Schooled

Ok, it's reality time for the Chicago Blackhawks and their fans. After storming into the Stanley Cup Finals against inferior Western Conference opponents, the Blackhawks have more than met their match in the Eastern Conference Champions, the Philadelphia Flyers. (The Flyers not only touched the Conference Championship trophy, they carried it around because they earned it.)

We have seen this rodeo before. An overconfident, young team told they are great and that they are going to win it all falling short of expectations. Right now, the Flyers are putting on a clinic on how to beat a superior opponent by doing all the little things that win games.

Somebody forgot to tell the Hawks that this is the Stanley Cup playoffs where grit and determination usually prevail over pure talent. The Blackhawks can skate like nobodies business. They are uber talented. They are also very young and inexperienced. Right now, they are being schooled by the Flyers.

Did we forget already that: the Flyers won their last game of the season on the road in a shootout just to make the playoffs, that the Flyers beat Martin Brodeur and the #2 seed New Jersey Devils in 6 games, that the Flyers came back from three games to none to win in game 7 on the road after being down 3-0 in the game, that the Flyers shut out the Canadians 3 times after the Canadians beat the #1 seed Washington Capitals and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, and that the Flyers have Chris Pronger, who is being allowed to play as dirty as he is capable of and not be penalized for it.

You bet we did. The fans of the Blackhawks want the Stanley Cup. They have waited 49 years for it. So, while we were all fixated on winning it, we forget to respect the opponent, who by the way wants it as bad as we do. If the Hawks don't wake up and start playing hockey again, I'm afraid that we will all be saying "wait till next year" like the true Chicago fans we are.