Vegas - Everybody's team?

[Tweed]

Because most of you are only looking at it from the fan's perspective, which is pretty selfish.

Can I ask what the cutoff is, when Vegas would finally feel like they've "earned" it? Is it 10 years? Is it $10,000?

You'll know it when you see it.

 

[ChanceVegas]

I'll say this much (in support of your observation)... it certainly is more rewarding, and more fitting in terms of one's excitement level in watching your team win the cup... when you've been through the dregs with your team. The more you've invested in the team, emotionally, and the more hardship you've endured, the more fulfilling and satisfying it is to win the Cup with them. And watching your team win the Stanley Cup should feel like nothing short of nirvana, the trophy is worthy of at least that.

I just can't see how any fan of a team that wins a Stanley Cup in its first year, could possibly experience that level of exuberance, having not experienced a single down in success straight out of the gate.

In other words, if Non-Vegas fans think Vegas fans should have to endure suffering before winning it all... the sentiment is intended to be with their best interests at heart.

Just adding to perspective, but our fanbase has had to deal with an entirely different kind of suffering this season. One that I hope no other communities have to experience. I do think that situation has led to some "over the top" exuberance on the part of our fans towards VGK's success. October 1st still looms large in the consciousness of this community.

I completely understand the premise that fans won't appreciate success if they've never experienced failure. But Vegas sports fans have experienced plenty of failure. Probably the most popular local sports teams have been UNLV basketball and football. UNLV basketball reached the very pinnacle of success in 1990 and it was imploded 2 years later and has never recovered. UNLV football has been the very definition of abject failure for nearly its whole existence. Yes, we have never experienced failure in the NHL as a community (even though there are probably a majority of our fans who supported other teams that have experienced it individually), but if your concern is regarding perspective towards winning and losing, I think Vegas still has that. Sports are sports. Just because we are new to hockey doesn't mean we are new to being emotionally invested in sports and suffering for it.

And all that said, I still very much doubt we win the cup. But I am just enjoying the ride right now, because it is very unlikely it will happen again. Maybe ever in my lifetime.

 

[fsanford]

Because most of you are only looking at it from the fan's perspective, which is pretty selfish.

Can I ask what the cutoff is, when Vegas would finally feel like they've "earned" it? Is it 10 years? Is it $10,000?

45 years

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

You'll know it when you see it.

Like porn. Now you're speaking my language.

 

[DannyGallivan]

The original question basically asked for an opinion. An opinion is based on an individual perception. To disagree with an opinion is natural and welcome, but to say it's "wrong" is ignorant.

I've heard so many reasons why "fans" (there's that dirty word again) dislike other teams: Sidney's a crybaby; Ovie is a hotdog; I hate the Toronto media; Edmonton killed us 30 years ago and I'll never forgive them; etc. People will always have their reasons, and all of the reasons can be questioned if you don't share their perception.

And as far as Vegas is concerned, I actually find their roster quite "likable" (they may have the most Manitobans on the drafted and current roster than any team in the league, plus I've always liked Fleury). And the bottom line is if Winnipeg doesn't win, I really don't care who does. However, I can definitely relate the "long-suffering" (and note how I put quotes around that to signify it's merely relevant to sport fans) fan.

 

[HogTown06]

It may be a bad comparison but this Vegas team reminds me a lot of when the Orlando Magic first came up. Both are cities that didn't have a major sports franchise before and have lots of visitors.

I used to live in Orlando back then and it was funny to see how many people would visit from places without basketball fanchises and would fall in love with the team and leave as fans.

 

[Tweed]

Just adding to perspective, but our fanbase has had to deal with an entirely different kind of suffering this season. One that I hope no other communities have to experience. I do think that situation has led to some "over the top" exuberance on the part of our fans towards VGK's success. October 1st still looms large in the consciousness of this community.

I completely understand the premise that fans won't appreciate success if they've never experienced failure. But Vegas sports fans have experienced plenty of failure. Probably the most popular local sports teams have been UNLV basketball and football. UNLV basketball reached the very pinnacle of success in 1990 and it was imploded 2 years later and has never recovered. UNLV football has been the very definition of abject failure for nearly its whole existence. Yes, we have never experienced failure in the NHL as a community (even though there are probably a majority of our fans who supported other teams that have experienced it individually), but if your concern is regarding perspective towards winning and losing, I think Vegas still has that. Sports are sports. Just because we are new to hockey doesn't mean we are new to being emotionally invested in sports and suffering for it.

And all that said, I still very much doubt we win the cup. But I am just enjoying the ride right now.

Hey, I'm definitely not dismissing the city's trials and tribulations, nor commenting on your probabilities of success this year, letalone passing judgement as to whether you deserve to participate in success. I think that's where this ties back into the OPs original question. I think most of us are interested in your success story, because it's a completely fresh take on what it is to start a team.

Actually, this is a good opportunity for me to ask you as a VGK fan. If you could only win the Cup once in your lifetime as a fan... would you rather win the Cup this year, or lose in the finals, watch the team spiral downwards for 7 years after coming oh-so-close, and slowly become a juggernaut over the course of 5 more years to eventually win the cup 12 years from now.... IF... you knew the difference in the feeling you would get would be the difference between a "An awesome weekend party this June" and "And out of body experience where you are literally crying tears of joy, 12 years from now"? Which sounds more enticing to you? Which Cup would rather win?

 

[flamesforcup]

I dont want them or Tampa to win because i want to see a new cup winner and not a franchise win when its fans cant appreciate it

 

[Tweed]

Like porn. Now you're speaking my language.

We are clearly not speaking the same language. Are you familiar with Plato's "Allegory of the Cave"?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

We are clearly not speaking the same language. Are you familiar with Plato's "Allegory of the Cave"?

Is that a porno?

 

[Sam Spade]

Do not care one bit and I despise McPhee for what he did to the Caps, I hope they lose four straight so people can stop talking about them.

 

[North Cole]

Vegas is the red headed step child. They are probably the team least liked of the ones left, personal rivalries aside.

We have had like, 4 cup winners this decade, and most teams haven't won a cup in 20 years. I'm sure there more than enough animosity out there.


I personally don't really care, I just wanted the #87, destination: Toronto, to come off the rails. And it did....

 

[DesertPenguin]

Vegas has a bunch of former Pens, including the one and only Marc Andre Fleury, which is plenty for me to root for them. Every player on that team was deemed expendable by their former clubs, which is great for casting them as a plucky underdog. They also have no history, and thus no history with my team for which to dislike them. I can think of a reason to dislike almost every team out there due to a past game/series or a player on their roster I don't care for. Not so for Vegas. I'm officially on the bandwagon.

 

[Tweed]

Is that a porno?

Put. The Shovel. Down.

 

[ChanceVegas]

Hey, I'm definitely not dismissing the city's trials and tribulations, nor commenting on your probabilities of success this year, letalone passing judgement as to whether you deserve to participate in success. I think that's where this ties back into the OPs original question. I think most of us are interested in your success story, because it's a completely fresh take on what it is to start a team.

Actually, this is a good opportunity for me to ask you as a VGK fan. If you could only win the Cup once in your lifetime as a fan... would you rather win the Cup this year, or lose in the finals, watch the team spiral downwards for 7 years after coming oh-so-close, and slowly become a juggernaut over the course of 5 more years to eventually win the cup 12 years from now.... IF... you knew the difference in the feeling you would get would be the difference between a "An awesome weekend party this June" and "And out of body experience where you are literally crying tears of joy, 12 years from now"? Which sounds more enticing to you? Which Cup would rather win?

Personally, I am 41 yrs old so time is a consideration for me, and I have been following UNLV sports my whole life. I've already experienced the joy of watching a team build up over years to reach the pinnacle (National Champs), even though I was young when it happened, so maybe my perspective is different from other VGK fans. I don't feel a need to wait for the cup, nor do I think it will have more meaning for me if I do. Honestly, after Oct. 1, I'd rather see VGK win the cup this year than any other year. I think it would really have the most meaning for this community. The team and community have been so linked after that event, it just feels "more right" if the go all the way this year. Almost like that is what is supposed to happen (even if such an assertion defies all logic). The tragedy, I think, has caused the same emotional hook that years of chasing a cup could provide. At least that what it feels like "on the ground" over here.

Deryk Engelland made a promise that this team will do whatever they can to help this city heal. People are seriously emotionally wrapped up in that. That's why a cup win, maybe for different reasons, would be just as powerful, IMO.

 

[Tweed]

Personally, I am 41 yrs old so time is a consideration for me, and I have been following UNLV sports my whole life. I've already experienced the joy of watching a team build up over years to reach the pinnacle (National Champs), even though I was young when it happened, so maybe my perspective is different from other VGK fans. I don't feel a need to wait for the cup, nor do I think it will have more meaning for me if I do. Honestly, after Oct. 1, I'd rather see VGK win the cup this year than any other year. I think it would really have the most meaning for this community. The team and community have been so linked after that event, it just feels "more right" if the go all the way this year. Almost like that is what is supposed to happen (even if such an assertion defies all logic). The tragedy, I think, has caused the same emotional hook that years of chasing a cup could provide. At least that what it feels like "on the ground" over here.

Deryk Engelland made a promise that this team will do whatever they can to help this city heal. People are seriously emotionally wrapped up in that. That's why a cup win, maybe for different reasons, would be just as powerful, IMO.

Interesting. Thanks for your response.

 

[Pilky01]

Nope. Not pulling for them in the slightest and don't feel even a hint of "feel good, underdog" story. I think they're success is exposing the league as a shallow crap-shoot that isn't worth investing time or emotion into.

They're a 'feel bad' story to me. A reminder that "development" and "rebuilding" aren't actually a thing anymore.

 

[HanSolo]

The do Vegas fans deserve a cup debate was intriguing but I didn't want to hop on every little back and forth here.

I do think it's a bit much to say fans don't deserve cups and only players do but it's not an unfounded claim. The truth is we may all contribute with our fandom and purchases but none of us are on there on the ice. As loud as we cheer, we're not having the biggest impact on the ice.

There are fanbases that have suffered longer than most of us have been alive. That hasn't stopped LA, Chicago, and Pittsburgh from stealing away the last few years worth of cups.

The point is what fans deserve has always been irrelevant to the results. What matters is what a team does in its transactions, in its coaching, and in its on ice results. DJI has a point but I think the point should be that it doesn't matter what fans deserve. It matters what the team on the ice does. And if Vegas can win 8 more games, they deserve the win.

Sure, the Vegas fanbase is being supplemented with newer fans who don't know much about hockey and haven't had to suffer. But Vegas will suffer some failures eventually. The measure of true fandom will come at that time. Not that this is some invitation to say the fair weathers will leave and then they'll have no fans. That's not gonna happen either. But fans will experience what it's like to suffer failure whether their team wins in their first year, their 14th, or their 40th. I just don't see what the fair argument is for a fanbase to not be entitled to their happiness if their team succeeds this year. I mean let's not pretend that the cities of LA, Pittsburgh, and Chicago didn't pick up their share of fans that weren't their for those teams' respective dark ages. Who wouldn't know a neutral zone trap from a delay of game penalty. I can't speak to Pittsburgh and Chicago from personal experience but I did live in Los Angeles for half my life and I know from personal experience that the Kings picked up plenty of these types of fans along the way after 2012 and 2014.

Obviously that's not the same amount of fans who haven't struggled but that's besides the point. So long as every fan will commit to a team they will suffer the pain of loss eventually and I fail to see how say, Buffalo or St. Louis fans will experience failure any differently than they did when Pittsburgh won the cup as they would if Vegas did too. The clock didn't reset on the Penguins fanbases' suffering last year as the defending cup champs. They got to taste championship glory all over again. If we're talking fundamental fairness of a fanbases' suffering then Pittsburgh screwed other fanbases too.

I just think it's pointless to worry about the Vegas fandom not "earning" their right to be happy if Vegas can indeed win it all.

 

[Little Psycho]

Lol no. Rooting for the caps.

 

[tony d]

Nope. I don't like to be harsh but I think a team should pay its dues before becoming good.

 

[EternalOptimist]

Vegas fans are already spoiled enough by living in vegas lol

 

[IceNeophyte]

Of course I'm rooting for the home team we've sought for decades. However, in honesty, if they don't make the promised land, I will not feel the same level of disappointment that NSH, WSH, etc would feel. We are playing with house money, after all.


If not Vegas, I would love to see Ovi hoist the cup.

 

[haveandare]

I'm pulling for them but not because they sometimes player Oscar Lindberg on the fourth line, mostly because they're tenacious as hell and that's fun to watch.

 

[Lomez]

They're a bunch bandwagon fans....

 

[heysmilinstrange]

I don't mind if Vegas wins, but I would pay obscene amounts of cash if I could never hear Marc-Andre Fleury's name again.