By Friday evening I will be wandering around Pittsburgh, home to this past year's Winter Classic. I have my Capitals shirt stowed away and ready for action in the Steel City...
Last night, rather than start packing, I played until 3:00 am; mperreault went a few games into the regular season and RJ08 reached the All-Star break. The former notched his first goal of the season before Ovechkin and graduated to rookie status. The latter started the game, scored the game-winning goal, and collected the first star as I sat there in amazement.
My intent was to play with only one of the two pros, but a guilty feeling sank in as I devoted all of my attention to one over the other. The still-developing center got knocked on his ass in front of the goal, once embarrassingly so (I winced, couldn't help it), but he persevered. The crafty defenseman, on the other hand, lit the lamp a few times and maintained his league-leading plus/minus stat of 43.
When my head finally reached the pillow, all I could think of was how to properly characterize this ridiculous thrill that I get out of these two fellows. After talking with a good friend today, it seemed so simple: Think back to high school. Yes, that feeling. The sudden, interminable passion that seizes adolescents on a daily basis. That's what I have in my mind, and what I've found lacking in many of my adult relationships.
Yes, this passion is more often than not heavily tied to a physical attraction. As I learn snippets about mperreault and RJ08 from whatever non-stalkerish media outlets I can find (team sites, local papers, NHL.com, etc.), however, and as their personalities start to emerge based on interviews and answers to random questions from sources such as the Hockey News, the attraction becomes more than just physical. I've had both extremes in my life--the attractive mate with a dud personality and vice versa--and neither worked. Nor does someone who falls in the middle on both sides, for that matter. My concept of the "total package" is nothing like it used to be; now, I accept no compromises. I want a strong, confident personality and (in my not-so-humble opinion) stunning looks. I want that "high school" feeling, and don't want to settle for less.
My father likes to say that the only issue in my relationships is maturity, which always leads to a pronouncement that I'm destined to settle down with someone possibly years my senior. (Nice try, Mr. Second Marriage. I don't think so.) I like to follow with the counterargument that a good 5 or so years in the NHL makes someone mature faster than many of us leading what we consider a fairly normal, well adjusted life. Yes, that might make them 23, but if they don't act 23, then what does it really matter? Age is relative, unless you're trying to drink champagne out of the Stanley Cup and you're not 21. But anyway. This isn't about Tyler Seguin so much as it's about comfort levels and societal perception. What does age matter at all, but for the various administrative hurdles of driver's licenses, voter registration, and cigarettes and alcohol?
Perhaps it's because I'm about to drive many hundreds of miles over the course of the next 2 days--and then back to Boston late on Sunday--that I'm feeling particularly philosophical. Definitely part of it is knowing that I'll be left to my own thoughts as my passenger nods off. Would that I were making this trip alone, so I could blast choice tunes from the glory days of the mid-1990s, but no. I have plenty of emotional issues to hash out, but more immediate tangible issues, like housing and finances, that require my undivided attention right now. This trip is to relax and enjoy being a tourist in a city I've never visited, but in my down time between sightseeing and sporting events, I know where my mind will circle.
Thus, my dilemma. I sit here wearing a Habs shirt, nonsensical for a Capitals (or Lightning, or of course Bruins) fan. RJ08 rooted for them while growing up; mperreault grew up not far from the city they call home. Both might think me crazy for throwing all this out there, but I do it in the interest of full disclosure. My life thus far has been a series of mostly unremarkable moments; the Flyers game in '06 and the Hershey game last year serve as the astronomical high points thus far.
I suppose what I really should say is thanks, guys, for making it interesting. Keep it up, then.
