How's your flames passion level?

[PsYcNeT]

I've only missed one game so far this season (I had a party on Saturday, so I missed the San Jose debacle), but I'm still feeling happy to watch hockey, even if the results are lacking.

Even bought a Brodie 3rd jersey (before it becomes unavailable from proper retailers) on Black Friday.

Hockey is still hockey. Non-winning Flames are just a lot more familiar to me.

[heep223]

They haven't lost me quite yet.

[Two Fivenagame]

It's tough when your team is out of it by November with no real opportunity for immediate improvement.

50+ games of meaningless hockey to go.

With such a horrible team right now, could our future core players be developing bad habits?

blarg!

[Poe969]

I still love the Flames and always will but I think I'm more excited when they're not playing. At this point, I prefer news and rumors to actual games.

[Gallick]

The biggest difference for me year-over-year is how I feel watching the 3rd period. Last year regardless of the score, I wouldn't even leave the room to pee in the last ten minutes of the game because I knew it was going to be a hell of a finish even if we didn't win. This year I find myself cooking dinner or tidying up or something with the game on in the background. I've turned off a few games with a couple minutes left to go.

I'm also deliberately waiting and watching more games on PVR later in the evening. That way I spend only an hour and a half instead of the full two and a half hours being frustrated and disappointed.

[Chonger]

There was so much anticipation leading into this season. What this team accomplished last season was amazing. I was so pumped for 3rd periods. We never seemed to be out of a game till the last buzzer sounded. I always believed we could win those games. Down by 3 in that game we eliminated Vancouver I not only felt, but knew we would win that game.
This teams play this year is underwhelming to say the least. Every game I look for something to show this team is improving and about to turn this season around and I see nothing. Last 2 games I played Fallout instead of watching the game. The loses dont seem to hurt as much after ive given up hope on this season and dont waste my time watching these games. The season is over and now I feel like we all know the feeling of what it is like to be an oiler fan. Not even December and the season is over.

[Rick M.]

Oddly, for me the fact that the Flames are out of it has reduced the stress and aggravation of this season. I look forward to watching our young players develop and will be following the draft much more closely than usual. I'll be glad when the trade deadline arrives so we can have a look at what we have on the farm.

[Huntingwhale]

Mine is as high as ever. Been a fan of the team since I could walk and I will never give up on them. I was fully expecting a step back this season. A lot went right last season for the team to have the season they did. Last season's result was supposed to be what happens in year 4 or 5. However I realize we are only in year 3 of what might be a 5 year rebuild and rebuilding teams have dips like this. In the long run I think this will benefit the team as last season gave the illusion the rebuild was going faster then expected. Rebuild take time and years to achieve. And even then, success is not guaranteed.

To me what's really telling these days is to see some of the members on CP give up on their team a quarter of the way through. Yet they will be the first guys back on the bandwagon proclaiming their loyalty as soon as we hit some measure of success.

I still look forward to games. I look forward to reading posts and analysis. I;m looking forward to attending my first of 3 games this season in a couple weeks. I'm also looking forward to knowing that when we come out of this funk (maybe this season, possibly next or after) that I stuck with the team through highs and lows and hopefully my loyalty is rewarded the day I'm prancing down the street when we win the cup.

Does it suck the position we are in? Sure does. But unlike the young gun days, which people so foolishly compare this team to, we actually have building blocks. We have a couple potential #1C's in Monahan and Bennett. We have some strong pieces on the backend in Brodie, Hamilton, Andersson and Kylington. We have a future potential Art Ross contender in Gaudreau. Hopefully our goalie of the future in Gillies. What did we have in the young gun days? Iggy? A poutty Savard? The threat of the team moving? I shake my head when I hear people say this team is worse then the young guns era. Please.

Fact is, I'm staying loyal to the end. Whether we crash and burn, or rise to the top. I'm staying.

[codynw]

I can't even get excited about watching the young players develop, because other than the big 3, Hartley doesn't trust any of them to play more than 10 minutes a night on a consistent basis. It's incredibly frustrating.

[polak]

Does being a loyal fan mean you have to watch the games?

[GranteedEV]

Honestly, only thing bothering me isn't the losing, it's the fact that despite the losing, fringe-NHL-ready guys like Kulak, Hathaway, Nakladal, Arnold, Agostino, Grant, Poirier, even Ortio and Wotherspoon are just toiling in the minors. I understand why, but it's just not interesting to see Joe Colborne, Brandon Bollig, Jonas Hiller etc do the same things they always do. At some point you have to identify your fringe veterans and ship them off, they're just making the season uninteresting.

[N-E-B]

The Flames winning and losing doesn't affect my passion for this team.

[irrevocable]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Honestly, only thing bothering me isn't the losing, it's the fact that despite the losing, fringe-NHL-ready guys like Kulak, Hathaway, Nakladal, Arnold, Agostino, Grant, Poirier, even Ortio and Wotherspoon are just toiling in the minors. I understand why, but it's just not interesting to see Joe Colborne, Brandon Bollig, Jonas Hiller etc do the same things they always do. At some point you have to identify your fringe veterans and ship them off, they're just making the season uninteresting.

Agree totally. I also don't like seeing our call ups toil on the 4th line. Granlund needs to be given a chance to produce at a higher level. He isn't going to do that on the 4th line.

[Street Pharmacist]

I'm not nearly as passionate. I didn't even care they lost to San Jose in the manner they did. To be honest I expected to feel that way last year

[Regulator75]

I'd say yours is low, it's Flames not flames.

[Vinny01]

The thing that stings the most for me is how hyped I was about this season. I have not looked forward to a regular season this much since 05/06 when we came off a cup run and lost a year due to the lockout.

To have a team with 2 young first line forwards, and elite forward prospect, and newly acquired big 22 year old Dman I was beyond excited. The Flames played until mid May and it felt like a longer summer than any of the playoff miss years.

[Nammer403]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Fact is, I'm staying loyal to the end. Whether we crash and burn, or rise to the top. I'm staying.

Couldn't have said it any better

[cannon7]

I remember the pre-Kiprusoff era of the Flames, the vast amount of time between Vernon and Kiprusoff where the Flames just couldn't buy a goalie. This season is eerily reminiscent of those dark days, when you didn't know who would be in net from one game to the next and you sure as hell couldn't rely on solid goaltending to get you through. A goalie can make or break a season, it can make or break team confidence, it can oust a Jack Adams trophy winner.

I know when my interest in the Flames season is waning when I switch from television broadcasts to radio. Going from actively watching to passively listening, I'm pretty much mirroring the product.

The Colorado Avalanche are still struggling after their unlikely season. If they're truly an archetype for the Flames, then next season won't be much better.

As for what Treliving could do to spark my interest? Pretty much anything at this point. This is his first real test.

[GirlySports]

i know i've said this many times, still watch the Flames but find the NHL as a whole a very poor product. It seems the other sports move forward while the NHL moves backwards.

That camera angle for the Sharks game was ridiculous.

Do you guys watch other games at all anymore? I see that the OT thread every night is really quiet other than the diehards which really deserve recognition.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

What did we have in the young gun days? Iggy? A poutty Savard? The threat of the team moving? I shake my head when I hear people say this team is worse then the young guns era. Please.

Jeff Shantz as our No 1 C and Andrei Nazarov (SIN line!) as our top line LWer.