Blues fans need to calm down

By Ashley Zborek

As I write this, one of the most exciting playoff series that many people have ever seen is nearing a resolution. Four out of the six games played between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues have needed at least one overtime period to decide a winner. Statistics really can’t explain the feeling that these games have given fans. Twice the Blackhawks were within seconds of victory when the Blues tied the game to send it into overtime. In overtime the Blues prevailed and took a commanding two-game lead in the series.

Since those first two games, Chicago has managed to win three straight and stand poised to win the series. At the time of writing, the game has yet to be played. One thing that has already played out, albeit on Facebook, is trash-talk and bold statements between the two fan bases. St. Louis vs. Chicago, this is a familiar theme.

When it is the Cardinals and the Cubs, a St. Louis fan is quick to roll their eyes at a Cubs fan that acts as though winning a regular season series proves who the dominant team truly is. This is understandable, as I have already discussed in the past the Cubs are a pretty sorry excuse for a baseball team. No matter though, it is easy to brush off these absurd claims by reminding the Cubs fan that they don’t know someone who knows someone who was alive the last time the Cubs won it all.

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When it comes to Blackhawks vs. Blues the narrative flips almost perfectly. My timeline is littered with Blues fans that get loud when the Blues take a regular season matchup. It got very animated after the Blues went up two games to none, which was to be expected.

Sports allow for a lot of good-natured ribbing between rival fan bases. It adds to the personal affection people feel towards their favorite teams.

As a Blackhawks fan I find it kind of cute. After all, it is the Blackhawks that are the defending champions of Lord Stanley’s cup. It is the Blackhawks that are attempting to win their third championship in five years. It is the Blackhawks that have won three straight and are one win away from eliminating the “upstart” Blues. One win away, with an afternoon reserved at the Madhouse on Madison.

It is the Blackhawks that won three cups before the Blues ever existed. It is the Blues who have never won a Stanley Cup. Maybe it is old fashioned to measure a team by its success on the grandest stage.

By that measure, Blues fans trash-talking Blackhawks fans is kind of like a child throwing a temper tantrum to sit at the adults’ table. St. Louis is a great city, don’t get me wrong. St. Louis does baseball as well as anyone and the same is true of their barbecue; I like their beer a lot too. But it seems the double standard should make this list as well. Let’s be real here, even the Cubs have won a championship.

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