RDOilerfan wrote on Thu, 21 January 2021 13:22

Do people think that part of the issue with how the Oilers play sometimes which can be loose, has to do with the reaction of the fans to how the game is played? The Oilers won last night, it wasn't a high event game but they got a big win over a tough opponent and there are lots of fans complaining how it was boring. There are bloggers writing articles about it being boring. How the fans feel about a game whether its "boring" or not shouldn't impact how the players play. Those guys should be playing to win every game however way that is because at the end of the day, the only truly important stat is a WIN. Yet, I think it does have an impact on the players because in Tippet's post game comments, he brought up how the media was saying Toronto and Edmonton need to play more defense, so they do that and the media complains the game was boring. So clearly it does impact the players to some degree. So do we as fans maybe need to change our mindset a tiny bit and start accepting wins no matter how they come rather than find reasons to complain about things?

If this was true, wouldn’t we see this team act so gutless for the majority of their games the last 320ish days.

Do they feed off the fans in game? Sure. But they’re pros. The media, and fans, saying online about how a team should play doesn’t ‘inspire’ the team to play a certain way. Look no further than how NFL players view fantasy football and those idiots that mention players and blame players for their lost weeks and whatnot. Heck, look at the NHL and fans shouting shoooooooot on a powerplay. The players have their game plans and their play styles. Fans, and the media, can’t change that.

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