Sports Editor
Nothing has ever tested my loyalty more than the 2023-24 San Jose Sharks. I am and always will be #FTTB (Faithful to the Bay), but the trials and tribulations of this year have been too much. The NHL just passed its halfway mark of the season, and the Sharks have the stunning record of 10-31-3. The team began its season with an 11-game losing streak. Then they won a few, lost a few, then went through a whole other 11-game losing streak. On Jan. 16, the Sharks matched up against the second-worst team in the league, the Chicago Blackhawks. Regulation ended in a 1-1 tie, both goals scored by the Sharks (the Blackhawks’ point was an own goal). They went to NINE rounds of shootouts. Nobody except the two worst teams in the league go to nine rounds of shootouts. The Sharks lost in the ninth round.
Rooting for the Sharks is like being in love with your ex. They’re really horrible to you, and just before you finally get over them, they start showing character development. So, you stick along rooting for their improvement, staying a supporter for a week or two or three. Then they revert, showing that they’re still the same. To be fair, it’s a rebuilding year for the Sharks. That’s the difference, though, your ex is not in a rebuilding year.
Although they suck (objectively), being a Sharks fan is exhilarating. They don’t stop trying. Against the Detroit Red Wings, the Sharks came back from a 0-4 deficit. In the last 5:26 of the second period, the Sharks scored four goals, winning the game with another in the third period. They won it. I vividly remember texting on a group chat with fellow El Gatans Ella Marrufo and Nadia Liu, sharing our comments on what looked to be an incredible blowout. For the first 34:34 of the game, the texts looked like this: “omg the Sharks suck so much how are we this bad,” “holy they scored again I can’t do this anymore,” “the Red Wings aren’t even that good,” “WHERE IS THE DEFENSE,” and “trying my loyalty fr.” However, the messages soon looked more like this: “GO SHARKS RAHHHH,” “omg I love Tomas Hertl he’s so him,” “yay go Eklund,” and “omg what we’re tied?!?” After the third period goal from Granlund, it was all “I LOVE THE SHARKS” and “FAITHFUL TO THE BAY.”
When my family was training my puppy, they told us specifically to never give him food, because if you do it once, they will always try because they know there’s a chance. I’m like a puppy. I watched the Detroit game, I watched them come back from a four point deficit in just over five minutes. That means that even if the Sharks are down 0-6 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, I’m convinced they can still win. Technically, they could still win the Stanley Cup. I’m expecting them to. However, at what point should I switch to rooting for their demise? If they remain the worst team in the league, the draft picks we get will be worth the horrendous-ness this season turned out to be.
Yes, I know they really suck. Suck bad. However, I will be streaming their games wherever I am, as evident by the time I dropped my phone down the crack between the wall and the bleachers at the boys’ basketball game. Don’t worry — it landed screen-side-up, so I could still watch.
Categories: Humor