Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Dallas Stars fans need to get a grip

Minnesota's current NHL team—the Minnesota Wild—was gifted this year with an outdoor stadium game, which includes an alumni game of former players and is pretty darn cool! Since the Wild are only 15 years old, the vast majority of the players for the Minnesota alumni team are former players for the Minnesota North Stars. So the alumni team is going to wear North Stars jerseys, which the team released pictures of yesterday.

And HOLY COW, are Dallas fans inexplicably and irrationally PISSED about it.




(best and funniest for last)

MINNESOTA is appropriating hockey history from DALLAS, TEXAS? Did we hit a "We're not really a hockey town" nerve or WHAT?

15 of the 17 North Star alumni on the roster never played a single game for Dallas. One of the two alumni players who did play for both teams was Neal Broten, who only played one and a half years with the Stars compared to his 12 with the North Stars. The other dual-team player—Mike Modano—I'll give you that; I don't know why he's on the team.

Of the other 15 players, over half of them were either born in and/or currently live in Minnesota, mostly in the Twin Cities metro. Yet, we're supposed to pretend they are not part of Minnesota hockey history? We're supposed to pretend these players, moments, and things are exclusively reserved for Dallas, Texas? Even though they NEVER PLAYED OR LIVED THERE?

The North "Stars" franchise has a longer history in Minnesota than it even has in Dallas, but we're supposed to pretend ALL of that history belongs exclusively to Dallas?

Please.

We aren't trying to steal the franchise from you, Stars fans. It is your franchise history. We get that. We're only acknowledging our longer history in what is only sadly now "your" franchise. See, us here in Minnesota actually have a bond with this sport; it's not just a random professional sports team you may or may not show up to support. We care about this sport, our history with it, and the role it has played in our local lexicon. We love hockey. We love hockey. You think the Texas High School Football Tournament is big? The Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament is even bigger. It might be unfathomable to have a love that deep or strong simply just for the sport of hockey, especially out there in the desert—I get it. And I am glad some of you do actually love our old hockey team.

But don't you ever, EVER try to tell us we are stealing "your" history. This is OUR history just as much, if not probably more, than it is yours.

Just picture this for a moment: The owner of the Dallas Cowboys suddenly sells his team to someone else, and within a year or two that team is abruptly moved and becomes the L.A. Cowboys (partially or mostly due to the fact the new owner has several damning accusations of sexual harassment against him). You no longer have your team, and fans are telling you "The L.A. Cowboys have no history in Dallas! The franchise belongs to Los Angeles! How dare you ever evoke the L.A. Cowboys or anything they have to do with your history! This isn't your team!" Because, according to your "logic", the L.A. Cowboys would have NO history in Dallas.

Seriously. Just chill the fuck out. Let our North Stars who NEVER PLAYED IN YOUR CITY play an alumni game in jerseys YOUR TEAM NEVER EVEN F#$%&^* WORE.

Minnesota fans don't complain about L.A. claiming Lakers history. Minnesota fans don't care about the Washington Nationals hanging Harmon Killebrew's name and number behind home plate. Minnesota fans are smart enough to realize that is an honor, not an insult.

Hopefully the people in Dallas will be smart enough to realize that one day too.

RELATED READING:

A hockey question: Why did the North Stars get dissolved? 

The Minnesota North Stars: Why did they leave Minnesota?


Norm Green sexually harassed his female employees and had to leave town—but hell, why would that bother anyone in Dallas, Texas (as long as we want to play stereotypes)!