Open Gameday Thread Flyers @ Ducks

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin' auld lang syne.

-From Auld Lang Syne by Robert Burns

ARTHUR:
Some of you may sing a little Burns tonight-- the lucky ones in full Scottish dialectical panoply. If you get to the above verse, I suggest taking it to heart, especially in regards to the Ducks.

I've always been a fan of Robert Burns, though I know full well that the density of the parlance in his composition has kept him a somewhat obscure poet with American audiences. He is best known stateside for Auld Lang Syne and a translated quote from his work, To a Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With a Plough.

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!

-From To a Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With a Plough by Robert Burns

They seem to be opposing commentaries on human nature: the ease with which we forget in Auld Lang Syne and the curse of enduring memories in To a Mouse...

But, really, it's the same idea. We forget the good times too easily, especially as the hardships in life increase. Logically, one has to make little preparation for smooth sailing, even if one was to be so bold as to anticipate it. The bad times, conversely, can consume us. We forecast their arrival based on previous occurrences. Sometimes, even if all signs point to smooth sailing, we prepare for rough waters, just because the signs have been wrong that once in a thousand times before.

If you talk Ducks tonight, someone will inevitably discuss how much this season looks like last season-- heck, I plan to do it in tonight's question --but there are so many high points we've forgotten.

Sbisa is a great player. In the Pronger rental-- Lupul comes back a little older, of course, but a little tougher as well, so it's mostly a wash --we essentially swapped our Smid stock for Sbisa futures (this is before you even factor in the fact that we managed to pick Kyle Palmieri, Mat Clark, and Emerson Etem with our Pronger picks, while only missing out on Jordan Eberle and Nick Ross). Go Pro and Am Scouting Departments. Drink to that.

In March of this year, we saw 600. Remember when milestones were enough? When just seeing the Kariya and Selanne Show was worth the ticket prices for every loss? The Flash's midlife crisis has been awesome. Drink to that.

We watched Scott Niedermayer retire (for realz this time), and he's joined the organization, at least as a full time den-mother to Cam Fowler, who we somehow greeted on stage at Staples Center with the 12th overall pick. Drink to that.

Surely, we will brace ourselves for players not showing up, for more Carlyle lulls, for Murray threatening moves but not making a move until the Ducks are practically out of it at the deadline, and maybe for the Ducks actually being out of it then putting together another piecemeal defense to try this again next season. Human nature. But peeking through all of that are moments we have no business forgetting.

Tak a cup o' kindness yet.

FOWL!

[Editor's Note: The blog is on autopilot until I stop drinking]