It's so typical of self-important hockey fans that we are in a place where an expansion team has stolen both national headlines and hearts alike in defeating unconscionable odds to make championship-level headway during their first year of existence...annnd there are actually people out there that have taken umbrage with it. We're approaching the final chapter of a feel-good story that, regardless of whether or not it has a fairytale ending, should theoretically result in drastically upping the standards expected of those Generally Managing the most inexplicably secure jobs in the sport. Yet, here some stand on the most flimsy of grounds, trying so desperately to find the downside in the type of underdog tale that's so often celebrated that they've put forth an elementary argument about fairness that you'd expect from a child wailing uncontrollably in a toy store. Let's look past the fact that some of the NHL's most impassioned faithful have apparently been made even more long-suffering by taking residence in a fantasy land that's native to unicorns and bubblegum fairies in which they hold the collective belief that sports and/or life give a shit about their feelings. Let's brush aside the ideal that purchasing a ticket buys you anything other than a single game day experience, and temporarily ignore the inherent volatility of emotional investments. After all, is it even worth debating the type of fan who is so irrational about his rooting interest that he/she thinks his/her "sacrifice" as a devoted spectator is somehow more deserving of glory than the work put in by a thrown together group of professional athletes that objectively overachieved after they bonded to realize the common belief that they were under-appreciated? Look, the Vegas Golden Knights, due in part to the price they paid for admission, benefited from a more forgiving expansion draft than those that came before them. However, that's more so an indictment of how thankless previous expansions were than anything else. No one, and I mean not even the man that paid $500 million dollars to absolve 'Sin City' of its lack of professional sports, thought the Golden Knights were going to be worth a single damn this season...
Therefore, retrospectively finding fault in the handpicking of those that were universally considered mid-tier role players from organizations that did such a comical job of evaluating their own talent that they made the process laughably easier makes about as much sense as the Golden Knights' sustained success...
I don't know, maybe it's my inner-realist that's stopping me from blaming all my sorrows as a sports' fans on the newly founded franchise whose magical run is exemplified by turning the 6-goal scorer that was offered to them into a 43-goal scorer seemingly overnight. Still, I can't help but think that those that have been in positions of power having no fucking clue what they are doing is far worse for hockey than the team that unknowingly took advantage of them capturing the imagination of a nation that would otherwise be largely apathetic to the sport on its biggest stage. The Golden Knights unquestionably set the curve as it pertains to building a team, but it's not their fault they were inserted into a class full of idiots. As a diehard Devils' fan, I can totally emphasize with overvaluing of one's own loyalty to a sports team, but don't get mad at the new kid for guessing right on a few questions and getting an 'A' just because an overwhelming amount of his peers received an 'F'.
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