WWGRD?
not nearly as much as everyone
pretends.
I love Gary Roberts. I do. I love him for his
grit and his intensity, for his relentless work ethic and his ferocious, often
frightening fearlessness. Hell, I love him for this photo
alone:
It's obvious that he's brought a great, big equipment bag full of veteran leadership and stability and experience to the Pens' postseason locker room. He's long been one of the game's great warriors. He did a great job of helping set the tone in the first game of the first playoff series. And, yeah, a little bit of silly, goofy, cult-hero worship is always fun.
But sheesh.
This undying obsession that Pens' fans -- by which I mean, casual fans and immature fans and bandwagon-jumping fans -- have with Gary Roberts borders on the absurd and fast approaches the insane. In a team and a season rife with heroes, a loud and increasingly annoying faction of people has latched on to -- and, worse still, Chuck-Norris-ified -- a guy whose on-ice contributions number two goals, one assist, a +/- rating of -2, a few intimidating stares, and an overblown, if admittedly awesome, bad-ass challenge to fight five Ottawa Senators at once.
The Pens have won far more games without him than they have with him -- both in the regular season and in the postseason -- and, had they been without him for this entire playoff run, they would almost certainly boast the exact same record. At worst, they might have one fewer win.
If he never plays again in this postseason -- as he will not tonight, thanks to a minor case of pneumonia -- the difference to the team and to its on-ice performance will be slight. The Disciples of Gary will whine and moan and perhaps rend their garments, then resume the laying of laurels and blog posts and text messages at his skates anyway. Meanwhile, the Lovers of Gary But Disciples of Lord Stanley will shrug and sigh and content themselves in the knowledge that the far more versatile Adam Hall will be taking his place in the lineup. Because we know that when Gary Roberts plays, the Penguins are meaner and tougher. And that when he doesn't, they are faster and tighter.
And almost always better.
(Let's Go, Pens.)
It's obvious that he's brought a great, big equipment bag full of veteran leadership and stability and experience to the Pens' postseason locker room. He's long been one of the game's great warriors. He did a great job of helping set the tone in the first game of the first playoff series. And, yeah, a little bit of silly, goofy, cult-hero worship is always fun.
But sheesh.
This undying obsession that Pens' fans -- by which I mean, casual fans and immature fans and bandwagon-jumping fans -- have with Gary Roberts borders on the absurd and fast approaches the insane. In a team and a season rife with heroes, a loud and increasingly annoying faction of people has latched on to -- and, worse still, Chuck-Norris-ified -- a guy whose on-ice contributions number two goals, one assist, a +/- rating of -2, a few intimidating stares, and an overblown, if admittedly awesome, bad-ass challenge to fight five Ottawa Senators at once.
The Pens have won far more games without him than they have with him -- both in the regular season and in the postseason -- and, had they been without him for this entire playoff run, they would almost certainly boast the exact same record. At worst, they might have one fewer win.
If he never plays again in this postseason -- as he will not tonight, thanks to a minor case of pneumonia -- the difference to the team and to its on-ice performance will be slight. The Disciples of Gary will whine and moan and perhaps rend their garments, then resume the laying of laurels and blog posts and text messages at his skates anyway. Meanwhile, the Lovers of Gary But Disciples of Lord Stanley will shrug and sigh and content themselves in the knowledge that the far more versatile Adam Hall will be taking his place in the lineup. Because we know that when Gary Roberts plays, the Penguins are meaner and tougher. And that when he doesn't, they are faster and tighter.
And almost always better.
(Let's Go, Pens.)
Posted: Thu - May 15, 2008 at 01:08 PM
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Published On: Jan 16, 2009 04:50 PM
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