Its been a long time….

Indeed, it has been a long time since I last posted anything here, and a lot has happened since my last missive. I feel that I should warn you good folks that towards the end of this article, I may get to a point where my language becomes an issue for the more delicate amongst you. You have been warned….

So, where to begin? well, we didn’t win the play offs, which sucks, but on a positive note (for me anyways) it means I’m not barred from buying a ticket this coming season! Yay me!  Sadly though, the play off finals marked the end of Big Robert Schnabels career in ice hockey, and I for one will be deeply saddened to see him go. The confidence boost he gave players like Ben Wood was immense, and he was by far the best D man on the roster for my money. Good luck with the future, Big Rob.

And Sloughfinally confirmed something we all pretty much knew since Christmas, in pulling out from the league. Kozic clearly hadn’t been happy with the way things were going for his club for a few seasons (pretty much since we joined the league, which moved them from top 3 material to mid table, coincidence? Maybe, maybe not), and to the surprise of no one pulled the plug. Sure, this has caused a few headaches for the remaining 9 clubs (although I’m sure they all knew long before the season ended… Neil Morris certainly seemed to), but plans are afoot to keep things balanced… and no, I don’t know what they are before anyone asks.

And the team building has begun in earnest after a slow start. Thus far, things are looking pretty good. Especially the addition of Declan Ryan to the roster. This now puts us in the same position as Guildford, in having 2 starting quality net minders on the bench. Don’t get me wrong, Foney is awesome, but having someone who can genuinely share the load has to be good for him. If nothing else, it means he will need to be on the top of his game every weekend to remain the preferential choice. (One the other hand, we could have a ‘Storm’ situation… Mike Torchia and Stevie Lyle were both quality net minders, but neither could establish themselves as the #1 guy, which hurt the team). Time will tell on this one.

And we have a new sponsor! Genting Casinos (not a fan of gambling myself, but money is money). Now, I know the event they are laying on for us is short notice, hell, I can’t make it due to other commitments, but it is something new and positive. Not that the reaction of some folks would have you believe that. ‘Too short notice’… maybe, but the club gave as much notice as it could, so it’s unfortunate that some folks will miss it, but c’est la vie.

So, to the sweary, angry bit (I need to vent on this, and it’s my blog so stop reading now if you want to)….

I’ve had a run in with a former Phoenix fan, which I feel deteriorated into unwarranted and unnecessary insults and name calling. Now, i’ve dealt with a,lot of shit over the years from a lot of people, both on the internet and in the flesh. I’ve been sworn at countless times, threatened with physical violence, spat at, and called every name under the sun more than once. Shit, I’ve even been threatened with legal action for what I supposedly said, but whilst I generally do not give a single fuck about this, sometimes, people just go to far.

Now, it is fair to say that this person, who I shall not name (although I’m sure a few of you will guess who it is), has had a history of ‘trolling’ other Phoenix fans on the forum, and popped up on another forum to do what appeared to be exactly the same. Feeling that the situation needed to be nipped in the bud before a thread was derailed, I told people not to feed the troll. Sadly, this person took it upon themselves to use this as an opportunity to engage in insults. Now, I don’t normally mind being insulted. Shit, I can throw insults around with the best of them all day long. This time though, i felt it was extremely uncalled for. Now, ‘Tool’ is hardly a earth shatteringly brutal insult, but in the context of what came before it, it was unwarranted. I pointed this out to the person in question both publicly and privately, which simply lead to more insults, including being told to ‘fuck off’ and told that the peron has no respect for either me or the club.

Now at this point I remained calm and tried to clearly explain why I told people not to feed the troll, but all I got was half arsed nonsense and excuses as replies. This person claimed to have ‘matured’ and that they should not be judged based on their previous record, Well, sorry pal. If you have a history of trolling, and pop up with a troll comment, then I’m going to call you out on being a fucking troll. Hey, I even tried to explain to this person just why they are viewed as a troll, and why their history was relevant, but was told that the ‘red mist’ was descending. Very mature, I think not.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with being insulted, but sometimes I feel the need to bite back. Which I did, albeit in a nice, and polite manner. And what makes it worse is this person would not have the balls to speak to me in this manner to my face. The only thing I truly hate about forums is the fucking keyboard warriors. All full of piss and vinegar when they are in front of their screen, tapping away on their keyboard, but timid as a fucking mouse when face to face with the same people. Me? I don’t give a flying fuck. If I call someone out on a forum for being a prick, I will gladly repeat myself to their face. It’s hardly like I can hide or remain anonymous is it?

And breathe.

This person will probably read this now, and respond in the manner to which I have become accustomed. It’s going to be a long fucking summer.