There Will Be Blood

In the film "Gladiator", there is a scene in which Russell Crowe yells at the bloodthirsty audience, "Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?" Well, the fans of the NHL have gotten their wish. The Eastern Conference Finals will pit mortal enemies against each other, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers. To call this rivalry hostile would be an understatement. This makes Yankees - Red Sox look like a petty disagreement. The players hate each other. The fans hate each other. Heck, even the journalists throw objectivity to the wind when these two teams are involved. This will be an intense, emotional, and grueling series. The winner may not even make it out in one piece. You want playoff hockey, this will be playoff hockey! Penguins and Flyers fans will lose much sleep during the next two weeks. What does all this drama and brutality bring the victor? A berth in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Penguins are, and rightfully should be, the favorites in this series. They have home-ice. They have the better team. They should win. But the Flyers are a resilient, gritty, and not to mention dirty bunch of players. They can and will try to make a fight out of this. The Penguins will not leave this series unscathed. But they have to win. Yes, a win takes them to the doorstep of the Stanley Cup and brings us closer to a dream 16-years in the making. But they also have to win for the league and for hockey fans everywhere. The Flyers do not deserve to be here. To have a team like the Flyers to make it to the Stanley Cup would be a disgrace. The Penguins are the flag-bearers of the NHL, the Flyers are the exact opposite. This as much an ideological war as much as it is a battle on the ice. I hate the Flyers more than anything. I hate their fans. I hate what they stand for. And now, they are in the way of our dream. You want some, Flyers? Come get some!