Dr. Positive and Mr. Negative

One big time positive feeling today and one big time negative, we'll start with the bad news and end with the good, just to give everyone a warm fuzzy feeling heading into Friday.  Probably not much need for that, as Fridays are pretty warm and fuzzy to begin with, but anyway.

The dark side of the street comes to us from college hockey, more specifically the University of Minnesota, which has been the unrivaled league leader in bad news delivered to it's fans for about 3 years now.  Full disclosure, I am a rabid fan of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, it is my sworn duty to hate Golden Gopher hockey and revel in their every misstep.  Problem is, a lot of what caused me to hate them in the first place just doesn't exist anymore, and lately the feeling of pity has replaced most of the hatred that once burned so bright.

I was never much of a college hockey fan until I went to college, which wouldn't seem a strange coincidence, unless you're from one of the few places on Earth where college puck is part of the consciousness.  Minneapolis is one of those places, as is the state of North Dakota, so most of my friends from both places have had a die-hard passion about one of these teams since birth.  Somehow the Gopher hockey bug missed me as a kid, hockey in general kind of faded in the years after the North Stars skipped town.  But I got into Sioux and the WCHA with a gusto after arriving in Grand Forks, and now I'd say that there are few things in sports I enjoy more than college hockey.  It is an intensely loved, region specific sport, but the lack of big time atmosphere is one of it's greatest benefits. The tickets are cheap and it's road trip friendly, 6 of the 10 WCHA arenas are within 5 hours of where I'm sitting right now.  College hockey has maintained a lot of the charm that left more popular sports long ago.

But still, things are changing as the sport gets bigger and attracts better talents.  The upside of this has been getting to watch the best young players in the world up close and personal.  The downside has been some of the same players viewing their college days as a quick stopover on the way to the final destinations.  The latest example occurred a few days ago, when Nick Leddy, an excellent sophomore defenseman and first-round draft pick, jumped ship from the U of M to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks.  While this is hardly unprecedented, it strikes me as unfortunate on several levels. 

First as a Fighting Sioux fan, who's seen a once-great rivalry crumble over the past few seasons with Minnesota's drop in the standings.  As I said, there was a time I would've celebrated this, particularly between 2004-2007, when I had to live in the midst of a million insufferably arrogant Rodent fans.  But times have also changed in that regard, with apathy replacing passion for many Gopher supporters.  You know you've sunk pretty low when you're being pitied by fans of a rival, but that's the point it's reached. 

Early defections and general turmoil have turned the Minnesota hockey program into a shell of it's former self, and as a person who enjoyed the rivalry, it's sad to see.  Sure it was fun for a year or two, mocking one of the occasional underperforming squads that we all powerful programs have to deal with, but we're now going into year 4 of mediocre-to-bad hockey, with no end in sight, and the situation seems to be getting worse, not better.  It's reached the point where this team isn't even fun to beat anymore, losing is a tragedy, winning is just beating another mediocre team.  Sioux-Gophers used to be the stuff of Final Five Championship games and regional final tilts, now it's a first-round playoff matchup with a .500 opponent. 

Beyond that, as a college hockey fan, a bad Gopher team just means fewer people caring about one of my favorite sports.  Mainstream college hockey coverage often ebbs and flows with the fortunes of U of M teams, particularly in the Twin Cities.  I'll gladly take Gopher chatter on the radio over another 30 minutes spent lamenting the sad-sack Timberwolves.  The early departure signals bad things for the sport, and makes it that much easier for the next kid to skip town the minute an NHL team comes knocking.  That has bad implications for every team, not just this one. 

Round out this notion with the fact that Leddy was drafted by the Minnesota Wild last year, then traded for an older player, with the reason cited most often being his long development timeline, and it is indeed a sorry state the average hockey fan around these parts finds himself in.  If he's a Blackhawk this season or next, my favorite professional team will once again have egg on it's face, and this time with a hometown kid.  Sigh.

So that's the bad news, a state institution which many of my friends and acquaintances love, is spiraling further down the tubes.  I'm certainly not as bummed as many I know about this, after all it's not my team.  But considering how many Gopher games I attend due to proximity, and how much more enjoyable it is to beat them when they're good, I'm also not happy.  (Don't worry too much about me though, I'll get over it, Sioux are loaded this year, got me some title aspirations.)

The good news?  IT'S NFL SEASON!!!!!

Well technically not yet, but the Vikes are in Mankato today, training camps are underway across the country and I've got a half-chub just thinking about it.  They were breaking down a preseason power poll on the radio during my drive to work this morning, I almost had to pull over because I couldn't see through the tears of joy!

Training camp battles, fantasy football, Brett Favre's triumphant return, it's all going to be here so very soon you can taste it; and it tastes like Coors Light with a side of chicken wings.  I can't put it into words how much I love the start of the football season, college included, and you wouldn't want me to because those words would be aaagaagagahhhaggahaagh, as my tongue slid down my throat following a glee-inspired seizure.

Even though I know I'm just setting myself up for heartbreak (I'm a Vikings fan for the love of God), the day of football's return is still a great day to be alive.  Two weeks ago I sat down and re-watched the NFC Championship game as a reminder of the pain, just so I could temper my enthusiasm about this whole thing.  Didn't work, because this is mainly about the Vikes, but it's not all about the Vikes.  It's about Monday nights and Saturday afternoons, about Ravens-Steelers and Cowboys-Eagles, about the hundred rivalries, plays and moments that each new football season brings.

Bring it on.