A Fan Divided

If hockey and SNL were the same thing, life would be grand.

I never thought I'd have anything in common with a superhero. But my dual nature is causing me to have a bit of an identity crisis.

As you may already know, I'm a TV fan and a hockey fan. Thursdays in October are supposed to be an embarrassment of riches. Instead, I find myself torn between two loves: TV or hockey? Hockey or TV?

I thought it would be easier to catch up on TV a little later and watch hockey live. (Believe me, three years ago this would have been unheard of. Unheard of, I say!) However, due to a faulty DVR, I can't just do like I did last season and tape a show while watching a hockey game in HD, then watch it as soon as the game is over. Unless I want to watch the three minutes that my DVR decided to tape, rather than the whole episode.

Hockey or 30 Rock? That's been my big question these last two weeks, and those of you who know me know what a difficult decision that is. For those of you who don't, well, here's what I said last year during my season premiere vs. home opener debate:

To put things into perspective, the 30 Rock premiere is like the TV equivalent of the home opener when your team is coming off a wicked last season and a Stanley Cup win, but not in a bucktoothed Sidney Crosby kind of way. I love Tina Fey more than Carey Price loves Garth Brooks. I speak more highly of Tina Fey than Jacques Demers does of Guillaume Latendresse.

Clearly, this was and still is a love triangle of WB-size proportions. I chose hockey but still had 30 Rock at the back of my mind. And then the Habs lost both of their Thursday games. They couldn't even score yesterday between 8:30 and 9 just to make it worth my while.

Who's at fault here? Videotron, for refusing to replace my defective DVR? My beloved Canadiens, for scoring outside of 30 Rock time? The Sabres and Maple Leafs, for beating my team? NBC, for changing my favourite show's timeslot in order to benefit new comedy Outsourced? Should I blame Outsourced for existing, even though I know one of its staff writers and he's a really funny guy?

I'm not sure. I think I blame Outsourced. (My apologies, Sonny.) And the Leafs. It's always their fault.


Dear Montreal Canadiens: Please start winning on Thursdays. At least until you start winning some Emmys. Love, Rookie.