2021-2022 S Blues Multi Purpose Thread Part 2

[ItsOnlytheRiver]

I have attended a couple of hundred Blues games. The crowd noise and interaction has been a fun part of it.

But I now think I have seen my last game in person. Whoever runs the show seems to think that fans demand entertainment constantly, and the entertainment needs to be very loud. Last nights entertainment included a live band I would never have listened to voluntarily. They also had a couple of "light shows" involving fans cell phone, and a chorus of John Denver's song about West Virginia. I could go on but I will spare you, dear reader.

I just want to see a hockey game. The stuff they add is not entertaining.

I don’t go to many games anymore, but you would probably hear me grumble about similar complaints. I guess it’s important to remember that most of that stuff isn’t for you. It’s to keep the kids entertained/distracted. The more fun they have the more likely they are to grow up and be fans and also the more likely their parents are to stay and continue buying things/come back. I remind myself of this every time I hear that stupid Urge goal song. That’s less about distraction, but a similar vein… allows a chance for parent and child to connect over parent’s nostalgia for the local music they grew up loving.

 

[PocketNines]

Country Roads is great. It was born organically during the franchise record 11 game winning streak that led to the Cup run and a lot of the players are still on that team. With Gloria shelved, it's the one remaining ritualistic tether to that run. Emotionally, that has connective value for a franchise whose profits partly derive from human beings and nostalgia. It's totally unimportant whether national announcers are confused or if some Blues fans find it embarrassing. Really, hating on the song is just an unimportant take.

 

[wiscrev]

While you always want the team to win, there is also the experience. Nothing wrong with a little ea=xtra although I can't stand the PP dance.

 

[stlbluz]

Country Roads is great. It was born organically during the franchise record 11 game winning streak that led to the Cup run and a lot of the players are still on that team. With Gloria shelved, it's the one remaining ritualistic tether to that run. Emotionally, that has connective value for a franchise whose profits partly derive from human beings and nostalgia. It's totally unimportant whether national announcers are confused or if some Blues fans find it embarrassing. Really, hating on the song is just an unimportant take.

What's interesting about the timing of the song is that it typically signifies 'last call'.

 

[rumrokh]

Country Roads is great. It was born organically during the franchise record 11 game winning streak that led to the Cup run and a lot of the players are still on that team. With Gloria shelved, it's the one remaining ritualistic tether to that run. Emotionally, that has connective value for a franchise whose profits partly derive from human beings and nostalgia. It's totally unimportant whether national announcers are confused or if some Blues fans find it embarrassing. Really, hating on the song is just an unimportant take.

The criticism that it's not about Missouri is so weird and joyless. Who cares? People attach meaning to things, that's how culture works. I have heard other crowds from all over sing it, too. It's simply a widely-recognized song that suits a crowd, similar to Sweet Caroline. DON'T SING THAT ONE UNLESS YOU'RE ACTUALLY SINGING TO SOMEONE NAMED CAROLINE!

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Gotta love The Athletic Blues ranked 7th even tho they are the second team to advance to the second round because "They are going against the Avs next round"

I thought power rankings were supposed to be based off Current and Past performance, not future projections?

 

[Blueline2757]

Seeing the discussion, I think the Blues should retire country roads, just like they did with Gloria. It's run it's course. I've never did like country roads.

 

[Meatball]

It should be shelved with Gloria, but the people like it, sooo...

 

[PocketNines]

Blues are now 23-22 in the first round of playoffs all time.

7-15 in round 2, four of those wins against the Stars franchise
Wins: MIN 68/LA 69/PIT 70 then Toronto 1986, Dallas 2001, Dallas 2016, Dallas 2019

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

I have attended a couple of hundred Blues games. The crowd noise and interaction has been a fun part of it.

But I now think I have seen my last game in person. Whoever runs the show seems to think that fans demand entertainment constantly, and the entertainment needs to be very loud. Last nights entertainment included a live band I would never have listened to voluntarily. They also had a couple of "light shows" involving fans cell phone, and a chorus of John Denver's song about West Virginia. I could go on but I will spare you, dear reader.

I just want to see a hockey game. The stuff they add is not entertaining.

 

[Majorityof1]

Country Roads is great. It was born organically during the franchise record 11 game winning streak that led to the Cup run and a lot of the players are still on that team. With Gloria shelved, it's the one remaining ritualistic tether to that run. Emotionally, that has connective value for a franchise whose profits partly derive from human beings and nostalgia. It's totally unimportant whether national announcers are confused or if some Blues fans find it embarrassing. Really, hating on the song is just an unimportant take.

Of course its an unimportant take. Almost everything posted on this board is unimportant. Its a hockey message board. Only you are so self-centered to think their opinions about a game ARE important. News flash. They aint.

What's interesting about the timing of the song is that it typically signifies 'last call'.

Which just solidifies my take that its a bunch of drunk hicks,

The criticism that it's not about Missouri is so weird and joyless. Who cares? People attach meaning to things, that's how culture works. I have heard other crowds from all over sing it, too. It's simply a widely-recognized song that suits a crowd, similar to Sweet Caroline. DON'T SING THAT ONE UNLESS YOU'RE ACTUALLY SINGING TO SOMEONE NAMED CAROLINE!

From my perspective, the difference between it is that location is important for sports. Sporting teams definitely build on local identity and fan bases are mainly drawn to teams based on location (I live there, was born there, have a relative who lived there, etc). Its also why the Cardinals have such a strong connection to the Blues. They both share that St. Louis identity. Imagine if the Cardinals fans sang "Lights" by Journey when San Fran was in town. "I want to get back to my city by the bay .oooh oooh oh oh oh". San Fran would be like, "Damn, we have a lot of fans here".

Even beyond the location thing, I'd probably have a problem with singing Sweet Caroline en masse at a sporting event every game at the same time. It's a sporting event, not a giant roup karaoke event. What does it have to do with the game? What's the meaning? Something like "we will rock you" has a meaning and relates to the game. The home team will rock the away team. Even Nashville's "you suck" chant has meaning. What is the meaning of Country roads? If its that they need the Blues to take them home to victory, it should only be when we are winning. You say the crowd attaches meaning to it. What is that meaning besides its last call and we are sad we can't get more drunk so we want someone to take us home to drink more?

 

[Allens Five Hole]

The criticism that it's not about Missouri is so weird and joyless. Who cares? People attach meaning to things, that's how culture works. I have heard other crowds from all over sing it, too. It's simply a widely-recognized song that suits a crowd, similar to Sweet Caroline. DON'T SING THAT ONE UNLESS YOU'RE ACTUALLY SINGING TO SOMEONE NAMED CAROLINE!

Agreed with all of this. I've actually used your Sweet Caroline example as well using the Boston Red Sox 7th inning stretch as the comparison. The Red Sox sing Sweet Caroline every 7th inning stretch and its just a tradition. It's fun and the fans love it.

I was up in Boston back in 2016 and went to a game between the Angels and Red Sox. I believe the Angels won 22-3 or something along those lines and the place was relatively packed still in the 7th until Sweet Caroline and everyone belted it out and then left.

It's something that happened organically which are the best traditions to continue on, especially when it culminated in the first ever Stanley Cup for the franchise.

 

[PocketNines]

If I couldn't fathom the meaning and connection to joyous experience, I'd turn my brain in and try to get a new one. I'd be like, wow, this one is so limited in its thinks

 

[Brian39]

Seeing the discussion, I think the Blues should retire country roads, just like they did with Gloria. It's run it's course. I've never did like country roads.

I'd bet basically everything I own that the population of this message board isn't remotely representative of the population of Blues fans that go to games.

Additionally, I think people who hate it are a hell of a lot louder about it than those who don't. There are a handful of season ticket holders in my section that make a dramatic show of bitching about country roads every single game. They make sure that everyone around them knows that they are real fans who think singing at a hockey game is really stupid. I've never heard anyone in the crowd loudly talking about how much they like the sing-along. Just listening to that, you would assume that everyone hates it. But eventually, the crowd singing drowns these fans out as the stadium gets loud and then there is a pop of cheers/applause at the end. No clue who's responsible for those singing voices and cheers since everyone obviously hates it. I could take or leave country roads. But I'm certain the that number of people I see enjoying it in the arena is a hell of a lot larger than the people I see complaining or rolling their eyes over it.

The NHL is a multi-billion dollar part of the entertainment industry. Pro sports hasn't been exclusively about competition and "the game" in decades (if it ever was). Pro sports is about monetizing a game. You do that by opening up the tent to as many people as possible. You make your game an event so that die hard fans aren't the only people who want to go drop $100+ on your event. Welcome to capitalism.

Louie doesn't have anything to do with hockey. Neither do all the ads. Neither does the national anthem. Neither does all the food and beer they sell. Neither do the on-ice intermission shows. Neither does the military salute. Neither does the powerplay dance. Neither does the Bud Light Hard Seltzer trivia or 'find the puck' game. All of them are about keeping a buzz/atmosphere in a building over a 2.5+ hour window where there is only 60 minutes of a sport being played. They are about making sure that people who don't live and die with the team aren't bored out of their minds and instead remember the game for being as much fun as whatever else they could have spent their $100+ on.

Country Roads still gets a very, very favorable response from the people in the building. The fact that it is loud enough for national announcers to comment on should tell you how much of the crowd is into it.

That building was rocking last night and in game 4. Tons of Let's Go Blues chants. Massive cheers for player intros, goals, 3 stars, etc. I lost count of how many times the crowd got a Taaaaaaaalbooooooot chant in. There were a couple "we want tacos" chants. My voice is garbage today and it certainly wasn't from Country Roads or stadium lighting. I genuinely can't comprehend being at either of those games and coming to the conclusion that the hockey-adjacent entertainment ruined the game.

 

[PocketNines]

Every person who posts regularly here has an emotional connection to the Blues that goes beyond a sentence or two, and requires explanations, stories, context, meaning. Pretending that this isn't reality when it is one of the most fundamental cornerstones of the reality that makes us even take our time to discuss the Blues at all, I don't think it gets any more disingenuous than that.

So to pretend that this isn't a force in sports ... imagine being such a poor thinkeroo. It's laughable. Even if you had no care in the world for sports but were just a Business Man, you would recognize the obvious and inherent value of continuing a tradition that fans still embrace because it emotionally connects them to the single highest point of contact between that person and your business. Unless your business instincts were surreally stunted.

It really boils down to "I don't like this song, I've decided it is over, and everyone else has to stop too." It's a low level of human performance to live life that way. I wouldn't do it.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Of course its an unimportant take. Almost everything posted on this board is unimportant. Its a hockey message board. Only you are so self-centered to think their opinions about a game ARE important. News flash. They aint.


Which just solidifies my take that its a bunch of drunk hicks,



From my perspective, the difference between it is that location is important for sports. Sporting teams definitely build on local identity and fan bases are mainly drawn to teams based on location (I live there, was born there, have a relative who lived there, etc). Its also why the Cardinals have such a strong connection to the Blues. They both share that St. Louis identity. Imagine if the Cardinals fans sang "Lights" by Journey when San Fran was in town. "I want to get back to my city by the bay .oooh oooh oh oh oh". San Fran would be like, "Damn, we have a lot of fans here".

Even beyond the location thing, I'd probably have a problem with singing Sweet Caroline en masse at a sporting event every game at the same time. It's a sporting event, not a giant roup karaoke event. What does it have to do with the game? What's the meaning? Something like "we will rock you" has a meaning and relates to the game. The home team will rock the away team. Even Nashville's "you suck" chant has meaning. What is the meaning of Country roads? If its that they need the Blues to take them home to victory, it should only be when we are winning. You say the crowd attaches meaning to it. What is that meaning besides its last call and we are sad we can't get more drunk so we want someone to take us home to drink more?

Its just fun, at least to me. I think your opinion about it is about the same as those who cringe at the PP dance. Lots of people find it fun.

If given a choice, I'd be just as ready to get rid of the goal count chanting. If it didn't annoy opponents, I'd find that pretty meaningless, too.

I felt kind of bad for Talbot for the "Tal-bot" chants last night. His coach put him in a rough spot. They allowed him to get cold on the bench, then turned to him on the road in an elimination game. Any competitive player will want that opportunity rather than sitting on the bench, but it wasn't the chance for him to be at his best.

In hindsight, Berube's distribution of the last few starts makes a lot more sense now, and the timing of when he turned to Binnington was right. I personally wouldn't have made that call, but I'm not as smart as Berube.

 

[PJJJP]

I'm so thankful for the Buch trade and when it happened. In comparison some team is gonna pay through their nose in terms of assets and cap space for Fiala. Thank god Buch didn't have a PPG season in 2021 and we were able to get a bargain price on him

 

[Carolina Blues]

While you always want the team to win, there is also the experience. Nothing wrong with a little ea=xtra although I can't stand the PP dance.

God I hate the song and dance for our PP... I have no issues with all the extra fluff of a live sporting event... I just find that song grating and the dance unimaginative

 

[PocketNines]

I wonder which of these second round experiences this Colorado series will most resemble. Blues spent a lot of time in that 96-02 being a damn fine team meeting the best team in the league in round 2, so it's evoking a lot of that. I do like the way these Blues are built depth wise and in net compared to those Blues, with the major exception of the top two defensemen.

1968 MIN in 7 – W
1969 LA in 4 – W
1970 PIT in 6 – W
1972 BOS in 4 – L
1981 NYR in 6 – L
1982 CHI in 6 – L
1984 MIN in 7 – L
1986 TOR in 7 – W
1988 DET in 5 – L
1989 CHI in 5 – L
1990 CHI in 7 – L
1991 MIN in 6 – L
1993 TOR in 7 – L
1996 DET in 7 – L
1997 DET in 6 – L
1998 DET in 6 – L
1999 DAL in 6 – L
2001 DAL in 4 – W
2002 DET in 5 – L
2012 LA in 4 – L
2016 DAL in 7 – W
2017 NSH in 6 – L
2019 DAL in 7 – W

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I don’t get any sense the Blues players or coaches are intimidated.

This sets up in an interesting way because the Blues have the taste of last year’s playoffs, and a much better team this year. Yet I think Colorado is a stronger perceived favorite than last season.

It’s a set up for the Avs to get tight and feel the pressure, if the Blues start to get the better of them.

I think Keumper is probably the biggest factor either way in determining the outcome of this series.

(why the hell does autocorrect thing "better guest" is a reasonable correction of "bigger" where I misplaced one letter?)

 

[ezcreepin]

I don't know where to post this, but if you got time, you should watch this. Brings back the joy I had watching this team win and I am so lucky to be the age I am and to see this team win. Whether we beat Colorado or not, we still got to see this one.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

Ok watching Tom Stillman chugging out of the Cup is worth the next five minutes of your life

 

[BlueMed]

Seeing the discussion, I think the Blues should retire country roads, just like they did with Gloria. It's run it's course. I've never did like country roads.

I love country roads. I just hate our goal and power play songs. They are cringey AF.

 

[Davimir Tarablad]

Country Roads was great when it first happened because it was organic and the fans just ran with it without the prompt, it feels forced now that it's been played at every home game for three years.

 

[execwrite1]

Good time to recognize three of the most important men in this era of Blues hockey.

Tom Stillman, Doug Armstrong and Craig Berube could earn a statue in front of Enterprise Center with another Cup.

Turning out to be a great run for Blues fans who remember the Red Baron and Glenn Hall and all the rest of the originals.

Well done men.