It's Go Time

I was the total skeptic. I saw the raw, unbelieveable talent the St. Louis Blues had, I understood just what kind of impact players like TJ "Smash Brother" Oshie, Patrik "Bergalicious" Berglund, David Perron, Chris Mason, would have on this squad. I never would have guesed Chris Mason would dominate in net as much as he has, or that David Backes, netting only 13 goals last season, would breach the 30+ mark this time around. And as far as STL's worship of TJ Oshie goes, I knew he would be big, but not like he is. I knew the Blues had plenty of power under the hood, but as far as reaching the playoffs? I was a non-believer, if you will.

After losing Manny Legace to the Peoria Rivermen, captain Eric Brewer and superstar Paul Kariya to injury, and Erik Johnson to a freak golf cart accident, among others, leaving the Blues with only 5 players not missing time due to injury, shot-block grandmaster Jay McKee came close to losing his finger, Legace missed a good chunk of playing time thanks to a kick to the head, groin injuries, and Sarah Palin's carpet. Nikolay Lemtyugov and Marek Schwarz left for their home countries, knowing they're major prospects for the Blues (for the most part anyway). Fan-favourite Lee Stempniak was traded to Toronto. This really hurt me. It was bad enough hearing that one of the best the Blues had to offer was no longer going to be with us, but when I recieved the news, I was- no joke- in the hospital, just about the worst place I could be in to hear such news. Up until last week, I had maintained the same feelings of doubt that St. Louis would see the post-season.



Don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't support my boys in blue. You ask me where I was during any given game, I'll tell you that my ass was in front of my TV, or in the seats of the Scottrade Center, sacrificing my voice just to show some love to the Soldiers. Because no matter what, you pretty much have to do what you can to, as David Puddy put it, "support the team." If you're a true fan, it's what you do. And it's definitely what I did. Despite all this support and still not believing in the team, some people questioned my loyalty, one even went so far as to question my hockey sense. But it didn't bother me, it was how I truly felt, until last week. Yes, it's true, while everyone around me was increasingly confident in our playoff chances, here I was, still gearing up for a Blues-less post-season. It took the almost last game of the season to convince me that we would indeed taste post-season hockey. Because that particular game was what would launch us into the post-season. I waited until the last possible minute to jump on the playoff bandwagon. Not that I regret it, I just wish I would have believed a little earlier. But that's just the way I am, I'm not the most confident person in the world when it comes to this kind of stuff. I'm hopeful, but confidence is another thing.

This whole time, I was a non-believer. I was a skeptic, a naysayer, or whatever. But all that has changed over the past few days. The Blues now have a chance to bring Lord Stanley's Mug to the Gateway City. The Blues faithful won't have to watch another playoffs without the Blues this time around, and I couldn't be happier. It's been increasingly hard to stay in a good mood lately, but earning a playoff run has made things a little easier.

It's our time. Our time to show why we made it this far, why we deserve to compete for the most coveted prize in all hockey. This season wasn't a fluke. It felt like it wasn't supposed to be a success at times, but even with all our injuries, even without our team captain, we made it. I was a non-believer up until last week, it took this long to finally realize, after how far we came, just how much this team is capable of. So if there any more non-believers out there, stand aside in fear. Everyone else, buckle up and hold on, Lord Stanley awaits. In the words of Izzy Mandelbaum, it's go time.