The Pens and Caps is more than a rivalry, it has become a story of unrequited love. Or obsession. If we have learned nothing else about the Caps this season, especially through the eyes of 24/7, it’s that they have this non-stop focus on the Pens.
During the HBO series, we saw constant references by Caps’ coach Boudreau to the Pens, regardless of the teams that the Caps were facing. Many teams will use other teams as a model or benchmark to measure themselves against during the season. If you remember at that time though, the Pens were on a hot streak and the Caps couldn’t buy a win. Instead of concentrating on their own game though, Boudreau seemed more intent on what was going on with the Pens.
The fans are just as bad. As soon as the Caps finally got a win you would’ve thought the fans would’ve have relished in the moment and celebrated like crazy. Not quite. The immediate reaction was a chant of, “We want Pittsburgh.”
So, I’m half watching the pre-game stuff today while doing some things around the house and I take a peek at Twitter. I see that Stoosh from The Pensblog and Empty Netters were reporting that the Caps were playing “Green and Yellow” during pre-game warm-ups. Really?
So, the Caps are going to jump on the bandwagon of another city’s team in a different sport to try to get in the heads of the Pens. Yes, the Steelers are playing in the Super Bowl. Yes, the Steelers and the Pens are both from Pittsburgh and support each other. Yes, the Steelers and Pens both wear black and some form of gold…or, for purposes of the Wiz Khalifa song, the Steelers wear “yellow.” Yes, “Black and Yellow” has been parodied into “Green and Yellow” to appease the Packers fans who the Caps…who wear red, white, and blue…have decided to support in order to get in the heads of the Pens.
Did that last paragraph confuse you? Exactly. That’s how much of a stretch and how stupid playing “Green and Yellow” was by the Caps.
Is there another team out there this obsessed with an opponent? I mean, I get that there’s a rivalry and all, but this is just crazy. The funny part is, yeah, the Pens and the fans here know it’s a rivalry, acknowledge the hate, get pumped up for the game, and then move on.
It’s like that crazy stalker that you try to ignore but just won’t go away. It’s kind of a little creepy.
I have a suggestion. Instead of focusing on trying to get in the heads of the Pens or doing things to insult our city or our fans, why not focus on just getting your fanbase excited about what you’re doing. They might be behind you now, but how many early playoff exits will it take for them to turn on you? Guess what, they won’t remember then that you played “Green and Yellow” today, they’ll just remember that you always choke when it matters.
Pens fan, grew up in Pittsburgh, been living in DC (Va) for some time.
The Capitals hockey environment in DC is totally different from the environment in Pittsburgh. For most of the last 20 years, the Capitals have been a niche team. (One year the WNBA Mystics sold more seats.. ouch!) There are several reasons why:
– With the exception of the Redskins, sports are 2nd tier entertainment in DC. Part of the reason is that so much else is going on, and part of the reason is that region is very transient. Many of us grew up elsewhere and remain loyal to our childhood teams.
– The Capitals have a miserable history of chocking. Mario and Penguins twice came back from 3-1 playoff deficits in 90’s. A Jagr-led team did it again after Lemieux’s first retirement. A Crosby led team beat the Caps a few years back (although not in 3-1 come back fashion), and last year the Caps lost to Montreal in the first round.
– Until the Ovechkin era, the Capitals played a boring defensive style game.
Hockey was so bad that Penguins fans often out numbered Capital fans at Pens/Caps games in DC. The Penguins fans were loud and obnoxious. There would be sea of black and gold jerseys. Even today, the team will not sell single game tickets to Pens games. You have to by at least a 6 game ticket package (it might actually be 12, I am not quite sure).
I should note that things are changing. DC is where Pittsburgh was in 1990 shortly before the Penguins won their first cup. There is interest and excitement, but it is very vulnerable. If the Caps fail to capitalize, they will be back to their old niche selves.
All this background leads to why the Capitals are so bitter at Pittsburgh:
– The embarrassing history between the two franchises where Pittsburgh wins all the big games.
– The bitterness of being outnumber by Penguin fans at DC home games.
– The natural dislike that arises between two teams who each have a player competing for the unofficial best-player-in-hockey.
You’re right, this is not a rivalry. Rivalries consist on teams winning/losing at a close pace…the CAPS love playing the Pens, because it is a guaranteed victory! We smoked you yesterday. Here we go: Malkin and Crosby were out, well Semin, Poti, and Fehr (the guy who beat Pitt in the classic) were out too. So, go cry elsewhere with Sid and make classier posts fella. With Love.
Guaranteed win? Do you just have selective, short-term memory or are you one of the bandwagon fans who just jumped on last year? How quickly you forget who knocked the Caps out of the playoffs a mere two seasons ago. That’s OK, they got the President’s Trophy last year…how far did that get you?
I won’t touch on your comparison of missing players because it’s laughable.
A clear example of why there isn’t a history of a rivalry between the Pens and Caps: the Alumni game rosters. The rivalry was created when the NHL decided to pit Crosby and Ovechkin against each other as a marketing tool. Even that took a couple of seasons to take off. I feel the need to explain this because you obviously have taken history lessons from your fearless leaders: your captain, coach, GM, and owner.
Yes, a guaranteed win. The Caps are now 9-0-2 in their last 11 against Pittsburgh and 11-1-3 since Boudreau took over the Caps. Your posts are some of the most biased I have ever read. Occasionally, I can respect the opinion of a Pittsburgh fan or writer… Unfortunately for you, that only happens when their opinion isn’t completely biased and moronic. Yeah, we do things to get in the heads of the Pittsburgh guys. Do you know why? Because it WORKS. CLEARLY. Go ahead and use the injury excuse if you want, but the fact is that the last time we played against you guys when both Cindy and Malkin were in the lineup (Winter Classic), your team combined for a grand total of ONE GOAL. Well, guess what. Yes, we shut you out on Sunday when Cindy and Malkin were not playing. But had they been playing, one goal still would not have been enough to get you a victory. Because 3 is bigger than 1 and it is also bigger than 0. Simple math. Man. Every time you guys lose to us (which is often, I might add) all we get from you is a bunch of excuses. In the Winter Classic, it was that the ice was bad, the weather was bad, etc, etc. Were both teams not playing on the same ice, and under the same weather conditions? They even changed ends midway through the third period to combat the direction of the wind, for Pete’s sake. What more do you want. More recently, it’s the injuries. But we’ve already been over that. Cindy and Malkin. Yup. We were without Semin, Fehr, Green for most of the game, and Poti. Fehr, alone, who put up more goals than your entire team combined in the Winter Classic. I find, though, that Pittsburgh fans’ most convenient excuse is the refereeing. So, do me a favor. Look up for me, over the past three, four years or so, how many times the Caps were penalized VS. how many times the Penguins were penalized during Caps-Pens games. The difference is a big one, and it goes in vast favor of your beloved Penguins. But that’s okay, we’ve known for awhile that Cindy has Bettman in his back pocket (literally… or, is it Gary who receives? I’m sure a sex tape of some sort will surface eventually). And even so, the Penguins have done nothing but fail epicly against our Capitals. You can keep going back to the playoffs two (almost three) years ago, but the fact is, that seven-game series (yes, it went to seven games… and was not a four-game sweep, as some of your writing might suggest) is falling further and further back into the past. Recent history: Caps eat Penguins for breakfast. The majority of Caps fans WANT to see Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs, because we know we would tool you this time around, and then we’d get to see Cindy weep (not that that’s uncommon).
So no, we are not obsessed, there is just no team that we enjoy beating as much as we enjoy beating Pittsburgh, for obvious reasons – the first, of course, being that Cindy always makes such a scene during, and after the game. It’s simply a good time watching that kid fully live up to his reputation of being a twat, and he always, ALWAYS comes through for us Caps fans.
Thanks for noticing that a feature called “Bombs Away”…meant to be a rant…is biased. How observant.
You can go on and on about how good you think your team is, come talk to me when you make a deep playoff run.
I love how everyone thinks the refs are biased in our favor. Please, do some research. Or, just read…there are writers out there that have done the research for you. The Pens have pretty much led the league all season in penalties. How is that a bias is our favor? How is it that Steckel delivers a definition Rule 48 hit to the head and receives no supplemental discipline because he was “changing direction” or some crap? Yep, the league is biased in our favor.
The players that you list as being out for your team are laughable compared to the players missing from our line-up. I said it to your buddy above, and I’ll say it again.
I don’t remember us complaining about the ice or the weather after the Winter Classic. In fact, I remember it being that we didn’t capitalize on chances. But, who knows what you all hear down there since you obviously don’t pay attention to what the coach and the players said after the game. You were probably too busy planning a victory parade for winning a regular season game.
If you think that your little games really gets in the head of the players, keep thinking that. More power to you. I think one thing that the whole world saw in 24/7 is that Bylsma and the Pens are focused on each game and opponent rather than some silly attempt at mind games and also the bigger picture of being a Cup contender. We may not have been the ones to knock you out of the playoffs last year, but the Caps have still yet to show that they are more than a regular season show. Do you try those head games on teams in the playoffs as well?
And, yes, obsessed. See, here, we’ve moved on to worrying about the rest of our schedule and what to do now that we’re down so many players. But, I’m still getting a reply from a Caps fan about a game on Sunday against us…shouldn’t you be more worried about your play since then and the teams you’re about to face? But, go ahead, keep talking about the Pens. We know that we’ve got bigger problems than what you bandwagon fans (yes, bandwagon…3 years ago, you couldn’t spot a Caps fan in that place) down there think and we’d rather discuss those. Please return to your message boards.
It is futile to argue with a Captard. Boohoodreau ranted about rooting for the Packers because he “hates the City of Pittsburgh!” I think it is because of that tempting block of yellow/orange love on the heads of their most ardent fans. Rock the Red, by late April it is ALWAYS DEAD.
“Cindy?” Is that all you DC idiots have? Actually yes……your animosity is somewhat understood as you root for a team THAT HAS NEVER WON ANYTHING! Your coach and GM are embarrassments, and your Crosby urinal cakes in the rest rooms and the organist queing up the Crosby sucks music for all Captards to dutifully chant just underscores the lack of class in the organization that starts at the top with Sweatty Teddy, is carried on by McPhee and Boudreau, and personified on the ice by Semin, Ovagkin, and the defenseman with the most points in the NHL who was not even wanted on his country’s Olympic team that year. Finally, and the biggest cherry on the sundae may be the collection of tools “rocks the red!” We love you guys,and always will!