[Tabaracci_31]

I’ve been pretty checked out for the last few months. This has definitely been the most frustrating and bizarre season I’ve experienced as a fan (I’ve been actively following since ‘95). I have a lot of other awesome stuff going on in my life, but I’ve been a Flames die-hard since I was a young kid, so it will always matter to me. This season has really given me pause on where these games fit into my life, how much I should care, etc. And I have read tons of exceptional posts over the year that have really helped me put the team in a healthy context that I’m happy about. Thank you to everyone who has discussed this topic during the year- you’ve made a big difference for me with my fandom.

All of this being said, it’s always going to be cool and amazing to have a professional sports franchise in our city. I’m always going to appreciate having the Flames here, because plenty of cities don’t get to have a team like we do. Does that mean I need to spend my money on going to games, watching most of them on TV, etc.? Not necessarily. I definitely want to see changes this off-season and am really curious about what’s coming up. I just want to see some changes that are healthy for the team. I’m in the camp that thinks with some different leadership and a few bounce backs, we could be just fine next year. Not great, but nowhere near this miserable.

Tbh, hockey has lost some appeal to me in the last few years for various reasons. I still struggle with a lot of the issues with hockey culture and some of the problems that have arisen in the last few years. At the same time, I know there are a lot of great people in the game, and the game itself will always be special to me, whether it’s playing or watching. So a big theme with the Flames this year, and the sport in general in the last few years, has been conflicting feelings of “oh, I should be grateful for this” vs. “Actually, there’s a lot here that I don’t like and i’m kind of ashamed of the game”.

What I am grateful for is this community. No matter how the Flames are doing, I’m always gonna love CPuck. You guys make me feel more connected as a fan and I love reading people’s posts. I’ve learned so much about the team from all of you all and it’s awesome. So thanks for threads like these! I hope this post makes sense. Sometimes it’s hard to capture the thoughts and feelings in writing but I really want to get out of my head and post more often.

I’ll always love this team and be grateful we have them here, and I think this season has been important for re-prioritizing everything in a positive way. Still grappling with the bigger issues of the sport, but I think that’s a good and healthy thing. Hope everyone enjoys seeing Wolf and Coronato tonight. Will be cool to end the season with some excitement, hopefully.