Sidney Crosby’s Back (Tomorrow is for Cheering & Celebration)

Hockey Consultant had all sorts of consultant-type things she wanted to write about today.   But then she clicked the Twitter application on her smartphone and—

Sidney Crosby is going to play against the Islanders tomorrow night.     He hasn’t played in almost a year (10 months and counting as this point), but the Penguins managed to sustain a winning record in his absence, etcetera, etcetera.

The only things Hockey Consultant wanted to write, or say, today, were:

·         Welcome back, Sidney Crosby.

·         It’s time to cheer and celebrate.

Fundamentally, Hockey Consultant analyzes hockey because, at heart, she’s a fan of the game.   And she loves the game in its purest form; she loves the sport the way it’s “supposed” to be.  In Hockey Consultant’s fantasy world, superstars never get hurt (in this fantasy world, Mario Lemieux broke 200 points several times in his career and scored more points than anyone ever )  or leave town (Jaromir Jagr was always, only, a player for Hockey Consultant’s hometown team, the Penguins, and the second leading scorer of  all-time).     Players with potential always achieve it (Aleksey Morozov tortured every NHL goaltender, not just Martin Brodeur, in Hockey Consultant’s fictional fantasy world).   And suffice to say Hockey Consultant’s hometown Penguins have won more than three Stanley Cup in her fantasy world.

But Hockey Consultant was ten years old when David Volek (ugh, how the name even to this day provokes a visceral reaction of “Ugh” and “Ew” and “Ick” and “Really, how’d that happen?!”) taught her the first truth of hockey:  That what so often should be never happens the way it’s “supposed to” or “should” happen.   That dynasties that are supposed to materialize sometimes end with two championships, rather than a half-dozen.   That superstars don’t stay always healthy for the long haul or even if they do manage to stay healthy they don’t by default belong to your city forever.

Tomorrow night, though, against the Islanders, Sidney Crosby is playing hockey.  Doing what he’s supposed to be doing.  Playing for the team that drafted him, where he won a Cup.  Playing with the talented playmates—otherwise known as the “core” of the team—that fans envisioned him winning multiple championships with.

 

So, Hockey Consultant is taking off her consulting hat, for a moment.   She’s just going to be a fan of her team.   She’s just going to be a fan of the game.

And she’s like to encourage you to cheer and celebrate, no matter the outcome of the game.    Because Sidney Crosby is going to be playing hockey again—doing what he’s supposed to be doing.   And that sight, so expected, and yet one that didn’t happen for so long, is glorious to behold.

So behold the wonder.    Behold watching what was supposed to be all along, and what you didn’t get to see for months on end.

Watch Sid and his teammates play hockey.

And, then, return to normality—for Hockey Consultant, that will likely involve analyzing such fun things as her belief the Penguins need a deeper defensive core and why it’s important not to assume even young,  experienced players have already reached their highest ceiling—

But right now?   But tomorrow?

Tomorrow is for cheering.   Tomorrow is for celebrating.    Tomorrow is for watching Sidney Crosby play NHL hockey.

So enjoy what you now know is no guarantee:   Crosby playing NHL hockey.   Enjoy it, revel in it, and yes—even if you’re harshly analytical and want to scream about line combinations and special teams configurations and all sorts of other things—remember how you got into the sport in the first place (you were a fan first) and watch this beautiful sight:   

An NHL superstar, healed, returning to the place where he belongs, an NHL ice surface.

And when you see that sight?

Just cheer and celebrate, for one moment, something that is as it is supposed to be—a kid who wanted nothing more than to be the best hockey player in the world returning to play the sport he loves, a sport he trained his entire life to play.

And—not just tomorrow—will you remember that the chances you’ll once again have to celebrate and cheer or complain and critique as you watch Sidney Crosby and the Penguins play NHL hockey are not guaranteed?   

How about you take the moment when Crosby takes to the Consol Energy ice for warm-ups to enjoy what is supposed to be even as you remember that all the things that are supposed to be so often aren't what actually transpires in the real world of hockey and life?  How about simply celebrating and cheering when that moment where everything is as it supposed to be comes to life as, for the first time in nearly a year, the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins plays in an NHL game?