Eulogizing the 2011-2012 Penguins
I was given the honor of eulogizing the 2011-2012 Penguins for Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy blog.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the site’s running series of eulogies, they are roasts for each team eliminated from the playoffs, written by bloggers from a rival team’s city. Often they are penned with tongue planted firmly in cheek, and filled with obscure references that only NHL diehards would get.
I went in a different direction.
Had I been asked to write one about the Rangers or Bruins – teams that are much easier to joke about, partly because you can respect them – I may have gone that route. Instead, I was mean.
Like most of you, I genuinely hated the 2011-2012 Penguins. They not only underachieved, but also found a way to embarrass themselves by playing a brand of hockey that displayed what happens when your organization lacks direction, leadership, coaching, and, really, respect for the game.
It’s long, and not meant to be particularly funny. But it’s mean. Because I don’t like them.