i'm better than austin mathews

and grittier than bitch barner

There’s a problem in Toronto.

The Maple duds are a team filled with talented hockey players.

The overpaid ‘triplets’ of Mathews, Marner and Nylander score many many goals in the regular season.

But in the playoffs?

They disappear.

You see in the NHL they play a fairly wide open game all year.

The referees enforce the rules.

But in the playoffs?

Hockey becomes hockey again and the violence is ever present.

I deeply LOVE playoff hockey.

The regular season is fine, but I prefer the game to be played at an intensity that’s just below that of a bar fight.

But the triplets?

They don’t like it much when the refs stop enforcing the rules.

This is why the Stanley Cup is the most difficult trophy in the world to have your name written on it. It takes sixteen wins to be a Stanley Cup champ.

And each of these sixteen victories require a huge amount of discipline and a lot more grit.

Grittiness is the defining characteristic of a true Stanley Cup Champ.

Talent will only get you so far. Grit wins championships.

And today?

I’m off being gritty - riding 200 miles over 24 hours without sleeping. Many of these miles will be in the rain if the forecast holds.

So, If you’re reading this post when I’ve scheduled it to publish, we hope to be on hour 16 of the 24 hour ride.

And if you’re not reading this post, it’ll be a post about leaving it all on the trail and the disappointment of defeat.

Look, regular season skill is fine. It’s pretty. In life, there’s no well ref’d ‘regular season.’

Life is playoff hockey.

Life demands more.

Life demands grit. Talent might get you into the game, but grit gets your name on the damn Cup of whatever challenge you're facing.

Forget talent. In the real world, grit is everything.

Grind it out you maggots.