How's your flames passion level?

[GirlySports]

Expectations...

Its like i cooked well last year and now youre eating bad food again.

That said. I dont think the flames are that bad. They are getting squuezed.

[automaton 3]

Passion level is very low. It was one thing a couple years ago when they were losing, but the work effort was there and it was at least entertaining.

This year the games have not been entertaining.

[jessnuts]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Expectations...

Its like i cooked well last year and now youre eating bad food again.

...is this sexist? Should someone defend girlysports by yelling at her? Where is PCs principal when you need him.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Passion is always high. Even during these ugly games, I'm living and dying with every turnover, every puck battle. I still get into the games. Now I'm an optimist and believe a 5 game win will get them back in the race and I still do believe that so I'm living and dying with each game because I believe there still is a chance.

If they're 15-20 points out in January then I'll sit back on the couch as opposed to being as cliche as it sounds on the edge of my seat for each game currently

[Sakic19]

Last years games were must watch. This year I've probably only seen 2 or 3 full games and pieces of a handful of others.

[CaptainCrunch]

my passion has been not as high over the last 3 years. It used to be that I'd make a point to watch each game and go to about 10 to 20 games live per year.

Now if I'm home and a game is on I'll watch it, I did watch all of the playoff games last year.

My declining interest isn't about the level of hockey, more around the style of hockey that's been bought into play. Its just an emotionless, soft game now, its been too NBA'd in my view, and its just joyless now.

Its too fancy and not enough battles and intensity, and I'm not talking about fighting, I'm talking the individual will of the players, and I don't see it anymore.

Even watching the playoffs last year, the Flames and the way they played was an aberration based what I've seen over the last few years.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Expectations...

Its like i cooked well last year and now youre eating bad food again.

That said. I dont think the flames are that bad. They are getting squuezed.

How hard is it to make a Samwich?

[thymebalm]

Originally Posted by Igster

Then you and I disagree. I never said anything about "I can't give up on them". Don't put words in my mouth. I said I watch them and always will because I like watching them and I like cheering for them. Through the good times and the bad. This isn't an 'I'm a better fan than you!" thread. A question was asked and people are answering.

I simply can't turn the channel or watch something else because I enjoy watching my team win or lose. All that does is make me a fan. Nothing more.

A bit of a misunderstanding, I was using "you" in more a royal sense describing my own feelings. I wasn't directing that comment at you personally at all. Not attacking your view. That description is how I feel. Like they quit first and I'm still holding all the feels in my hands.

No Intention to twist your words. Those are my feelings.

[Dion]

It's like being stood up at the Altar. I'm sour and bitter with how this team failed to show up for the first 2 months of the season. No answers or explanations, just the often repeated we must play with more intensity, work harder, etc.

[442scotty]

pfft

[taxbuster]

Originally Posted by 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.

I'm a bit like GirlySports -- tired of the league and it's constant battle to make hockey into ballet. The hitting has gone from the game and with it a lot of the emotion. Some of those thundering hits woke up a sleepy team - now a guy does that and he's either thrown off the ice for the game or gets a penalty for "something" that he's supposed to have done. Thanks Gary. (OK on the head shots and the HARD blind-siders etc. - that's good to get rid of. But some of the penalized hits are pathetic.)

I'm tired of the poor and inconsistent reffing; the lack of public accountability with refs undermines the game (and most sports). When a guy blows it, let him acknowledge it. Yup - it's a mistake, just like the players make.

Flames are not a good team this year, but that has not dampened my support of them. It just makes it a bit more bitter. Games are definitely harder to watch, so I do other stuff while they're on. I've done that in the past, too, just less so.

Last year was a treat. Gotta wait for another one of them!!

[Hockey_Ninja]

Mine been pretty low recently, but that mainly has to do with school. Got too much stuff to do to pay a huge amount of attention to hockey.

[troutman]

It is harder to stay passionate about sports in general when you realize you are older than every player in every league.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by FBI

So my question is how is your flames passion level doing and what needs to happen for you to get it back? I'm feeling pretty hopeless about this team these days.

1.) How is my Flames passion doing?

It's doing pretty bad. It went from disbelief to despair, to a bit of hope and then even deeper despair. Like being in abusive relationship. Promises of getting better, telling all your friends they've gotten better, and they just completely let you down too.

As of last game (or maybe the PHX one) I've mailed it in emotionally for the season. I no longer hold playoff hopes. I would probably still tune in - but in the sense of having the game on while playing Xbox/PC, doing homework etc... not like turning everything off and setting everything aside to watch it anymore.

Also I'm getting really burned out by Hartley. First of all his systems suck. I'll probably start an extensive strategy thread or something later pointing with pictures and diagrams as to why it sucks.

But what pains me more is watching Hartley not doing what he did last season. Last season he scratched our golden boy Johnny and our highest paid player in Wideman without even missing a beat. What the hell happened to that man? Why is Wideman still getting powerplay time when he kills the play 4/5 times he touches the puck? Why does Gio get heavy duty use and the hardest minutes when he wasn't mentally in it?

Why does Bollig ever get played? We got Engelland on the ice most nights anyway. I don’t understand it.

I can understand him not playing someone like Ortio and Baertschi, both of which proved to be the right call. But I don't understand his apparent fear of taking away ice time from the vets as punishment. Being stapled to the bench is a horrible feeling and every player wants to be out there playing rather than warming the pine. It's even worse when you're not around the team and stuck up in the rafters watching. Zero ice time.

Unfortunately Hartley hasn't exercised that privilege properly yet. Rotating the 13/14 forwards, as another poster mentioned, is not sufficient for an "Always Earned, Never Given" organization. Especially if the 13/14 are both vets anyway. I'd want young, hungry bottom six forwards like Hathaway and Elson there instead of Bollig and Raymond.


2.) What needs to happen for the passion to come back?

Benchings. Waivers. Call-ups.

Really, that’s it. I just want to see the people who should be not on the ice, kept away from it. Johnny sets up a dazzling goal? Sam bulled his way through 3 players to score? Great, I’ll catch the highlights later. But if Wideman still gets over 20 min of ice time (PP time included) when his awful play massively costs the team... zero interest in actually watching the game.

Until then, Hartley’s reputation with me is on a constant decline. I can forgive him for many things…. losing, having a crap system, etc… but I won’t forgive him for violating “Always Earned Never Given”. That kind of stuff can sink an entire organization quickly.

[Vinny01]

My passion level for the team remains the same but my expectations have been lowered to the point games no longer generate an emotional response either way. I have been feeling that way for a few years and last year sparked those emotions. The moves this summer heightened those expectations. The first quarter of the season has brought me back to watching for the future not the present.

[KamFongAsChinHo]

What a timely thread. It seems an eon ago that Mrs. Ho and myself would crack open the wine and follow each game religiously. Coach of the year, finalist in the rookie of the year, Lady Byng winner, and Gio as front runner for best defenseman honours. It didn't matter what the score...it seemed that Calgary was really never out of a game. The one time I did turn off the game last year was when they were down 4-0 after two periods (Ottawa?). Wow...never did that again!

This year has been a yuuuuge disappointment; the team's effort is light years from last year's and I just am finding myself a disinterested fan. Top Gear re-runs are starting to be a priority.

Does that make me a bad fan?

[getoverit]

Breyer question is what's the teams passion level. Answers all. I see no emotion in there game but poor me when they get scored on first. Effort is missing. And as others stated always earned never given urghhhh

[liamenator]

my passion level is:
less than three months until spring training.

[MissTeeks]

I was at Epcot today and took a picture of every Flames product sold at the Canada pavilion. So I'd say my passion level is still high. This season is just a hiccup in my mind. There is always next year, that's my motto.

[Flamescuprun2018]

Passion level falling for this lineup although still tuning in for every game and Flames at 5 on ride home.

The Gaudreau OT winner against the Hawks was only 10 days ago and still had me jumping out of my seat.

Really intrigued to see when BT starts moving his movable assets. Surely a team would want Hudler right now at his salary rather than wait for trade deadline. Jones has good value too right now. Russell and Wideman will likely be deadline deals to increase D depth for some teams looking for long playoff runs.

Boomer and Warner have moved into no playoff/rebuild mode officially as of this morning. Feels about right...