One more playoff rule

Maybe I should have posted that uber-long playoff guide that I teased in an earlier post. Someone I know, who has been watching sports for much longer than I have, clearly knows nothing about how to be a real Montreal Canadiens fan. So I should probably teach him, even though I've only been with this team for as long as the goalie this guy hates. (Oh. I should have mentioned off the bat that he's one of five people in this city still holding out hope that Jaroslav Halak will show up in a Habs jersey and say it was all a joke.)

Attending a Canadiens game in Montreal is a special privilege. The Habs sell out 82 games a season, plus playoffs. Everyone wants to be there. Some people don't understand that. They just see it as a business opportunity, not as a special bond between a hockey team and its crazy-passionate fans. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of scalpers, but just like the fans who only show up during the playoffs, there are the opportunists who only want to make money during the playoffs.

If you get your hands on playoff tickets only to scalp them at a ridiculous markup, you're crazy. You're better off going to the game yourself with a Snuggie and an eyemask, maybe a copy of People magazine.

People love their teams. They really do. But paying a ridiculous price for tickets is a joke. It's rude to whoever buys them, and it just proves that demand is so high that no one in the NHL will think twice about raising the regular prices for game tickets. There are tons of people who would have loved toactually go to the game, not just make money off of someone willing to spend extra (and maybe make some sacrifices in order to do so) because they love their team that much.

There's no excuse. It's disrespectful.