http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/080421
And here's my email:
I consider myself a huge Bruins fan, and have been for almost 30 years. I've seen the highs, and the lows. I've watched one of the best players of our time crumble as his knee turned to bone. I've seen an outstanding goalie get rushed out of town because he was the team rep for the union, and had the audacity to suggest that the owner of one of the most popular teams in hockey pay his players more because they and the fans deserved to have a happy team. I've seen a team draft two incredible young players in one round, giving me hope for the future. I've seen a team smartly prepare themselves for the lockout by shedding big contracts, only to pick up losers and old washed up stars. I've seen the death of an arena that was an icon, I've seen one of the highest scoring stars of the game get traded for the equivalent of trading 3 nickels for a quarter. I've seen a team put all their hopes and captaincy on a Czech defenseman that really looks like he doesn't want to be there every single night.
Most of all, though, I've seen a team deteriorate over the years from an exciting, hopeful, popular team, to a team that has become nothing but a holding area for players to try to get better contracts. The Bruins are the airport lobby of the NHL, players hate going there, but go there when they want to get somewhere better. No one is enthused to be there, and the fans are sensing it now. They can't get behind guys like Bergeron, Kessel, and Lucic(my pick for the next Cam Neely) because they know that in a few years, those guys will be gone, and the Bruins will have nothing to show for it.
I understand why the Bruins are dead to you, and I can commiserate with you about how Jacobs just sees the dollar signs and doesn't have an ounce of passion for the team. But I still love them. I'll be a Bruins fan to my grave. The point of this email, however, is to ask you for advice. Like a guy who's in a bad marriage, but believes in his vows, I'm going to see this through, out of sheer stubbornness, no matter how miserable I get. Any suggestions on how to make my life as a fan more tolerable? Should I try to take it not so seriously, like I tried to do after the Thornton trade?(the "taking up fishing" approach) Or should I put my hopes in the young guys I mentioned above, simply enjoying watching them grow as players, even though I know they'll move on?(the "I'm doing this for the kids" approach) Or, should I still claim to be a Bruins fan, but take an interest in another team like the Capitals(the "cheating with the secretary" approach)?
