Microcosm: a miniature representation of something, esp a unit, group, or place regarded as a copy of a larger one
That’s how I viewed the game against the Greasers Tuesday night. Because the next day there was talk about failed deals, experts outside of Arizona opined wildly about how our bond markets work, people with microphones in other northern locales spoke gospel about the implosion of the transactions, and a conservative watch dog group threatened lawsuits. The night before the Coyotes lost a hockey game against a Canadian opponent.
One that they should have throttled and crushed in front of their home town crowd that had a large and vocal Greaser contingent. More on that later.
What scares me is that I’m seeing history start to repeat itself. It’s like there is a curse on Phoenix sports teams or something – because when the Coyotes had an outside chance of making the post-season in 2006, they lost in similar fashion and against the same team. I wrote about it then. But the video shows how frustrating it was:
Now I recognize that the 2010-11 product is much different from the 2005-06 one. The Coyotes team today is more solid and organized for effectiveness. They are honest with what they can do. Elite goaltender keeps the game close, solid defense creates scoring opportunities, puck is cycled in the opponents’ zone, and if the Coyotes can score first and pinch in two or more goals (hopefully three) they are sure to win. Even though I thought so years ago, the team didn’t have much of an identity then. They do now, and they need to capitalize on it before it’s too late.
Because losing in front of the home crowd does nothing to inspire fans of the other team to join our bandwagon. Showing video of the Greaser faithful when they started to win didn’t help either (yes, Fox Sports AZ, what purpose do you have in cutting away to the same fans over and over? Yes, those two ladies were just weird, but this is Fox Sports Arizona – leave those images to Rogers Sportsnet, kthxbai).
The Coyotes should have taken care of business so that the home town faithful who attend those games won’t have to hear opponents in their ear about how the home team stinks. It really is up to them to give us something to cheer about. With the outside voices shouting about the failures down here the only thing left is the product on the ice. The Coyotes are cranking it up on the road with a 15-8-4 record.
They need to crank it up here at home where they are barely over .500 at 10-9-5. That is not going to get them anywhere.
There is a real chance that this hockey club might miss the post-season, which might be disastrous. If they do, I’d look to Tuesday night’s game against the Greasers as to the cause.
Original Story:
http://onefansperspective.com/2011/01...
