So, you’re asking about how I got into this whole Blues standings business. Well, it wasn’t exactly a lifelong passion, let me tell you.
It all kinda started a while back. I’d just moved, new place, new faces, the whole shebang. There was this old fella, lived a couple of doors down, seemed a bit gruff but alright. Only thing he ever seemed to get fired up about was hockey, and specifically, the St. Louis Blues. Every time I’d see him, he’d be grumbling or cheering about their last game or where they were in the standings. Me? I knew zilch. Nada. Hockey was just ice and sticks to me.
But, you know, you try to be neighborly. And honestly, I was a bit lonely, still finding my feet. So, I thought, “Heck, why not try to understand this hockey thing a bit?” My grand plan was to be able to have a five-minute chat with him that wasn’t just about the weather. So, my “practice” began: figuring out what these “standings” even meant.
My Deep Dive into the Standings Game
First off, I had to actually find the darn things. I’d just type “blues standings” into my search bar – real high-tech stuff, I know. And then this table would pop up. Points, wins, losses, overtime losses… it was like a secret code at first. GP, W, L, OTL, PTS… What in the world?
So, I started to break it down. “GP” was “Games Played,” easy enough. “W” for “Wins,” “L” for “Losses.” Okay, making sense. Then “OTL.” Overtime Losses? Why was that separate? Took me a bit to realize they still got a point for that. A sympathy point, I called it. And “PTS” was “Points,” the big kahuna, what decided their rank.
My routine became a weird little ritual. Every morning, or after I heard a game was on, I’d go check.
- First, look for the Blues. Where are they today? Up a spot? Down? Oh, the drama!
- Then, I’d check who was above them and who was below. You know, size up the competition.
- I’d also look at the “streak” – W2, L3, whatever. Gave me a sense of their current mood, you know?
It was funny, because I didn’t even watch most of the games, especially at the start. I was just this standings detective. I’d see my neighbor, and I could finally say something like, “Tough loss last night, huh? But still holding that wildcard spot!” And his eyes would light up a bit. Small victories, right?
The funny thing I realized was that following the standings became its own kind of game for me. It wasn’t even about the hockey itself so much as the rise and fall, the slow crawl up the ladder, or the heartbreaking slide. It’s like a really slow, drawn-out horse race. And you get attached to your horse, even if you only check the scoreboard.
Eventually, I did start watching a few games. Knowing where they stood made the actual games more interesting. Suddenly, a regular Tuesday night game wasn’t just a game; it was a “four-point swing” if they were playing a team close to them in the standings. The stakes felt higher because I’d been tracking their progress, or lack thereof.
So yeah, that’s my journey into the world of Blues standings. Started as a way to talk to a neighbor, ended up being this weird little habit. It’s not like I’m an expert now, but I can definitely hold my own in a standings chat. And old mate next door? We talk hockey now, and sometimes, just sometimes, he even cracks a smile. That’s a bigger win than any standings position, if you ask me.
