Five Thoughts for a Friday: Scapegoating
Leave Thomas alone!
If you missed Ross’ opus on Wednesday—no you didn’t. How could you have missed it? I would classify it among the quintessential Silver Seven articles. That longform embodies our mission as a blog. And furthermore, I absolutely agree with Ross’ thesis. I love Thomas Chabot. I wish every fan of the Ottawa Senators loved Chabot as much as I do. You can build an NHL team around a player like Chabot.
I also know, though, that as a fanbase (and as sports fans in general) we need a victim upon whom we can unjustly unleash our collective ire when things go badly. I wish I could say as fans that we have learned better than to single out and shame individuals for collective failures. And yes I do it too. We all do it. And so in the spirit of learning and growth, I present you with five alternative options to scapegoating our beautiful, brilliant Chabot.
Blame The Economy
As Ross highlighted in his article, Chabot and the Senators at large have fallen victim to an unfair share of bad puck luck. How many times this season have we said as a fanbase, “The Sens can’t buy a goal/save/win”? A win? In this economy?! Have you seen the interest rates? Can you believe this inflation? How can honest, working folks possibly afford groceries? Let alone a berth in the Stanley Cup playoffs!
Blame Supply Chain Issues
At my nine-to-five gig, people always tell me they don’t want to hear one more excuse about Supply Chain Issues. I tell them I don’t enjoy saying it anymore than they enjoy hearing it. I simply cannot give you what I don’t have. We don’t have the raw materials. We don’t have the skilled labour. We can’t pull these things from the ether. I get it. You want a young, cost-controlled NHL-ready defender who plays soundly in their own end and generates a decent amount of offence, and you don’t want to have to give up the farm. Well I have a whole bunch of those in the storeroom. I keep them next to the unicorns.
Blame The Breakdown of Society
What ever happened to our 1950s fantasy of nuclear families, picket fences, and consumer electronics that could solve all of life’s problems? We used to be a country. People said “please” and “thank you.” Then those good for nothing hippies came along and ruined everything with their notions of free love and altered states of consciousness. Now just look at the mess we have to live in!
Blame Young People
I mean, millenials killed everything else. Why not blame them when your hockey team loses? If you can’t understand their taste in music or the way they dress then you can’t help but assume they also killed sound defensive play and the blue collar work ethic associated with the great hockey teams of yesteryear. Stop loitering. Get a job. Cut that hair. Maybe that will fix the Senators’ collective and individual plus-minus issues.
Blame the Leafs
Oh now you need a reason? You don’t need a reason. It’s their fault, okay?
