CarryTheWeight's Blog
Am I a Fan of Mediocrity?
We all know it's much harder to love a team (or video game in the case of NHL 2K) when they don't do all the things the fanbase expects them to. But after living in Buffalo for most of my life, I've been used to being frustrated. Time and time again, I swore off attending Bills and Sabres games, but I never truly gave up and supported my teams regardless, hoping that some kind of element of faith from the fanbase would carry the team further.
Of course, the Bills and Sabres could already have gone the way of the dodo had it not been for great fan support. The front offices have cheated us and wronged us time and time again but we still show up, thinking things will get better. Yet things still stay the same: mediocre.
The NHL 2K series, once THE dominant hockey franchise, has eroded in the past few years thanks to some great showings by EA Sports. Like the Bills and Sabres, I still have faith in this franchise. But after seeing what they did to promote the game and the laughingstock that casual hockey fans have made it out to be, I don't know what to think anymore. Like the Bills and Sabres, if not for some dedicated fan support, this series would be dead. But it seems more likely, as the once-dedicated fanbase for the title has eroded as quickly as the game's quality has. Yet I still think that 2K can turn it around this year and the year after.
Earlier this year, I remember saying similar things about 2K's MLB series. And due to some horrid franchise freezing issues (long story) and a new PS3 Slim, I'm probably never going to buy or play a 2K baseball game again. Since I'm a big hockey fan, I HOPE I won't be doing the same thing with NHL 2K10. Yes, I'm convinced the developers have improved the game but the early word from the videos, especially 2K Hockey's third period of exclusive video, seems to turn my thoughts against it once again. I don't know what to think anymore. Especially after what we saw with MLB 2K8, even "improvement" can turn around and lead to bigger problems when you least expect it.
Now, as for the Leafs, yes, they're one of the richest franchises in pro sports, the Dallas Cowboys of the NHL, without a chance of moving away. Being a born Torontonian, my father and I loved watching the old Leafs on Saturday nights. The days of Doug Gilmour, Mats Sundin and Felix Potvin seem like the happiest times in franchise history compared to the doldrums the franchise is in today. I gave up on the Leafs when the Sabres started impressing post-Lockout, a time that really made me a fan of the team.
Although the Sabres have been on a skid the past few years, however, nothing has made me want to become a Leaf fan again except for their impressive offseason under Brian Burke. Yes, Burke has made some very interesting moves but I don't think this team is playoff-worthy yet. They have some impressive young talent such as Luke Schenn and Jonas Gustavson, but they lack big-game experience. The coaching has been wildly inconsistent the past few seasons, but the management is slowly learning from the millions of mistakes they made in the Ferguson and Fletcher eras. Still, though, there's nothing really special about the Leafs. Middle of the road, expected to miss the playoffs...that's if they don't make an attempt to surprise.
I could go on and on. The Toronto Raptors, Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto FC are my other favorites in the sports world, and due to some pretty bad management decisions, each have been cellar-dwellers. This all could be MLSE's fault in the case of TFC and the Raptors, but the fact that JP Ricciardi hasn't been fired from the Jays yet is a travesty. The man has almost singlehandedly made the team one of the most unstable franchises in baseball today. Despite making some pretty good moves over his tenure (hiring Gaston, trading Rolen for Encarnacion), his mistakes with the organization FAR outweigh whatever he brought to the table.
TFC has a lot of potential and maybe I'm jumping the gun on how good they could be in the future, but it's not an entertaining product at the moment. The team most certainly has the money...why not bring in a Ljungberg-type star from Europe who can sell a lot of tickets? If not, it's going to be the Maurice Edu transfer over and over again as European squads quickly scoop up TFC's talented youngsters from the roster.
And the Raptors? Soulless on the court and uninspiring on paper, despite their active offseason. I like the idea of appealing to an international audience but I don't think Turkoglu is going to deliver the extra push that sends the Raps into playoff contention. Sure, he's getting a lot better with age as his run with the Magic proved, but it's going to take a team effort to improve the Raps' standing. The Demar DeRozan drafting is also a huge question mark. There's no doubt Demar is talented, but his age and single season at USC leads me to believe that rougher roads may be ahead for him. Chris Bosh is an overrated forward who is NOT the leader they market him as. Bargnani was a true bust before really coming into his own last year, yet I'm not sure he can keep his play consistent. And I'm a big fan of Jose Calderon, yet he doesn't have that "it factor" that can turn an "extremely talented" point guard into an "extremely productive" one. Way too many question marks going into this year.
Sometimes, I wonder if it's just me. Depressing, yes, but it seems that every "hometown team" I follow just happens to be horrifying at the moment. The honest truth is, as much as I have an interest in other teams around sports leagues, it's hard for me not to follow my hometown squads. The loyalty is just ingrained in me as a Buffalo resident and a Toronto native. As for the NHL 2K series (and no, for the millionth time, I'm not a fanboy for it, just an optimist)...I don't know what to think anymore. My opinion changes by the day. 2K's promotion of the game and the scathing remarks by even the casual, non-Fanboy crowd states that this series may be extinct before we know it. It's going to take a great effort next year, if there IS a next year for 2K Hockey.
Mediocrity sucks. But someone has to have faith. I guess I may be that (pathetic) person...
# 1
superstarshad @ Sep 4
I can respect a fan who endorses mediocrity vs the fan who switches teams from year to year. Keep your faith, Buffalo is do for a championship!
# 3
DaveDQ @ Sep 13
I thought this very thing today, watching the Dolphins lose to the Falcons. The thing is, I'm a Red Sox fan, so I had years of watching them get so close and then simply fail. Not only that, but I had my grandfather, uncle and others before me talk about how terrible it was being a fan of Boston. So, why? Having moved to North Carolina, I often think about switching my NFL allegiance to the Panthers, but every season, all it takes is to see a Dolphins jersey and I'm reminded that it just doesn't happen that easy.
At one time I related to your situation with 2K. Even before the celebrated NFL 2K5, I was reading interviews with Greg Thomas of Visual Concepts and his vision for the franchise. It just made me appreciate their efforts. When they lost the license and got the MLB license, I thought for sure they would carry over to MLB 2K. They didn't. I'm still a fan of 2K, but they aren't what they once were. You can attribute that to Take Two or having to compete with the giant that is EA, but 2K isn't 2K anymore.
At one time I related to your situation with 2K. Even before the celebrated NFL 2K5, I was reading interviews with Greg Thomas of Visual Concepts and his vision for the franchise. It just made me appreciate their efforts. When they lost the license and got the MLB license, I thought for sure they would carry over to MLB 2K. They didn't. I'm still a fan of 2K, but they aren't what they once were. You can attribute that to Take Two or having to compete with the giant that is EA, but 2K isn't 2K anymore.
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