The Collapse

As noted previously, I'm a recent convert to the world of hockey, but there are certain things you can appreciate whether you know who led the league in points in 1967 (Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks), or if you're forced to watch hockey when you'd rather watch "Say Yes to the Dress," (two of my roommates): catastrophic collapse and failure.

When a person or team is so sure of victory, convinced that they will succeed, their supporters and fans become sure of it, convince themselves of that certainty. They look forward to the next round, the next match, the next challenge.

But sometimes they don't make it. It starts slowly with an innocent setback, a loss that has every fan say something along the lines of, "It's just one game, man. We've got this.," or "It's only the 3rd quarter - we'll come back strong."

And then there's another one. "We're still up, don't worry. We just have to win next time."

And another. "I can't believe this is Game 7. At least we're at home."

Then it happens one last time. "I cannot believe this is happening. This is actually happening."

The Boston Bruins last week joined a select rank of teams that managed to lose a 3-0 lead in a best of 7 series and fail to make it to the next round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That hurts enough, but it was the way they lost that hurt Bruins fans even more. At one point in the game, with a 3-0 lead in the 1st period, my roommate, Bruins fan, proudly announced, "This is what we needed - to come out strong and score some goals."

By the time the final horn sounded, the score was 4-3 Philadelphia, and the Flyers took the series, 4-3. A coworker of mine said on Tuesday, a full four days after the game, "It still hurts. I can't stop thinking about it. I feel like I've been stabbed." A Red Sox fan as well, he even went on to say, "So this is what Yankees fans felt like. This is awful." Whoa.

While the Bruins were by no means Stanley Cup favorites, by wrapping up the regular season on a good note and beating a strong Buffalo team in the first round, they gave their fans hope and confidence, a confidence that was then betrayed on that Friday night at the Garden.

Teams that suffer these setbacks are faced with the "How are they going to respond?" question. Some teams are able to rebound, maybe not in the next game, but next year (2008, 2009 LA Lakers), some teams are cast into a horrible downward spiral from which it seems they will never escape (Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns), and some teams don't count because of extenuating circumstances (2008 NE Patriots, Tom Brady's knee).

The impact on the fan is undeniable. I'm not allowed to say the words "Wide right" in front of my girlfriend, who is from Buffalo (or "No goal" for that matter). I'm not allowed to talk about Aaron Boone in front of my roommate (which is fine because I can't stand him anyway). And I guarantee you no Lakers fan wants to talk about Game 4, 2008. One of Boston's sports radio stations, WEEI, labeled this "the worst loss in Bruins history." We will have to see how the team, the fans, and the city respond next year.