Boos and Ruus

The Pittsburgh Penguins just won their 2nd game of the series against the New York Rangers by a score of 2 to 0.  It’s a big win for the Penguins and it forces the Rangers to come out and play a crucial game three in New York.  While watching the game, I noticed a lot of chanting going on in the stands at Mellon Arena.

Watching the game got me thinking about booing and ruuing.  Here’s my take on the whole situation…

It’s funny how every time Jagr gets the puck, you hear a lot of boos coming from the crowd.  I can understand that because of who Jagr is.  Yes, I understand he helped us win the Stanley Cup, but he asked to get out of Pittsburgh.  A lot of fans can’t get over that fact.  That’s why he gets the boos that he does.  In the regular season, I don’t know that I’d be on the boo bandwagon.  In the playoffs, however, it’s another story.  You need to get under the skin of the opposing team however you can.

On the flipside, you have the constant Ruus anytime Jarkko Ruutu is on the ice.  These chants, in my mind, are great and are positive reinforcement for the players.  Similarly, you have the frequent ‘Let’s Go Pens’ chants.  I tend to think that they DO help, though there could be an argument made to say that it’s distracting to the goaltenders, especially in the defensive zone.  I’d like to see some sort of study done… but, it’ll never happen!

Now, let me address something that really bugs me… fans booing their own team.  I’ve seen it before (especially with the Pirates as of late).  I don’t think there’s EVER a reason to boo your own team.  Here’s my reasoning.  First… can you do better and/or do you have a multi-million dollar contract with the team?  When you do, come talk to me.  Second… if you want to boo your own team, either don’t go to the home games OR better yet, go to the games when they are away.  By booing your own team, you’re essentially rooting for the other team.

…and if there’s one thing that bugs me more that our own fans booing our team, it’s when the other team’s fans come to our games.  That’s a different story for a different day, however!