Everyone knows that, right now, Boston is the greatest place on earth to be. With the undefeated Patriots, the almost perfect Celtics, the world champion Red Sox, and the very competitive Bruins, there’s no reason not to smile. However, there is a place that is the exact opposite of this utopia.
Dystopia, thy name is South Florida.
The southern most part of the southern most state has been anything but hot. In an area that features the winless Dolphins, the struggling Heat, and the embarrassing Marlins, one team is finally offering a little bit of hope.
Don’t look now, but despite being a game under .500, the Florida Panthers are just five points out of first place in the Southeast Division, with two games in hand. Although the Panthers haven’t been a consistent team, inconsistency is a staple of the worst division in hockey. The Southeast, commonly referred to as the SouthLeast division, features many of the games rising superstars. In fact, four of the sport’s top twelve point getters come from it. However, only one team (Carolina) has more wins than losses, and the worst team in the league (Washington) calls this division home.
Granted, we can talk about how horrible the Southeast Division is all day, but that isn’t the point of this blog. The fact is the Panthers are giving a glimmer of hope to an area that has seen nothing but disappointment for years. Led by captain Olli Jokinen on offense, Jay Bouwmeester on defense, and Tomas Vokoun in goal, the Panthers are hanging around, and have already survived November, their biggest enemy over the years.
Whether or not the Panthers make the playoffs will not be determined for some time. What’s important right now is that the Panthers are giving light to an area that has been in the dark for some time.
You know things are bad when the savior is under .500. In South Florida, that’s just how things are.
So please Panthers, make the playoffs to save your coach’s job. Make the playoffs to support the fans that have supported you through good times and bad. But most importantly, make the playoffs to show the rest of the world that South Florida exists. Right now, I’m not sure anybody in the sports world knows that.
