There’s an old adage: If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry…and that may well be the essence of Sens Sickos. Faced with a lengthy rebuild, and a season in which their point percentage would make an impressive batting average, the Sens fan base has turned their pain into humour and embraced the madness. Encapsulating everything that is the tumultuous nature of rooting for this team, it’s become an online sensation (no pun intended…). Started by Brochenski on Twitter (Check him out, one of Sens Twitter’s finest) the movement gained steam this season to the point where the team, players and coaches alike have embraced it, even playing the fan made (Shout out to James Mellish) theme song and displaying cut outs in the arena.
The Sens Sicko Anthem is here! Let’s put a quarter in the Pukebox and get hyped for tonight’s game#SensSickos #Sens #GoSensGo pic.twitter.com/IilmJRSsi1
— James Mellish (@SilverSeekerMTG) February 23, 2021
For an organization that makes the Knicks PR look competent, this has been a welcome surprise. A stroke of luck dropped in their lap that they for once managed not to bungle. The game day interactions & quality humour on Twitter are as deft as a Tim Stutzle pass. Even during blow out losses to Edmonton last week, you couldn’t turn away, and watching Leafs Twitter melt down (despite still being in first place) Sunday night was as good as it gets. Granted, as the guys discussed on the most recent episode of the podcast, it’s a lot easier to embrace this sort of movement given the situation the Sens are in: a rebuilding, up and coming team full of exciting young prospects without the burden of expectations to be better now, as opposed to say, Buffalo…
So what’s spurred this sentiment?
It’s the years of being disappointed and hurt by the team we love. Seeing one star after another leave, the promise of a new arena torpedoed by ownership, Uber rides to infamy…the list at this point would be taller than Big Z. However, amidst the misery, fans have come to understand the oft troubled state of the franchise, and rather than wilt under the stress, they’ve emerged as a sort of impervious ‘Sicko’. Eschewing even the harshest rebukes like (regular season) Patrick Lalime, nothing phases them as the thing is, you can’t say anything we haven’t already heard. In fact, opponent’s jokes miss the target more than Connor Brown or are so weak even Marcus Hogberg could stop them. ‘You’re owner’s broke and a complete jack ass!” Yeah, on his best day. “Your last four captains, and the guy who should’ve been all left in lousy circumstances!” And the next probably will too…
We’ve heard it all, and we still believe.
We still watch. And the greatest part is we do it together, sharing that experience. The excitement. The disappointment. The inevitable agony that is DJ’s lineup decisions. Everything that comes our way. The Twitter community is a welcome respite and emotional lift we sorely needed in these circumstance. I like many others, have had numerous wonderful interactions, all with the understanding that it’s a mess, but it’s ours, and we’re all in it together. We understand the future is bright, and that it can be taken from us at any moment as long as Eugene is pulling the strings. Such is the dichotomy of the Sickos.
From the outside this may seem an absurd, sadistic, almost defeatist attitude, but it doesn’t matter, because the collective of the fans is more significant than anything else. Look at the number of Tweets and podcasts that focus on the Sens, the traction this has gained in such short order. The passion is real, and despite the nonsensical ramblings of the incompetent dolt running things, it’s not going anywhere. It’s the kind of community other franchises can only aspire to. The envy of the online hockey loving community. A grass roots movement that signifies the genuine, deep seated love for the team. A loyalty that perhaps defies logic. It’s quirky, and hilarious, and strange but, ultimately, is it the best thing to happen to the organization and fan base in a while? Yes, hahaha, yes…