Is being a Lowell Devils fan worth it?

I am pondering a philosophical question:

Is it worth it to continue to be a Lowell Devils fan?

I’m not sure anymore. The Lowell AHL team has been under the control of the New Jersey Devils for two full seasons now (well, almost) and both years have been failures. Last year the team was eliminated from playoff contention during the last week or two of the season. This year they are the second worst team in the entire AHL. Only Rochester is worse.

Prior to New Jersey moving into the Tsongas, the Lowell Lock Monsters had also gone through extended periods of regular season futility, but my memory of those losing years doesn’t seem quite as painful as the current stretch. There was even a year when the Monsters finished dead last in the AHL after only winning 19 of their 80 games. That terrible season is the one I find myself thinking about a lot lately.

Somehow I don’t remember that season being as bad as this one. There are extenuating circumstances of course. This year Jen has been going to most of the games with me, and paying attention to her is a lot more fun than watching other people skate. Also, my sister has been a season ticket holder with me since the beginning and she has only gone to a couple of games this year. Somehow being pregnant is more important to her than hockey. Hard to believe, but true.

But it seems like the last place Monsters team at least put a serious effort into each game. Sure they looked like boys playing against men half the time. Sure Nicos Tselios was the single worst defenseman playing in North America at the time, but at least you got the impression that they were working hard each game… and we did have a lot of fun heckling the hell out of Mr Tselios. This year’s Devils team is just plain boring. I feel so sorry for New Jersey fans as my Devils are simply playing the style of game the parent club plays, which means the NHL Devils fans watch the same painfully boring hockey that we in Lowell do, but they pay a whole shit load more per ticket.

Look at the stats. Petr Vrana is our leading scorer with 57 points in 73 games. Those numbers aren’t bad, but they are pretty weak for the team leader. He’s also minus 12. Barry Tallackson leads the team in goals with 22, which is a huge improvement over his numbers last season… until you factor in the minus 22… but for a team leader? Not very impressive. Our number one goalie is Frank Doyle. He has a 13-27-3 record with a 2.15 goals against average and a 0.898 save percentage. Back up Jordan Parise is 4-12-1 with a 3.55 gaa and a 0.889 save%. Those numbers are terrible. Recent addition Dave Caruso has been better with 7-6-0, 2.82, and 0.910. Those numbers are okay for a back up I guess, but they shine compared to the other two guys. And don’t let me forget my favorite Devils player stat of the year… Grant Marshall is minus 30. I think that says it all.

But… but… but… they are just so boring. They are painfully dull, drab, and awful (to paraphrase the Pythons).

The team is taking deposits on next year’s season tickets. I still want to go next year… but then again, do I? I’d have to save up for a while before I could pay for the tickets, but I can still swing it. I just don’t know if I want to put the time and energy into being a fan of a team that isn’t going to put the time and energy into making me interested.

It’s a conundrum.

I thought maybe writing this out might inspire me to make a decision, but it hasn’t. Oh well. Thanks for reading.

(and now the NHL fan takes over for a second and says, Go Bruins!)