I don't know if there's a suitable way to currently write about the Lynx, without someone smacking you down for it.
You've got some members of the media begging their peers to cease writing Lynx obituaries, and others blatantly admitting that they have yet to attend a game this year. You've got fans saying, "Give us happy stories about the Lynx," meanwhile the cynics are claiming, "No one gives a damn about that team."
I just don't understand how this happened. I have my theories on why the Lynx face difficulties in Ottawa, but there isn't one universal, covers-all-the-bases reason. And if I'm confused, just imagine how Lynx owner Ray Pecor must feel.
For the record, I have never looked upon Lynx Stadium as a place where you go, simply to watch OF Val Majewski's tan fade. Honestly, is there anything better than hanging out at a Lynx game on a really great summer night? The sky turns that impossible-to-replicate shade of indigo, and that one fan that you can always hear but never see will be yelling, "Go Hayden!" Meanwhile, said pitcher will probably be torching the opponent with relentless strikeouts. Right around this point, I usually begin having one of two thoughts:
1) "All this and ESPN? I need to hang out in the States more often," or
2) "This is so much better than sitting through the fifth game of the season between the Sens and Bruins/Leafs/Habs or Sabres."
No offence meant to the Sens, or any other local team for that matter. I'm a firm believer in allowing all Ottawa franchises to co-exist. But there's something special about the Lynx. Maybe it's the gratitude you can sense that's almost palpable, and it seemingly extends from the front office right down to the ticket-takers at the front doors. It's never overbearing or desperate, but simply appreciative. And in the face of all the gloom that has surrounded the franchise for years, it's a difficult, yet highly impressive task to pull off.
This team has done everything it can to appease the masses. The Lynx put on more promotions and nightly specials this year than a Szechwan restaurant. If baseball wasn't your thing, at least you could hang around and attempt to win $5,000 or some movie tickets. Given the sparse crowds, you had to like your odds.
But for the last few years, it hasn't been enough, and apparently it will never be enough. The team has a standing date with Allentown, Pa., in 2008, if all conditions of the franchise's sale are met.
It just doesn't make sense. Baseball should be thriving in Canada, instead of dying a slow and highly public death. Canadians have never been as visible within Major League Baseball as they are today. Erik Bedard. Jason Bay. Matt Stairs. Jesse Crain. Justin Morneau. Jeff Francis. Eric Gagne. Rich Harden. Mark Teahen.
So what is holding the naysayers back from supporting Triple-A baseball in Ottawa? Maybe fewer youngsters are intrigued by the game, with more and more of them growing up playing soccer instead of Little League. Perhaps people are put off by the revolving-door of faces and names that pepper the Lynx roster throughout the season. The rub has always been that whenever a player becomes effective enough to make a legitimate difference, they'll be whisked away to Baltimore. That's the unfortunate reality of Triple-A ball.
The Lynx deserve better than the hand they were dealt. And for whatever reason, asking fans with no hockey on the horizon for months to spare some positiveness and $11 every couple of nights, is expecting too much. I don't get it.
TIGER TALE: On Thursday's Pardon The Interruption, there was a discussion regarding whether Tiger Woods "owns" red on Sundays -- the colour he always wears during his final round. If Woods is going to get greedy, why don't we just say he also "owns" boring interviews and pouting as well?
NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE: The MVP Edition Super Bowl XL Opus -- a book containing the definitive history of the NFL, and signed by all of the Super Bowl MVPs, can be yours for the whopping price tag of $40,000. It's amazing that this time around, Joe Montana was able to tear himself away from his son's basketball game to get involved.
DADDY DEAREST: Ex-USC star Matt Leinart will soon be a father, courtesy of ex-girlfriend, Brynn Cameron (who plays for the USC women's basketballers). The school's nickname is the Trojans -- you'd think these two could take a hint.
