Caps fans: Unite to support Ovechkin!

 Thomas Boswell (The Washington Post, Mar. 21, 2009) gives an interesting spin how the team and Bruce Boudreau should've defend Ovechkin:

"Backie stopped and Greenie stopped, so I have to do it myself," Ovechkin said.

Memo to the Caps: If you instigate, then participate. Don't egg on your star and choreograph his shtick, then leave him hanging.

"He wanted me to join in, but there was no way I would join in on that," Green said. "I just kind of stood back and let him do what he does."

That's how powerful the NHL's conservative, self-effacing culture can be. Top players, and good coaches, get paralyzed at the mere thought of acting goofy or self-congratulatory. That's just not how it's done in Moose Jaw. Elk would blush. Migratory fowl might lose their bearing.

...

Little did Ovechkin know that, the next day, his own coach would pull a Don Cherry on him.

"Bruce asked me what I mean to do this," Ovechkin said. "I just have fun. He said people might think I don't respect different team. But I respect everybody. I don't want to show bad things. I show my thing. It was not disrespect."

When a charismatic, 23-year-old reigning MVP wants to "do his thing," and it's more modest than what lesser stars have done in every other sport for a generation, the adults should let him do it. Young genius has prerogatives, too.

Personally I am ashamed that Japer's Rink took sides with Ovechkin's celebration haters. Guess even smart people can be wrong. Just the other day he linked his post to Adam Gretz article about Ovechkin's lack of backchecking. Nevermind that Ovechkin's hand got stuck in cameraman's hole in the glass, nevermind that Ovechkin just came back after the foot injury. And what was the conclusion? "Ovechkin is bored, that's why he doesn't backcheck." Should you laugh or cry? I'd call it backstabbing.

Puck Daddy followed J.P. Hey, it's hard to please everybody, I understand, but Puck Daddy is doing it quite well recently.

The funniest thing is that Puck Daddy actually started the whole mess. He was the one who published that 'Lost in Translation', 'What's so special about Crosby' interview with Semin and it was the start of the holy war. Semin was so ashamed by misinterpretation that he called Crosby over to apologize. Ovechkin's immediate reaction to the interview after he returned from Russia where he was visiting his ailing grandfather (it was like the second question he was asked) "something was lost in translation".

It took a while for Crosby to respond, but after the bad loss to Caps Crosby responded. Finally, they found something to bash Ovechkin for and Don Cherry immediately supported his fellow country man.

What is funny that for the interview with Semin Puck Daddy was named a 100th influential man in hockey. :-) Whatever...


Memo to the Caps fans:

Ovechkin is not the face of the NHL, but he is the face of Capitals franchize. Don't leave him hanging, like Thomas Boswell said. Ovechkin is a very emotional person. Without his presence on ice there's little chance for Caps to go deep in playoffs. We need to support him and he needs our support right now. Bolts and especially Ryan Malone need to pay for their comments next Friday. "He's the game's most dominant scorer, but to do that, especially on our ice, I took it as an insult," Tampa Bay winger Ryan Malone told the St. Petersburg Times. Wah, wah, wah... Ovechkin set a record for franchise, he scored his 50th, did he do his celebration in front of Bolts bench? Hell, no... Shut up then. I sure hope there will be some action from Brashear and the team.

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