--------- I'll say it before and, since absolutely nothing has changed, I'll say it again. John Tavares didn't owe the New York Islanders a damn thing after the organization basically sat on their thumb for the vast majority of a decade as his illustrious career slowly wasted away with nothing but a mere smattering of early playoff oustings to show for it. The stars aligning and damn near cosmically gifting the franchise a Stanley Cup-winning Head Coach and the goddamn Godfather of General Managers when they needed them the most made for a pretty nice pitch, but it's more than understandable that it was too little, too late from a team that is basically still living couch-to-couch in trying to lock down a home arena. The image of a young John Tavares sleeping tight under his Maple Leafs' sheets with dreams of playing in Toronto dancing in his head aside, the Islanders' fans acting like they were done more wrong than the superstar who devoted a third of his life to date to dysfunction are flat-out irrational. Fortunately for them, however, the entire concept of fandom is also irrational. As ridiculous as it is to crucify a player for finally taking the long overdue opportunity to do right by himself and his career, it doesn't hold a candle to the inherent absurdity of living and dying with the successes and failures of a team you don't play for, no matter who is on it. It doesn't matter what inspired John Tavares to leave, or how difficult the decision was to do so, or if he went about it the "right" way. Shame on anyone for thinking that unconditionally rooting for a logo on some laundry is that nuanced. All that matters is that a transformational player used to play for their team, and now - by choice - he doesn't. That obviously doesn't justify throwing things at him, but it sure as shit is enough reason to boo 'Pajama Boy' back to beddy-bye. That's exactly what Islanders' fans did as their team ran the player who chose not to be a part of it anymore off the ice and back under the covers. Regardless of what you think of the "why?", the "how?" was nothing short of incredible. By the time the third period rolled around, I legitimately had to remind myself that I had not one single issue with John Tavares, as the home crowd was so convincing in their contempt that I started to sympathize with their scorn like that socially awkward serpent of a traitor had slept with my non-existent girlfriend behind my back. Johnny might be the furthest thing from Judas, but I came pretty damn close to believing every word that came from the collectively loud mouth of Islanders' fans as the game wore on and their team continued to provide circumstantial evidence to their resounding cries of "WE DON'T NEED YOU!". Any obsessive pissing, moaning, whining, and crying that preceded last night was more than a little pathetic, as highlighted by this video, but the unrelenting performance of Islanders' fans in a building that lends itself to letting frenemies hear it was anything but. The chants were original, the energy was infectious, the Islanders responded, their opponent looked entirely overwhelmed, and an afternoon that's painful to remember was turned into a night they'll never forget. Fandom at its core is nothing more than the most toxic of relationship and, at its most faithful, it is dependent on far, far more crazy than classy. Simply put, last night was a deafeningly awesome display of it.
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