Can a team win the cup without passion??

The passion I am referring to is not intended to gauge the interest in the idea of actually winning a Stanley Cup, it is a question of the actions of teams and individuals during the 16 wins to acquire that cup. It has generally been tradition that the team that walked away at the end of the playoffs with the title in tow was the team with players and a team concept that, to use a traditional euphemism, left nothing in the tank. The necessity to win at any cost was a very general determining factor in which teams were successful. We’ve all heard the old line “they (team in question) just WANTED it more..” this principle has seemed to hold true until this year’s playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings epitomize the principles of a team game, no retaliation, no stupid penalties, no instigating and some may say no heart. One must understand that it would be futile to argue with success or at least that is the generally accepted ideology. Yet if NBA observers were to argue with Kobe’s seeming indifference during last year’s offseason they would have been faced with the standing MVP and a player leading his team to a possible title. NFL observers prior to last year who testified to the seeming unobtainable task of going undefeated during the regular season especially with the “trouble maker” labelled Randy Moss joining the team would have to revaluate that players seeming desire to win. What was interesting in both instances was the apparent turning point in both cases. With Kobe it was never a question as to his talent or scoring ability, buying into a team concept seemed to always be the knock against Bryant, with Phil Jackson at the helm it seemed to be a mismatch of philosophy, pardon the pun. What seems to be apparent especially on the international scene and is becoming apparent in the NBA is a much stronger emphasis being placed on a team oriented mentality rather than having one or two dominate players on a team. This year Kobe hasn’t had multiple 50 point games and yet his team’s prospects are obviously far higher than last year. With Moss it wasn’t necessarily as difficult to quantify the dramatic turnaround from his days as an Oakland Raider. Moss was able to accept the role that Belichick had designed for him. It was important for him to realize that he served a purpose even when not receiving the ball and adding to his stats, when he ran routes he drew the coverage that a player of his considerable ability should require. That allowed for all the players on his team (Wes Welker, looking in your direction) to allow for an overall team success lasting right up UNTIL the Super Bowl. What seems to be apparent when watching this year’s Stanley Cup final is that when weighing the passion in either team’s performance on the ice or during the press conferences it is not difficult to note an apparent lopsidedness. The Wings seem to be intent on displaying one of the worst aspects since the inclusion of the “instigator” rule, as they have no issue at all with Kronvall making ground shaking hits (even if he leaves his feet on every single hit) they have no issue with Franzen or Holmstrom parking themselves in the crease of opposing team’s goalies. Yet whenever any opposition player seems to call these players to task for their actions the Wings choose those encounters to display a moral high road. Chris Osgood has been the worst example of this throughout this year’s playoff run making most of these games appear as though they belong on the pitch of a UEFA football match. It appears as though he has indoctrinated the usually honourable Franzen into this attempt to solicit false sympathy for the Wings as he dropped to the ice about 4 seconds after Roberts gave him a moderate punch to the head, dropping like Roberts was Kimbo Slice. There is not really an excuse for players attempting to injure another player, or is there? As pointed out on PTI (Pardon the Interruption) it was noted that in the NFL if a lineman has a known injury then they would be a targeted area of exposure for opposing linemen, and it is that players and his teams coaching staff’s responsibility for the possibility of re-aggravating an existing injury, not the opposing team. Hockey and American Football are tough contact sports and both to a degree are a socially acceptable replacement for the warrior spirits and hearts of ancient cravings for these competitions. Primal instinct is very rarely an explanation I offer, because I generally believe we have evolved past a majority of these base instincts, however I defy anyone to attend any Mixed Martial Arts fight, Boxing match or even (as Ms. Danica Patrick proved at the Indy 500) Car Racing as an observer and tell me they are not at least slightly reminded of the film Gladiator or the series Rome. Sports fans blind support were best summarized by Stephan Colbert on his May 12th program stating: “… sports already does good for people, it is the last socially acceptable place to express violence and blind regional hatred…WOOO… Go Team that lives near me…destroy that team from nearby town….My team is the best team and will always be the best…until I move…Wooo!!” All I am suggesting is that along with the very nature of being a fan of a sports team, ones social barometer must be slightly askew. With the supporters of these teams being as passionate as they are it is not unreasonable to expect the same level of passion to be displayed by the athletes on any of these teams. I’m not suggesting the NHL revert to the “Broadstreet Bully” days of the 70’s but it is remarkable to me to hear some of the complaints being placed around young Crosby during the last two rounds of this year’s playoffs. It has been a constant theme throughout his short career that he has been labelled a “whiner”. I seem to recall another player that was notorious for making his objections to calls and no calls very known to referees, and ironically he is the player that all superstars (such as Crosby) will be compared to. Gretzky was always the most vocal guy on the ice or the bench when he played, it was never considered “whining” due to a)He cared and b)He was Freaking Gretzky. Crosby should not be given the same latitude as Wayne right off the bat, however I find it strange that his level of passion and his desire to win seems to be the only knock against him, if Malkin was able to pick up some of Sid’s “bad habits” perhaps this series would be going very different. I doubt that the rest of this series will be any different in regards to which team is displaying a higher level of desire to win, nor will that affect the older slower Red Wings not being called for their obstruction throughout the neutral zone and especially in the offensive zone. If the Red Wings prove me wrong and do display an ability to display some level of intensity other then when they set the circumstances and are able to answer for their actions, Kronvall may be able to register his first fight of the year. I am not sure about that stat, but according to hockeyfights.com Kronvall did not register a single fight last year, I guess he is just very selective or is possibly saving himself for a much deserved pummelling at the hands of Laraque, oh one can only hope….