Welcome to the State of the Sharks

On Thursday, May 14, at 7pm PDT, the Sharks held their annual State of the Sharks event at HP Pavilion. Each fan was only allowed to ask one question, and encouraged to have more than one prepared in case the primary question was asked before that fan's turn.

With my former employer so graciously telling me they were no longer in need of my services just six days earlier, my calendar was cleared to go down to San Jose to attend it. I came, pad and pencil in hand, with a list of seven questions; my turn came in the 43rd minute of the event.

First play-by-play announcer Randy Hahn did an introduction, then coming out on stage and sitting in order to his right (and with ascending ovations) were Chief Executive Officer Greg Jamison, General Manager Doug Wilson, and head coach Todd McLellan.

It was on a day that two second-round Game Seven contests were being played, a place the Sharks have not been since the lockout. The past three seasons, they have reached a Game Six, with last season's sixth game being longer than two regulation games because it went into a fourth overtime.

But the Sharks have not been able to clear the six-win hurdle in a post-season in which you need to win 16. This year, despite being the best team in the NHL during the regular season, they could not manage even half their normally meager win total.

So like Howard Beale in the film classic Network, "I am mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!" What better outlet for that than to go down and confront those responsible, who to their credit were brave and accountable enough to face fans' questions for three hours?

Yet a surprising number of Sharks fans were not so mad. When the players came out (again in order, sitting to the right of McLellan, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, and Joe Pavelski), they got a rousing cheer. When one person suggested it was time to look to new leadership (i.e. not Patrick Marleau), he was booed.

(So was a person who referenced growing up near where Joe Pavelski played college hockey...Okay that was me, and it might have had something to do with telling him I wore my personalized authentic Green Bay Packers jersey just for his benefit. Just because both the Niners and Raiders have a history of losing to the Packers, everyone seems bitter!)

One said he was elated about the season. Another called us lucky. Plenty said they believed this team has what it takes and will get them next year. One even asked what they needed (from us) to give them confidence!

How many times are fans going to put faith in a team that continually lets them down before they start realizing the team does not have what it takes? With that kind of unconditional support and the great comfort of living in the Bay Area, maybe it's no wonder they do not play like they cannot live with an early playoff exit like their foes do.

It has been over a week since I lost my job, and I still cannot sleep an entire night because I wake up feeling cheated. That is the kind of attitude I want from this team, but I feel like the players just got on with their lives a day or two later.

But that is not to say there was not plenty of anger, and it was not just coming from the fans.

Wilson used the term "autopsy" several times to describe the analysis following the playoff exit. McLellan repeatedly referred to a lack of mental toughness on the part of his players, adding he wanted "talent with a blue-collar heartbeat." Those players talked about being out-executed and out-played.

In my next installment, I will give you the seven questions I came with and the answers or allusions to them that came throughout the night.