This is what makes sports fun!

Dear Vancouver Fans,

As some of you may know, I am a pretty big Sharks fan. With the Sharks coming fresh off a first round sweep of the Vancouver Canucks, I am feeling pretty good. Living in the greater Seattle area, I come across a lot of Canucks fans. This has generated a good amount of friendly rivalries with people I know and a bunch I don’t know. Whether it’s watching the games between the two teams here on TV or watching them live in Vancouver, I can always find a Canucks’ fan close by. Let’s all be honest, nothing is better in sports than some good ol’ fashion trash talking between fans. Not the trash talking that escalates into someone getting in a fight, but the kind where you drink beers together despite one team getting swept out of the playoffs. I have never come across a mean Canadian (except on Xbox Live, but who isn’t a total dick on there?). So, getting together with Canucks fans is always a good time, especially when the Sharks are beating the crap out of them.

This year’s series was pretty much the opposite of the last time these teams met in the postseason. That time, I am sure most Canucks’ fans remember well, was an “everything is going Vancouver’s way” type of series. What made it even worse for us Sharks fans, was it was in the Western Conference Finals. Every bounce, call and save went Vancouver’s way. This year it was time for the karma train to pull into the San Jose station. With a late goal in game two and two overtime victories, you couldn’t feel better as a Sharks’ fan and worse as Canucks’ fan. I have to admit, that makes me smile.

I have to admit, I will miss the beers and the constant back and forth of that I have shared with Canuck’s fans this year. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed San Jose advancing, but there is a part of me that wishes it was at another teams expense. Now, you might as well root for the Sharks. I mean, it could be worse, Calgary, Edmonton, Chicago or Detroit didn’t sweep you. Needless to say, it’s been fun. Good luck next season, I know the Sharks will be waiting in the playoffs for you again.

When I sat down to write you this letter, I was going to just have it filled with nothing but trash talk. The truth is, rivalries make sports fun and I enjoyed another season hitting the bars, texting you after the Canucks lost and teaming up to make Red Wings fans feel terrible. I’m looking forward to doing it again next season. Make sure you head down to San Jose to get a look at the Stanley Cup sometime soon.

Love,

The guy who likes the better team:

Ben Kelley