How can somebody be so stupid?

So on teh LGC, there was a thread about a third jersey (I say "was", because it's locked now). In response to a couple posts, I chimed in with the reasons why the franchise can't incorporate anything from the Hartford days, and got this response (which IMO was a very good one, and in response to a Whale-bashing post from a fellow fan):

I don't think we should incorporate Hartford colors, ect., into a third jersey ... but I really don't grasp the hatred toward what the Canes used to be. Any time Hartford comes up, EpiK feels the need to totally bash the concept that this team was once in Hartford.

Some people grew up Whalers fans and came on board with the Canes (Aaryn, most noticeably). It's not "ours" (as in Raleigh's) ... it's everyone who loves the team, and some of those people have been on board since Hartford.

As someone who grew up 30 minutes outside Hartford, went to my first NHL game there and, while the Whale was never my favorite team, enjoyed the team, it's insulting to me for you to decide what the legacy of the franchise is. Look up our record books ... it incorporates our time in Hartford.

The guy that he's referring to that just HAS to bash Hartford all the time goes by the name EpiK-KA14--and yes, he is a douche.

So this douche comes back with this gem:

I don't bash the fact that this team used to be in Hartford. However, what does get under my skin are those people who continue to treat us as the Whalers in different colors. And I do believe that people who wear Whaler jerseys to the RBC just perpetuate that.

It peeves me (and many others) that we are still referred to as "the Former Hartford Whalers" like Raleigh just happens to be a temporary stop for this franchise. No other relocated team is shown that kind of disrespect.

I will also disagree with you on the fact that the team is not "ours". The Rangers belong to New York. The Red Wings belong to Detroit. They may have fans everywhere, but the team belongs to their city. And the Hurricanes belong here. There are Hurricanes fans in other parts of this country too. But they are just that, HURRICANE fans. Not Whaler fans. This team is not and will never again be the Whalers.

I also do believe that all Hartford Whalers records should be saved for the city of Hartford, and only statistics that have been accrued in Raleigh should be counted for the 'Canes. I don't push that fact because I'm sure I'm in a small minority in that regard.

The bottom line is that I have no animosity toward the Whalers, or their fans, or Hartford itself. But this isn't their team anymore. This isn't a temporary move. Anyway, I hope that explains things a bit better.

OK, so by this idiot's logic (for example) Ron Francis should not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, because the only numbers he put up were in Pittsburgh and Carolina. Granted, he had some impressive years in the 'Burgh, but there were those nine-odd seasons in Hartford that we should just throw away because the Hartford Whalers no longer exist. Oh yeah, and we shouldn't have retired Ronnie's jersey either, because he didn't do much worth having his jersey retired by us for.

What a fucking toolbag.

And then there's ausoleil, who decided to 1) bash everyone in Hartford because of the actions of a handful of bittermen that haven't gotten over the move and 2) perpetuate the totally wrong-ass belief that Bristol were all Whalers fans because of the douchebaggery of Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann on ESPN Radio.

People's Exhibit A:

A quick trip to Hartford at the end of last week was enough for me to not only drop any love I have for the Whalers but also to hope that those people never, ever, ever get an NHL team ever again.

I wore a new SC Champions golf shirt up there, and was cursed at three times -- as though I had personally stolen their team. I never taunted anyone up there; I was just proud of the team, and having been a part of the season from my seats in the arena. Made no difference to them.

The third time was in a sports bar, and I had had my fill of the lot. I said to the guy is a raised voice: "How come you people have never bought another franchise and moved it here? Doesn't the shopping mall want to have an NHL team in their arena there? You'd think that the Bruins and the Rags fans here would want to come to their home away from home again. The CANES are our team -- so get the @#$% over yourself."

I honestly think that the gentle citizens of Buffalo would have been kinder.

From now on, I no longer feel bad for Hartford people, generally.

So let's see--because of three idiots (who I probably know from message-board wars that marked the early years of post-move existence), it's okay to bash an entire town? Apparently so:

Well, to the Hartford fans who stayed with the team after the move, I obviously do not throw them under the bus.

Heck, guys like Aaryn are a lot more loyal and "true" fans than the tears-in-their-beers people I met who loathe Karmonos, loathe the Hurricanes and the NHL generally for not doing what the NFL did for Cleveland. And it was more than three. In our offices up there, a general sense of anger at the Hurricanes SCC seemed to be prevalent.

I asked some of the guys, and they said that it was not just me. Go figure.

OK, so which is it? Your original post on the matter implied rather heavily that you got jumped on by three idiots--and now you change your tune. What, did the entire city of Hartford get together and sign a "We Don't Want Any Caniacs Here" petition or something?

People's Exhibit B:

Two prominent and eloquent Whaler fans recently added their 2 cents.

From USA TODAY http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/hiestand-tv/2006-06-27-hiestand_x.htm

Quote:
Eloquence: While it's hard to argue that sports talk radio adds to the sum of human knowledge, you can at least argue that the genre allows males to get in touch with their inner seventh-grader. But sometimes that virtue is made too explicit, like when Dan Patrick, on ESPN Radio, recently referred to Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos as a "scumbag" and partner Keith Olbermann, a Cornell alum, cleverly deemed the NHL owner a "douche bag." Presumably, ESPN sent notes home to each of their guardians. But Tuesday, ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz would only say reprimands, if any, are "an internal matter."

I'll say again--neither of those two wanks were Whalers fans. In fact, very few of the Bristoleros were ever Whalers fans. It's still greatly in vogue in Bristol to curry favor with the high-ups by taking shots at the Hurricanes and anything connected to them (including the owner), so seeing garbage like that from Bristol is nothing new....especially now that the Hurricanes have pretty much put the "Forever .500 Whalers" to rest.

But anyway. Do people in Hartford have a right to still be upset about the move? Sure they do. There are people in Minnesota that are still upset about the North Stars moving--and they've got a new team playing in the Cities now. There are still people in Winnipeg that are still upset about the Jets moving, and there are still people in Quebec City that are still upset about the Nordiques moving. I don't begrudge them that. They have a right to be upset--but that's no reason to lower yourself to the level of, say, Mike Glasson and wish the the whole town to get the Black Death or something just because they're feeling the sting of pride fuckin' with 'em.

Sheesh.