What a dilemma !!
Probably the tightest Memorial Cup of all time and I don’t have many options regarding who to root for as the tiebreaker game goes tonight in Shawinigan between the Edmonton Oil Kings and the host Cataractes.
The winner of the Tiebreaker Game tonight will go against the St John Sea Dogs tomorrow night in the Semifinal.
And of course, the semifinal winner will move on to meet the London Knights in the Memorial Cup Final on Sunday.
The 2012 Mastercard Memorial Cup hasn’t been perfect, but it has been tight.
For the first time since the 4 team concept was developed some 30 years ago, all 4 teams had a shot at getting to the Final heading into their final round robin game.
But for me, it was of little consequence as the teams involved have very little personal appeal.
You know how I feel about the ” host ” team in these affairs. You either win your way to the Memorial Cup or you don’t. A team that’s entered simply because they’re the host and goes on to win it, creates a tainted champion in my view, so I can’t root for Shawinigan.
I can’t root for St John, certainly not after they tanked their final round robin game a year ago at the Cup Mississauga against Kootenay, forcing the shorthanded Owen Sound Attack to play in the tiebreaker game.
And there’s no way I can root for London- pick any one of 10 categories for justification there.
All of which leaves me with the Edmonton Oil Kings, currently on a 2 game losing streak and facing the prospect of beating everybody else over the next four days to win the 2012 Memorial Cup.
What a dilemma.
I’m Fred Wallace