So many reasons to root for either the Florida Panthers or the Edmonton Oilers in the 2025 Stanley Cup finals. What? — did you think we were talking sportsy-type stuff? No, we meant political.
Full disclosure: We cats were Panthers season ticket holders in the 1990s, and some of our fondest memories are of moments like Billy Lindsay's goal against Boston and the OT Stanley Cup final against Colorado that went into the wee small hours of the morning. Plus, Parkland dad and Biden fan Fred Guttenberg is a Panther fan, and his son works for the team. So it makes sense that a Florida victory this year would be a no-brainer for us, right? Go, Cats, go!
But — oh. Well. There's so much history between 1996 and 2025.
Politically, Florida has gone totally red in the last 30 years. We had a last few shining moments, but the state has completely strayed from the days of Lawton Chiles's "he-coon" debate into the dark days of MAGA Republicanism. Maybe former GOP Congressman David Jolly, now a Democrat, can win the Governor's race and save the Sunshine State from itself. But maybe not. For those reasons, and because we hate Ron DeSantis with the heat of a thousand suns, we're now kind of reluctant to root for the Panthers for the Stanley Cup.
The Oilers, on the other hand, are from the Trumpiest Canadian province, Alberta. But before you write them off, consider this: Canada hasn't brought home a Stanley Cup since Montreal (yay!) won it in 1993. And Canada's current Prime Minister, Mark Carney, was born in the Yukon but grew up in Edmonton. Did we mention he's a Liberal? That presents a kind of conundrum for Conservative Canadians who don't like Carney (or Justin Trudeau), but who want the Cup to come home.
Okay, here's our stand: We'd be happy with either outcome, but if we had our druthers, let's have Edmonton win. Canada needs the Cup, and it would be a nice bookend to the 4 Nations Face-Off. We cats PURR.
No comments:
Post a Comment