Orange and Black Listed

BY ERIC LONGENHAGEN I’m going to keep this short because I don’t want to waste too much time on either of these guys.  Last week the Flyers traded away two of their best players, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, for a prospect pu-pu platter in order to clear cap space to sign a terrific goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov. Good riddance.

Carter and Richards were the face of the Flyers in the post-lockout NHL, a new-look league which underwent drastic rule changes in order to promote scoring and attract more casual fans.  They knew it, and took full advantage.  Both guys were seen drinking and partying into the wee hours of the morning in Philadelphia with a considerable degree of regularity; whether they had work the next morning or not. They’d crash St. Joe’s or Temple frat parties and enjoy the company of girls, typically seven to eight years their junior. Sure, they’d arrive to the Wells Fargo Center the next day, throw on their sweater and play some terrific hockey, but they never optimized their talent nor approached the sport with an urgency or passion that reciprocated the intensity of the fan base.  They worked as hard as was needed to maintain an above average level of play and stay famous in the city, allowing them to maintain their playboy lifestyle.

I realize Richards and Carter have the right to do what they want in their free time.  They haven’t driven drunk or sexually assaulted anyone or done anything explicitly wrong.  If they want to party and have a good time, that’s their prerogative and they certainly should be able to.  It’s a free country.  But just as Richards and Carter can act as they chose to, I can react to and judge those actions.

That being said, I condemn them as morons.  They are kind of people who act like this:

They are not people who I want to work or hang out with, and certainly not people I want to root for 82 games each winter for the next ten years.  Richards and Carter broke the fourth wall and assimilated themselves into the culture of our city.  I did not like what I saw and am glad they’re gone.  I wish them both the best of luck as they troll for freshman girls at UCLA and Ohio State next season.