My favorite time of year

By Jeff

Would you believe that as a young boy I didn't like The Pittsburgh Penguins? I didn't like any Pittsburgh team prior to middle school.

Why? I just didn't like following the crowd. I was also a chronic wagon hopper. In the early 90's I loved the San Francisco 49ers, and then the Indianapolis Colts for two seasons when Jim Harbaugh was leading them to the playoffs.

I'm not proud of those days, but can't deny they happened. I don't know specifically what point the Penguins became my favorite sports team in all of sports. Yes, I love them even more than the Pittsburgh Steelers.

At some point in high school my friends and I started going to Pens games through student rush. Best seat in the house for $20 in the dark days usually meant pretty damn good seats. There was one game against the Rangers where Swan, Special K and I were about 8 rows from the glass.

Those were the days of the X Generation made up of Alexei Mirozov, Rico Fata, Matthew Bradley and Ramzi Abid to name a few. Brooks Orpik, Ryan Whiney and Marc-Andre Fleury were a part of that as well, but in general they were a bunch of no-names that never did anything of note.

So when the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Kris Letang stepped up and provided the best hockey I had ever seen and understood, it was like being rewarded for surviving the X Generation years.

That's why I never take this time of year for granted. It's why I rush home on game days and mentally prepare myself for the intensity of playoff hockey, where I am on the edge of my seat for 60 minutes. It's why I go into a comatose state for at least a day and refuse to watch, listen or read about sports in that time if the Pens lose.

It's like I've grown up with this core of players. I don't live through them (I'm not that lame), but I feel a connection to them. They just don't know it!

It helps that the team is filled with genuinely likeable players (If you don't hate them because of they win a lot and the national media loves them). They do great things for the Pittsburgh community. They never call out their teammates or coaches in the media. They never whine about getting paid. They never end up on the front page because they were found to be driving at twice the legal limit or other run ins with the law. Hell, they hand out pizza to the kids in the student rush line.

With all that being said, excuse me while sit down with a bowl of buffalo chicken dip and watch the Pens shut up the 50 genuine Flyers fans.

Pens in 6.

Doobie Brothers - China Grove