Theu200b playoffs begin tonight,u200b asu200b weu200b startu200b a journeyu200b thatu200b will seeu200b 16 teams battleu200b it out untilu200b onlyu200b one is leftu200bu200b to lift the Stanley Cup. Of course, that means there are also 15 teams that didn’t get an invite, so nearly half the league’s fans don’t have anyone to root for.
When your team doesn’t make the postseason, there are two ways you can respond. The first is to spend the next two months hating the world, openly cheering against all 16 playoff teams and dedicating yourself to stomping out any spark of happiness you find in any other fan base.