Return to the world of blogging

It has been seven days since the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in Boston, with the ridiculous and fabulous come-from-behind victory of two goals in 17 seconds, in the final 1:17 of game 6, which I saw with my own two eyes in the comfort of my living room, and yet still can hardly believe.

Of course, as the few of you who follow this wandering blog know, two months ago I predicted that our flightless birds, the Pittsburgh Penguins, would be the ones to win 16 games in two months and hoist the 35 pound cup.  It didn't happen.  We only got to eight wins, derailed and defensed by the Bruins in four very frustrating games.  Boston went on to the finals, to face Chicago.  For the first three games, it looked like the Bruins defense was doing to the Hawks what they did the the Penguins.  But the Hawks rallied, attacked the great and tall defenseman Zdeno Chara, won the final three games as their offence (the equal of Pittsburgh's) woke up, and persevered to win it all.

Our stars, Crosby and Malkin and Letang and the backup goalie Vokoun and rentals Iginla and Morrow, didn't come through, our coaches didn't make the adjustments, and we only scored two goals in more than 12 periods of play.

What a disappointment.

And so we are left with the memories of a great season, finishing second in points in the entire league, winning the Atlantic Division, going the entire month of March without losing--so close, and yet so far.

The ceremony of the handshake at the end of each round is one of the great things about NHL playoffs, and in all professional sports.  How hard it must be to be a sportsman, especially if you are the loser.

I think I had a dose of depression after the Penguins' loss. It brought back another memory.  In 1995, when the Steelers lost to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX (with woebegone Neil O'Donnell's two unexplainable interceptions), I was depressed for a week.  Probably longer than most of the players, and coach Bill Cowher. 

My wise teacher from Duquesne University put my feelings into perspective, when I shared my disappointment days after the conference finals.  He said, the reason I felt so bad is because there was so little riding on the outcome.  It is easy, as a fan, to invest yourself heavily in the results of your favorite sports team, because in the end it does not affect your life.  If it did, you would not dare to invest yourself so deeply.

So, after an absence of two months, I'm back to blogging, back to life, back to allowing myself not to be hurt by any professional team.  (Yes, I'm talking to you, our 2013 amazing Pittsburgh Pirates.  I almost never thought I'd hear the sentence, "The Pirates have the best record in major league baseball," in my lifetime.  But the All-Star game is still two weeks off.)

And I hope the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2014.