Pathetic.

I'm currently in the midst of watching the last 20 minutes of Sharks hockey this season. And there is really only one word to describe this postseason--Pathetic. Well, maybe two words, the second being "Embarassing." I can't even explain the sickening feeling it gives me to watch the Sharks (#1 ranked team, President Trophy winner, etc.) go out in the first-freaking round to the disgusting Anaheim Ducks--a bunch of whiny thugs.

I've honestly never been so frustrated with any team. Ever. In my lifetime. I last year's 5-OT loss in Game 6 to the Stars (my second-most hated team in the West) was the peak of hockey anger. I was wrong. So, so wrong.

The thing is, this Sharks team was one of the most talented hockey teams I've ever seen. They had it all-- a ton of depth...forwards that could score beautiful goals, one of the best defensive contributing squads there is and solid as hell goaltending by Nabokov (even when he went down, Boucher was a pretty decent back-up.) During the first half of the regular season, there was almost no one that could contend with us. We just dominated. Then after the all-star break, we just sort of lost an edge. I mean, we still won, but we just weren't dominating the same way. It made us Sharks fans nervous. Turns out--rightfully so.

Starting Game 1 on this series, we folded. We lost any heart we had during the regular season. What I, and all other Sharks fans simply can't understand is why. Why would you not be excited for this game? You are the winniest team in franchise history, you are the top team in the NHL, and you are playing a team that barely made the 8th sead--oh and who happens to be your biggest rival! Sounds like something most teams would be slightly energized for.

Again though, the Sharks didn't show up to play. Didn't feel like these first games were "must-wins." No intensity. No determination. No commitment to winning. They dug themselves a ridiculous hole. Though they won Game 3 and played a bit better, they really didn't show up as a team until Game 5, when we were down 3-1. We won that game to give ourselves a chance (sort of) and came out flying for the first ten minutes of Game 6. It looked promising. But then we quit. We just stopped. And now we are done. Again.

I honestly feel bad for teh eight Western Conference teams who didn't make the playoffs and deserved to be there more than the Sharks. Maybe their records didn't show it, but I gaurantee any one of those teams would have put more effort into the playoffs than we did.

Where we go from here, who knows? There are multiple directions in which to point the finger. I don't even want to go into a rant about all the people who didn't live up to their potential--and who haven't for five years. At this point, I just think it's an overall attitude in this organization. Maybe we are living up to our hippie, laid-back, chilled-out Northern California reputation. I don't know.

All I know is that my hockey heart is broken. I hate this.