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| Man, we sure did get a lot of mileage out of this pic... |
I have a trial starting in about a week. My stress levels have never been higher, I'm no longer sleeping well, I'm not motivated to work, I can't concentrate on anything and so the deadlines keep piling up, time feels like it's slipping away from me while I feel powerless to do anything about it. And so, the panic keeps getting worse and I don't know how to stop the cycle.
Even with all of that, I still wouldn't change places with ANY member of our beloved Canadiens de Montréal this morning.
They wish they could put a bag on their heads and forget about it, slinking away from the spotlight while nobody notices them. They don't have that luxury. So much credit to Squid, Gio and even Gomer for manning up and standing together to face the music (i.e. the reporters) last night after the Habs' 3rd consecutive shutout loss. Shit, Gomer even admitted that "it starts with me" and that he's part of the problem this year. Squid was apparently barely audible for parts of the interview and Gio was mumbling platitudes in his "Just because I'm the captain, don't expect me to say anything truly meaningful, ever" way.
And poor Carey Price kicked his shoes across the locker room in frustration 'cause, even though he's doing his best, short of skating up the ice himself, there is nothing he can reasonably do to stop the futility.
I don't know what the Habs need to do to get out of this. Martin finally went for the bag skate this morning, but I'm still not sure that's the answer, or, if it was at some point (say, after the Boston game), it certainly isn't anymore.
Maybe it is some form of collective PTSD (as discussed in my morning email chain with GG11) following all of the bullshit both on and off the ice following Patches' injury. All I know is that this isn't the team that I thought we had. These aren't the Montreal Canadiens that fought tooth and nail to get through some rough shit last year through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
They do, however, resemble the Habs that looked as though they had nothing left in the tank after game 3 vs. Philly.
Maybe, due to the shit luck they've had with injuries, the tank was emptied early this year.
I would be worried, but not panicked if there were more than 6 friggin' games left in the regular season. Fact is that there aren't. And that's the problem with psychological trouble and other shit that gets in your head and gives you a rising case of panic-induced-paralysis. Time is the only thing that can ever truly heal that feeling, and when you feel like time is running out... well... I think we've all been there at some point, so we know that it only makes things worse. Especially with the fact that they get to have 21,273 people booing them, yelling at them to get their shit together, and fast. While I don't blame the fans for booing, right now, that has got to be the least helpful thing we can do for our team.
This is the time when teams are supposed to be tuning up for the playoffs. Habs can't do that right now, because they're trying to shake a gorilla off their collective backs - one that is getting heavier by the second.
If they do manage to shake it off, there's a chance that they'll be stronger than ever and potentially even be in a good position for the playoffs. Kind of a "We've been down before - what you're giving us Philly/Boston/Whoever is NUTHIN' compared to that."
But, that's a pretty big if.
Until then, I can only imagine that the panic level among both players, coaches and staff is light years beyond anything that I feel right now.
And that, my friends? Scares the shit out of me way more than a 3rd consecutive shutout, because it doesn't bode well for avoiding a fourth... Or a fifth... Or a sixth...
*panic*
