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To Boo or not to BOOOOOO


Guest Irishjim

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Much has been made recently of the boos that rained down on Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in Saturday’s dreadful 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh.

.

Forward James van Riemsdyk took issue with the boisterous fans.

.

“Yeah, you know what, I think those guys need to kind of keep quiet up there,” van Riemsdyk told reporters after the game. “I know they pay their money to see the team but you win as a team and you lose as a team.

.

“You can’t ever pinpoint it on one guy and we know those guys are working hard back there so we’re going to have to support them a little bit better and figure it out. It’s not just one guy; it’s all twenty of us that have to turn this thing around.”

.

Monday, tweets were sent fast and furiously arguing between fans and fans, fans and writers, writers and bloggers, etc.

.

Booing has always been a hot topic in Philadelphia, this is nothing new. There’s a line that is much thinner in the arenas down on Broad Street than other cities.

.

As with most things involved in loyal fan dedication, the boos are subjective. There’s nothing to suggest that a player actually deserves to be booed. In the same breath, it should be acknowledged that there’s nothing to suggest they shouldn’t.

.

The performance of Bryzgalov this year has been stunningly bad, and some fans are fed up. It makes sense and the loud booooooooooooos sound like they’re warranted.

.

Perhaps if the faithful in orange and black were more welcoming, Bryzgalov would get the job done?

Even that doesn’t seem realistic given the city’s love affair with the kooky Russian the moment he hit the limelight.

How fantastic he loves the city’s history. What a funny and aloof demeanor he has! Where can I find the clip of his ‘humongous big’ comment and post it all over Facebook?!

.

Philadelphia wanted to love Bryzgalov because he was what they haven’t had since Ron Hextall. There’s no debating that point, it’s quite clear. His zany attitude and personality made for an interesting side note. Every fan wants a guy on their team who is apart from the others. The national spotlight the team got because of Bryz’ hypnotizing quotes was welcome.

Hey, look at our goalie! He’s fun!

.

The fun has now gone out the window faster than the hope that he would cure the franchise’s woes in net. He’s losing and looking ugly in the process.

.

The pressure is building and he’s feeling the heat. Not the dry heat of Phoenix, but the heat of every fan breathing down his neck. Yelling in his ear, ‘Hey you, we’ve seen what you’re about and we don’t like it anymore.’

Of course, if he wins big it will all be forgiven. But there’s nothing to suggest that will be the case.

Instead, the hockey fans in Philadelphia can see the landslide into oblivion that is coming his way. That’s the way they see it. They’re used to it. They’ve seen it many times before.

.

Bryzgalov had his two cents on Saturday’s boos directed towards him.

“You know, I think it’s an easy life when you can blame one guy,” he told the media. “‘It’s a bad goalie; it’s the goalie’s mistake.’

.

“It’s easy to find a scapegoat. You point to one guy and say we’re always losing because we have a bad goalie, but I think it’s the wrong philosophy. I know I was frustrated in my game today and I know I have to be better and I will continue to work on this, but….I will try to find peace in my soul to play in this city”

.

Fans have been conditioned to be this way. They’ve sat in the seats of the Spectrum and watched their fathers boo incompetent players. It’s a rite of passage for some, and that won’t change.

.

Whether or not the booing helps seems like a silly question. It’s equally as silly as whether or not it will stop.

At this point, one thing is for sure. Bryzgalov must find that peace in his soul because it’s not coming from the fans paying to watch the cash cow fail in the crease.

.

It might not be fair and it might not be helpful, but it’s the way it is.

The only way out for Bryzgalov and the Flyers is to shape up and win.

Keep the pucks out, Ilya. They’re still waiting to love you again.

--

Feel free to follow me on Twitter or Google +. You can also email me at mtrible@thecheckingline.com.

Edited by Irishjim
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Tell you what James. We won't boo if you guys play your *** off every night for the ENTIRE game. Win or lose we'll show up and give you OUR all if you show up and give it YOUR all.

Its that simple. Don't cry because fans boo you for doing a crappy job. If I did a crappy job someone could die. Get over the boos and do better. Crybabies.

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I'm not a booer, but JVR will hear me loud and clear next home game. He says those guys back there are working hard....guess who else works hard you snot nosed punk? The people "up there" that pay to see to see you have a losing home record (OTL is still a loss in my book). Don't want to hear booing? Stop playing like crap. Or go play in Columbus where nobody cares enough to boo, and take Bryz with you, you can all keep Carter company.

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Much has been made recently of the boos that rained down on Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov in Saturday’s dreadful 6-4 loss to Pittsburgh.

.

Forward James van Riemsdyk took issue with the boisterous fans.

.

“Yeah, you know what, I think those guys need to kind of keep quiet up there,” van Riemsdyk told reporters after the game. “I know they pay their money to see the team but you win as a team and you lose as a team.

.

“You can’t ever pinpoint it on one guy and we know those guys are working hard back there so we’re going to have to support them a little bit better and figure it out. It’s not just one guy; it’s all twenty of us that have to turn this thing around.”

.

Monday, tweets were sent fast and furiously arguing between fans and fans, fans and writers, writers and bloggers, etc.

.

Booing has always been a hot topic in Philadelphia, this is nothing new. There’s a line that is much thinner in the arenas down on Broad Street than other cities.

.

As with most things involved in loyal fan dedication, the boos are subjective. There’s nothing to suggest that a player actually deserves to be booed. In the same breath, it should be acknowledged that there’s nothing to suggest they shouldn’t.

.

The performance of Bryzgalov this year has been stunningly bad, and some fans are fed up. It makes sense and the loud booooooooooooos sound like they’re warranted.

.

Perhaps if the faithful in orange and black were more welcoming, Bryzgalov would get the job done?

Even that doesn’t seem realistic given the city’s love affair with the kooky Russian the moment he hit the limelight.

How fantastic he loves the city’s history. What a funny and aloof demeanor he has! Where can I find the clip of his ‘humongous big’ comment and post it all over Facebook?!

.

Philadelphia wanted to love Bryzgalov because he was what they haven’t had since Ron Hextall. There’s no debating that point, it’s quite clear. His zany attitude and personality made for an interesting side note. Every fan wants a guy on their team who is apart from the others. The national spotlight the team got because of Bryz’ hypnotizing quotes was welcome.

Hey, look at our goalie! He’s fun!

.

The fun has now gone out the window faster than the hope that he would cure the franchise’s woes in net. He’s losing and looking ugly in the process.

.

The pressure is building and he’s feeling the heat. Not the dry heat of Phoenix, but the heat of every fan breathing down his neck. Yelling in his ear, ‘Hey you, we’ve seen what you’re about and we don’t like it anymore.’

Of course, if he wins big it will all be forgiven. But there’s nothing to suggest that will be the case.

Instead, the hockey fans in Philadelphia can see the landslide into oblivion that is coming his way. That’s the way they see it. They’re used to it. They’ve seen it many times before.

.

Bryzgalov had his two cents on Saturday’s boos directed towards him.

“You know, I think it’s an easy life when you can blame one guy,” he told the media. “‘It’s a bad goalie; it’s the goalie’s mistake.’

.

“It’s easy to find a scapegoat. You point to one guy and say we’re always losing because we have a bad goalie, but I think it’s the wrong philosophy. I know I was frustrated in my game today and I know I have to be better and I will continue to work on this, but….I will try to find peace in my soul to play in this city”

.

Fans have been conditioned to be this way. They’ve sat in the seats of the Spectrum and watched their fathers boo incompetent players. It’s a rite of passage for some, and that won’t change.

.

Whether or not the booing helps seems like a silly question. It’s equally as silly as whether or not it will stop.

At this point, one thing is for sure. Bryzgalov must find that peace in his soul because it’s not coming from the fans paying to watch the cash cow fail in the crease.

.

It might not be fair and it might not be helpful, but it’s the way it is.

The only way out for Bryzgalov and the Flyers is to shape up and win.

Keep the pucks out, Ilya. They’re still waiting to love you again.

--

Feel free to follow me on Twitter or Google +. You can also email me at mtrible@thecheckingline.com.

JVR is turning into a big cry baby like Richards and Carter..time to ship him out before the 4 mill kicks in..

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Honestly. The best thing to do is to stay home. Save your money. Don't buy concessions if you're an STH and threaten to cancel your tickets.

Be quiet. Say nothing. Let them hear what it's like to play in Phoenix.

Booing affects the players, not the people who signed them. Staying home hits the people who signed them where it hurts.

If there was enough of a groundswell of people not taking this over and over again (full disclosure: I say this as someone in discussions to possibly split a STH seat...) then they might change.

Bah, who am I kidding?

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JVR is right, booing makes the fans look like asshats and does not help the situation with the goalie at all. What the hell does booing even do? No doubt Bryz knows he's playing like crap, you think acting like a goonish mob of booing hockey fan hacks will help the situation at all or help him regain confidence?

Save the booing for jerks and morons who deserve it on the other team, not the guys on your team you should friggin support.

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as i said in another thread... i'm not usually in favor of booing your own team members. however, bryz has transcended that belief. he's been terrible and saying all the wrong things while doing so. will booing him help? probably not, but that's all the fans have at their disposal. he deserves it and if he were a true pro it would not phase him. clearly it is.

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If I'm Bryz I would apologize to the fans for my performance and vow to keep busting my rear end to get better. You don't want to be the scapegoat? Then try harder and play better. Narrow your focus away from the rest of the universe and center it on to playing goal.

I agree with him that we care too much about sports sometimes, but the fact that we care about sports so much allows him to be a professional game player. It allows him to have the house he has and the husky he loves and the money he has as well. This is what I don't like about him. He is not absolutely hungry to win. He doesn't seem to hate losing.

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If I'm Bryz I would apologize to the fans for my performance and vow to keep busting my rear end to get better. You don't want to be the scapegoat? Then try harder and play better. Narrow your focus away from the rest of the universe and center it on to playing goal.

I agree with him that we care too much about sports sometimes, but the fact that we care about sports so much allows him to be a professional game player. It allows him to have the house he has and the husky he loves and the money he has as well. This is what I don't like about him. He is not absolutely hungry to win. He doesn't seem to hate losing.

You and I may rarely agree, but that was VERY well put. Nice post.

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I don't know if you all saw the Crossing Broad post about Bryz at the Carnival. So anyway when there is something Flyers related Crossing Broad keeps posting on twitter I Care. I forsee signs at warmups saying I am a Flyers fan and I care. Oh boy.....

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I just want to know if it's still okay to boo the officials. Because if we're not allowed to show our displeasure with the officiating by booing, that's really gonna suck. Haha! And how else can we show our unhappiness with a lack of effort? Booing is the most logical, practical, and accepted way. Everybody knows what it means. Just don't start whistling like those sissy European football fans. Ha!

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I don't think its getting under the skin of anyone but Bryz, however, the players are still human and see a teammate going through a brutal stretch both on the ice and in the media. I guess I kind of get what the skaters are doing, but damn, would it kill Bryz to make a few timely saves? Maybe put in max effort? How about take responsibility without any deflection or mitigation?

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@Green Man

booooooo

Dude if their not putting forth professional effort the fans are entitled to let them know they are displeased. Thats what booing does and it obviously has the desired effect since they noticed and got irritated.

The fans certainly have the right to boo, but that doesn't mean that's it's a good idea. I agree with GreenMan, booing is not (in most cases) going to get a player to perform better, which is what fans should actually want. If all you care about is making your feelings known, then yeah, it does that.

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