the greatest winning streak in sports is OVER

first, to the St. Louis Blues: hey, you took my advice in the last post about not starting a bunch of fights in last night's game. however, I didn't mean NO fights in the game. also, did not mean to imply you should beat the Blackhawks the other way--by, uh, winning the game.

second: Blackhawks. I did not address you in the prior post to say "please win this game." because I was going to be attending, and your winning the game was implied by my attendance. I THOUGHT WE HAD AN UNDERSTANDING.

everyone else: that's right. after a 13-month* stretch of attending 17 Blackhawks games, in four different cities**, I FINALLY SAW THEM LOSE A GAME. I'm in shock.

this seems like a good image to repost

obviously, I'm being snarky with all this, because I know longtime fans of the Blackhawks (and of virtually any sports team) are used to seeing losses. it's not seeing them lose that bothers me (though it was a sloppy, discouraging game), it's the end of "my" winning streak. SEVENTEEN CONSECUTIVE GAMES, folks. and to lose in game 18? well, actually I prefer it to making it to 19 wins and losing the 20th (I was starting to get invested in the idea of seeing 20 wins in a row).

I had a fine run here, pretending that I was a good-luck charm for the team (hence the "self-congratulatory nonsense" tag I put up when bragging about seeing another win. now I have to reserve that for say, this blog winning something, or someone saying I'm "hot". so...it was a nice tag while it lasted). also, I enjoyed the novelty of a sports blog written by someone who'd never actually seen their favorite team lose. it's a wonder I wasn't much more arrogant. the only upside? I no longer have to spend time in phone calls to my friend who took me to win #1 as he tries to calculate the odds of my attending 12, 13, 16... wins in a row.

this provides a good point to finally get around to writing the story of my first hockey game and the story of my first year as a fan. which I'll get to when the shock wears off. oh, and I'll be at the Blackhawks game IN St. Louis this weekend, hoping to start another winning streak.

*one game in January 2009, then a bunch starting in October 2009. I'll explain the gap sometime...
**one visit each to Pittsburgh, Boston, and Columbus; the rest at the United Center