defend himself) or anyone who thought differently than him.
For the record, I was never a Smith hater nor a Rittich fanboy. I liked Wills as a PBP guy until this feud started. I think Pinder makes better talk-radio than what they had before but that's because his job is to give opinion and create controversy to keep people listening. What Wills is doing now is just juvenile. His job is to call the game - not call out people who don't side with him. If every time I turn on the Fan he's there giving his I told ya so's and low-key attacking those that aren't there to defend themselves, then I see him as an amateur and cringey. Next year Smith will likely be gone or on his final one year contract. Wills is creating lots of haters standing up for someone who isn't going to be around much longer. I agreed with his sentiments that the Flames need both goaltenders going to be successful - he just needs to know he was right and not be a dink about it. Just my opinion of course...