Already the joy of internet hockey love flows into my inbox. This is not unexpected, and rest assured, as we continue to cover the NHL and playoffs in the coming months, it shall only serve to make us more bitter and unpleasant to everyone involved.;-)

Yes, the Canucks have been thrown out of the post-season party. We can deal. (We shall even rally, dammit!) But for the moment… self-pity. Now, onto the condolence calls.

Not surprisingly, a few Edmonton fans figured out how to use our online feedback form (they asked their moms!) and sent us their “best wishes” (so cute!). Since we’re known to be rather optimistic in our coverage - plus we made that stupid bet the other day (to be covered more in detail below) - we expected to take a little grief.

[Continued after the jump. There is some BAD language, so don’t go if you’re just going to get all pissy and offended.]

And besides, past experience has proven Oiler’s fans to be somewhat predictable. Without using names, here’s an email sampling I got to enjoy with my morning coffee/whiskey break:

“You always talk like Vancouver was going to the Stanley cup. If you knew anything about hockey you would know that the oilers built one of the strongest team in the west for the season. They are a team built for the playoffs but I guess you just don’t understand that. You lost that bet too, and now you just want to get out of it. Losers.”

Editor’s Note: We never said Vancouver was going to win the Cup, was capable of winning the Cup, or that anyone should have expected them to win the Cup. But you forgot something important: we DO happen to think Edmonton is a steaming cesspool and we fully expect your team to die a swift and violent death. Loser. (*we’ll cover that gawdawful stupid bet in just a few moments.)

“…uR the stupidest people alive. […] Canuck fans DIE. You motherfu&%ing people make me sick. GO OILERS!!!!!!!!!!!”

Editor’s Note: Edited for common decency. And because no one around here gets to say “fuck” today, but me. Fuckitty fuck. Fuck.]

Lest anyone think it’s all bad, there was also this one attempt at brightness:

“The Canucks didn’t have what it takes. […] Next year is the year. Go Canucks!”

Editor’s Note: While I appreciate the positive attitude, next year ain’t helping today. But we’ll save this email to take us through the dark days.

Finally, a Sharks fan posts this to us on his blog:

“Dear Alanah:
Sorry! (sort of).”

Editor’s Note: Thanks, Chuqui. But I don’t think you really mean it.

Okay, now, about that idiotic bet we made with Kukla…

For anyone who wasn’t paying attention, we bet Kukla’s Korner that the Canucks were going to make the playoffs. (*yeah, hindsight is 20/20, people.) Anyway, if the Canucks had pulled it off, we’d have gotten a photo of this die hard Detroit Red Wings fan in a Canucks jersey, etc. Joyous.

But since we lost, the result is dark and unpleasant. We now have to post two videos on this website: the evil Lidstrom goal (known forever as “The Goal”) and the evil Chelios celebration victory dance on Canucks ice, both from a couple years back.

A few Canucks fans weren’t pleased with this bet. Sports Guy North was the most vocal about his displeasure with our gambling habits, and he dropped a few comments on this blog in recent days to let us know.

Since I know he speaks for a few other readers, here are his words:

April 12th, 2006 at 2:31 pm e
This sucks, I dont want to have to watch Chelios being the jerk that he is… why did you guys agree to this? Man.

and…

April 12th, 2006 at 11:40 pm e
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
dont do it. DONT DO IT! mooch on your bet, we wont lose any respect for you if you do! it wasnt a fair bet!!!

and…

April 14th, 2006 at 12:25 am e
Please reneg on your bet… i’m begging you at this point… PLEASE!
you shouldnt make us all suffer for your lack of judgement!

Okay, everyone getting the idea? And believe me, SGN wasn’t the only Canucks fan to bitch us out in the comments and email in recent days. And as it turns out, you were all right and we were wrong. C’est la vie.

So now we have an ugly debt to pay, and that evil video footage will appear on this site on Tuesday, April 18th. The cycle of humiliation may never be broken.

Thanks for all the love, everyone. It’s been special!

(F&#k.)

Update:
Is anyone surprised that, despite losing this fairly public bet to Detroit fans, that it is Red Wings fans that are somewhat sympathetic to our plight, and it is the Edmonton Oilers’ fans sending us trash?

Us neither.

tags: nhl, hockey, vancouver, canucks, san+jose sharks, detroit, red+wings, playoffs, fans, athletes, mailbag, edmonton+oilers, blogs, gambling