Father Time remains undefeated. It might be time for the Stars to properly acknowledge that.
Oh okay. I guess I'm just gonna cry then.
I guess some context:
I got into hockey originally when I was 20 fuck I'm old. Like, I was 10 when the Stars won the cup and I watched the game that ended the series with my parents, because I lived in a suburb of Dallas and it was a Big Deal even if you didn't know hockey.
But when I was 20, in 2009, I had moved to Arizona to escape a bad family situation and had come back just to visit my mom. And I don't remember why exactly but she took me to the Dr. Pepper Starcenter and there were these media guides that had Brenden Morrow on the cover, and I remember taking one and obsessively pouring over it.
And I got really into the team. That year Jamie was a rookie - I remember actually thinking James Neal was going to get the C next, not him, but it would be between him and Jamie. And Jamie was a rookie!
But he became my rookie even if I didn't believe in him. Kinda in the way you fall in love with a little puppy no one cares about at the animal shelter because he's a Chihuahua and there's tons of them. He's not special.
I got back into hockey in 2022 and I couldn't believe Jamie was still on the team. But I felt like that day, back at the Starcenter - like coming home.
He's not perfect. Most of fandom hates him because he doesn't bunch mox or he said a shitty thing about the Sedin twins a decade ago or he proved he's a typical rich white guy who doesn't know anything, liking that Candace Owens post. And that's fine. People can hate whoever.
I know he's slow and he does stupid penalties and makes awful decisions (the cross check to Stone.) He's not really media friendly anymore and he has stupid tattoos. I get it, I promise I do.
But it's hard to stop loving the unloved puppy at the animal shelter. Especially when it's your first pet. When it's your rookie. Like the way people feel about Wyatt now, you know?
I'm just not ready to let that coming home feeling go.
