What's Wrong with Caps Fans?

Maybe its a little harsh of a title. But from what I've seen, its a pretty accurate.

There's been a trend I've noticed, for quite awhile now, that I decided to investigate a little further. Among our little community on here, there is quite a split. Quite an obvious one at that.

From the people I've heard, there is an overwhelming belief that our fanbase is split into groups. And very distinct groups, at that. And not only that, but these groups seem to be very, very set and exclusive. Going into my research on it, I obviously had my own idea of this as well as my friends' opinions, but I was a little bit surprised to see the overwhelming agreement with my own belief.

Caps fans suck. If you've followed me long enough I'm sure you've heard me say this on multiple occasions. Allow me to present evidence to prove my hypothesis:

• The "I've been a fan since they sucked therefore I'm a better fan than you" argument.

Oh my god don't even get me started on this one. There most definitely are people who consider themselves superior simply because "They've been watching the Caps since before Ovechkin." Okay guys, lets get real here. The Washington Capitals before Alex Ovechkin... we had greats, we had one cup run, but for the majority of the time, we were sinking worse than Columbus is this year.

Point being, Ovechkin was exactly what we needed and he turned our beloved team into one of the most popular in hockey. So just because people starting paying attention AFTER he came doesn't make them any less of a fan. Oh, and just because someone is new to the sport, or is learning, doesn't mean they should be dismissed as stupid and ignorant. THEY ARE LEARNING, AND YOU ARE TRYING TO DRIVE THEM OUT OF A SPORT FOR NO REASON.

But honestly just because someone has watched the Caps longer doesn't mean shit. I haven't been a Caps fan for very long, although you wouldn't know it if you asked me to talk about the team. And I'd say I'm one of the most dedicated fans out there, even though I haven't been around long. Readjust your point of thinking on this, fellow fans. Because you're only giving our fanbase a worse name with this kind of BS.

• The "You like more than one team therefore you're not a real fan" argument.

I'm not going to dive too deep into this, because Kate was going to make a more in depth post on it, but I will say a few things. Just because one person can't comprehend supporting more than one team, doesn't mean other people can't. There is a world that exists outside of your own head, I promise you that. Also, you don't know everything. People have different ways of being a fan.

So demeaning someone for liking, say the Caps and the Bruins (common theme its seems), is actually ridiculous. I do get skeptical when someone says something like they love both the Caps and Pens (I just cannot see how personally but whatever), but if its a team that isn't somehow a rival with the Caps, why should it matter? It shouldn't, and attacking someone for it just makes you look like a worse person because believe me, its possible. It would be nice to cut out this asshole-ish argument out.

• The "positivity vs. negativity" argument

I'm overly optimistic. I realize this. But the idea of a positive or negative or "realistic" fan (realism is something most pessimists say because they don't want to be labelled pessimists),  falls under the whole "the world exists outside of your own head" idea. Every single person is different, and every single person has their own way of dealing with things.

I admit that I'm quite loud about my optimism, but I'm not trying to talk anyone who is pessimistic down. Its how I deal with the stress, personally. My argument, in this case, is the difference between between faith and no faith. Which is a whole different issue in itself.

Getting off track. my point, is that the fans tend to group themselves based on this, which is kind of natural, but again the nastiness seems to seep through in all that. Which I will elaborate on in a later point. But its kind of a cornerstone of all of our issues.

• The "Neuvy vs. Vokoun" argument.

Lord. Its been nothing but drama since GMGM went out and signed Vokoun. I'll admit, I wasn't a fan of his after the Tampa game where he totally shat the bed. BUT, I respected that he took the blame. I thought that was important.

But this argument really drives all of us away from each other because we have people who no matter what happens, argue that Neuvy should always be the starter, people in the middle, and then people who actually like Vokoun who feel the need to be silent BECAUSE the loud Neuvy supporters will attack them. Which I have seen before.

Listen. Neuvy fans. Vokoun is here this year and he's done a pretty damn good job too. Sure, he's had bad games, but Neuvy has as well.

Ugh I'm getting off topic again. These point is all leading up to my final point that is the most significant. But one last thing here.

• The "Boudreau vs. Hunter" argument.

This one is my least favorite. This one has been a pain. When the Caps were struggling in November, nearly EVERYONE was shouting about firing Bruce. I wasn't ready to let him go, but GMGM was, and I accepted that. When it happened, I was ready to accept Hunter as my coach, if after a little mourning for Bruce.

But the Caps still struggled under Dale's system, and the fanbase had a short fuse. It wasn't long before I saw posts cursing him out for his coaching decisions in my tags.

As my dear friend Tiff says frequently, opinions are like assholes, we all have one but everyone thinks another person's stinks. And this leads me into my final, and most crucial, point.

• Caps fans don't respect each other's opinions

Look closer. Its obvious. Most of us, if our opinion is challenged by an opposing one, we generally go into defensive mode. And this defensive mode involves the logical fallacy known as 'ad hominem,' in where personal attacks happen in order to prevent the questioning of beliefs.

Obviously, none of us respect each other if we have this divide. The Neuvy vs. Vokoun argument and the Boudreau vs. Hunter argument just highlight it because GOD KNOWS how many fights have been started because of this thing.

It also ties into the whole "I'm a better fan because I've been a fan longer" argument. No respect for anyone who has a differing opinion and that's why we can't seem to get along.

I've talked to my non Caps fan friends about this, and they've all noticed it too. Its harder within this fanbase to be accepted, and MY GOD is it cliquey. And an interesting observation from someone who considers herself somewhat on the "outskirts" of the group:

"The fanbase as a whole is really judgmental... if you're not part of the oligarchy of Caps fans, you're kind of exiled... It's kind of like a high school clique, but worse..."

This struck a chord. I don't know about the rest of you, but its frightening to me. None of these people, who are somewhat on the "outskirts," deserve to feel that way. Its very alarming to me. The word oligarchy sticks out as well... what I picture, is a leader of three different groups, who control who is in and who is not in their group; judging people and acting like their better. Makes me think of sorority rushing and that just makes me SICK. Maybe that's just my imagination running wild but its an interesting analogy...

Its the sad, sad truth. And I've got another quote that should be eye opening for all of you... I asked this person about their feelings on people on tumblr, group/clique wise, and this is the response.

Think about it guys. This statement is so true it hurts. We all love the Washington Capitals and we all want to see them succeed. Why do we all have to be so nasty to each other? Its so high school it hurts.

It needs to stop. All of this is ridiculous, and the pettiness of all of us is pathetic. Obviously some people are never going to get along; that's just the way the world works. I'm not saying we all have to love each other, but we should at least all respect each other and acknowledge that we all have a common interest, and that is our team.

I know talking with people, my own eyes were opened on the subject and personally, I'm sorry about my own contribution to this.

It should change. We're all fans of the same team, regardless of our different opinions. We should be getting along instead of fighting WITH EACH OTHER. We already have to fight Pittsburgh fans, Tampa fans, Winnipeg fans, etc. What is the point of fighting among our own group?

Try evaluating yourself. Think about your own role in this whole ridiculous situation, and think about how you can change it. Its been something Caps fans have been silent about, until now. Fans have spoken, and its time for all of us to open our eyes to it. And I hope anyone who has been feeling like this is the case feels like they finally have a voice in it, because that's important to me that you do.

Think about what I've said, Caps fans. Try not to pull a logical fallacy just because you don't like what I say.

So with all that, I'll leave you all with this. Let's be friends!