I think that all pro sports franchises (at least at the major league levels) are like those 3-D posters that used to be displayed at the mall all the time – if you let your eyes unfocus until you’re taking in the whole picture what you will see is the face of the owner(s).  This is because players model their behavior on ownership more than coaches or GM’s (even when you have a Belichik holding the clipboard it is the owner behavior of 100% backing the coach that is necessary to create a culture where players will support a strong disciplinarian).

With that in mind, I wonder if there has ever been an owner quite like Ted Leonsis, and therefore if there has ever been a team like the Caps.  Uncle Ted is more accessible to fans than any owner I’ve ever seen, including Mark Cuban.  He gets into fights in the stands for crying out loud – who does that?  He listens to fans, absorbs their input and really, really tries to make them happy.  He tries to stay low intensity and continually tweets and blogs about the importance of being happy.  He  writes in all lowercase and doesn’t sweat grammatical details a whole lot.

Does any of that sound familiar?  How many times have Caps blogs written about intensity problems?  About doing the little things that win games?  About hard work, grinding, and discipline (and other things that don’t provide an immediate feeling of happiness)?  Well in addition to those characteristics, the Caps players also listen to and interact with their fans at a level I don’t think any other pro sports team comes close to approaching.  How many other teams allow the public to just hang out watching practice on a regular basis?  And just like Uncle Ted, I think they try to make their fans happy.

So when they lost to Montreal and everyone spent the whole offseason talking about toughness and being disappointed and presuming another spot in the playoffs, the Caps made Stay Angry shirts and focused all their attention on the postseason – to the point where Ovie even tried to set a conditioning schedule that would allow him to peak late in the season by starting to work harder as the season progressed.  The team moved to a more defensive system.  But listening to them in the media, Caps players spent the whole season virtually ignoring the results of their regular season efforts because their fans, their coaches and their owners were all impatiently waiting for the “real” season to begin.  “This is great but it doesn’t really matter.  What we want to do is win in the playoffs.”  That kind of attitude sounds good, but when you ignore the good it gives you an opportunity to ignore the bad as well.  And ignoring the bad throughout a season instead of working relentlessly to get better is why the Caps have underperformed in the playoffs.

I would like to offer this suggestion: stop ignoring the regular season.  The Caps were nearly unbeatable the year BB took over mainly, I think, because they had to win almost every game just to get into the playoffs.  They won their first round and then lost to a good team in the second round in an epic series.  Since then, getting to the playoffs has become an expectation – but not in a “we won’t settle for less” way, rather in a “we’re entitled to a playoff berth because people say we’re really good” way.  Being as talented as they are, the Caps haven’t really had to work all that hard to get to the playoffs the past couple of years – and it showed as they were ousted both times by teams that spent a year working their ass off just to get into the postseason.

So since the team is listening, and the owner is listening, allow me to encourage them and my fellow fans to consider this as a mantra for the franchise: Every Game Counts.  Grammar counts.  Paying attention to details, taking the time to do things exactly right makes a difference.  It’s the reason that hard workers can beat their more talented opponents over time.  That goes for the positive as well though.  We’re 6-0 for the first time ever and no one seems to be that happy about it.  WTF?  As far as I’m concerned, the Caps have now swept one playoff series this season and are up 2-0 in the next.  They have at least 11 best-of-seven series left to go before they get to the playoffs, hopefully as many as 14 or 15 (I’m guessing 82-0 isn’t going to happen).  Overtime, shootouts, I don’t care.  Wins mean we don’t go home early.  Let’s work for them all and enjoy them all.

I’m also glad the 4th line was rewarded for their hard work with a goal by MP85, whose perfect positioning allowed him to pounce on that Hartnell coughup.