The Montreal Canadiens are bowing out of the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs as I write this. My wife screams, "He touched it! He touched!" Mike Richards has picked up the Prince of Wales Trophy, the reward for winning the Eastern Conference Finals, and superstitious hockey fables holds that teams whose captains touch the Prince of Wales Trophy (or the Clarence Campbell Trophy in the West), inevitably lose the Stanley Cup (although Pittsburgh Penguin captains Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby both lifted the trophy in their turn). But Crosby's victory in the finals last year, Montreal's failure to hold good to their once-a-decade winning ways, reinforces an idea I heard back when the Red Sox won the World Series, namely that the old sporting ghosts are dead.
A new century demands new ghosts, I guess. Most of the storied sports teams have all moved into new stadiums, and as players, audiences, and franchises transition into the online age, the old "pre-modern" (that is, from the age of paternalistic owners and non-scientific training regimens) stories, fables, and traditions will be replaced from those of the former industrial age. What will these ghosts look like? I don't know. Detroit's octopus tradition certainly counts. I'd like to think that maybe Eric Lindros has cursed Bobby Clarke and the Flyers will never win a Stanley Cup as long as he remains with the organization.
Anyone else got other suggestions?
CCPS 2.0 is Live!
4 weeks ago
