Moving On

            It hasn’t even been a full day since we were forced to say goodbye to our beloved Aeros, and already some of us are craving for a hockey fix again. Except, the problem is, how do we fill our hockey craving now? We can’t go back to – and it hurts to say this – Toyota Center, the former Aeros home that promptly packed up our stuff and tossed it out on the street when we couldn’t afford the $42K rent. We can’t sit in our seats and shout in favor for so-and-so punching what’s-his-face. And we can’t chant and rub in the fact that our rival team sucks so much. So, with nowhere to cheer and no team to cheer on, what are we forced to do? Well, until Houston gets a team again, the answer may be less than desirable to hear, but it might be enough to distract you from your hockey woes at least for a little bit. Some of the players we’ve come to know and love are still in action, and for now, cheering them on and watching them succeed is the only way we can begin to move on.

Obviously the Minnesota Wild, prime affiliate of our now former Aeros, is holder of many of the players we’ve known from their rookie years. We’ve watched these players grow up and mature, hoping to get that NHL chance that they’ve dreamed of since they were babies skating before they could walk. And like a cheesy movie quote in a two-star chick flick, we want our guys to be happy, even if we’re still having a hard time; and despite our pain, I believe many Aeros fans are already sitting at home, TV tuned into NBC, watching our baby Aeros score away on the Blackhawks, getting their first win of this series (and I should note – HAHA! SUCK IT MIKE MILBURY! DIDN’T GET SWEPT!). Fan favorite, Jason Zucker scored the OT winning goal, like he did oh so many times when he was here with us in Houston. Along with Zucker was Stephane Veilleux, who can be remembered as “Hurricane Veilleux”, made his Wild debut tonight, making his nickname clear as he caused mayhem wherever he went…god I love that ginger. Older Aeros fans are also applauding the remarkable performance by goaltender Josh Harding, who despite being recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, filled in on short notice when Niklas Backstrom was injured on a freak play in warm-ups before Game 1. There are other former Aeros such as Charlie Coyle, Jonas Brodin, Clayton Stoner, Cal Clutterbuck, and so on, any of whom you wayward Aeros fans can cheer on while the Wild hold on in the playoffs.

If the Wild isn’t enough for you to get your cheers out, there are many other Aeros scattered across the leagues. Infamous Matt Kassian, playing for the Ottawa Senators now, is also still active in the playoffs – in a series that has taken as many teeth in three games as a puck took from Crosby in three seconds – which gives you a team in the Eastern Conference to cheer for. A league more our style however, playing for the Hershey Bears who still remain in the AHL Calder Cup playoffs, is former Aeros captain Jon DiSalvatore alongside defenseman Chay Genoway, forwards Casey Wellman and Jeff Taffe. Actually, now that I mention it, instead of moving to Iowa, I think our team really just moved to Hershey. Hershey Aeros has nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Alright, I kid, I kid (sort of). Jokes aside though, there are other teams to cheer on than the Wild if you feel the need to take up multiple teams to replace the one we all lost.

The Aeros season, and franchise, may have been cut short, but rest assured fellow fans fighting off your depression, there are still teams to cheer for, and you don’t even have to learn new names. We stayed by our team until the end, and there’s nothing stopping us from doing that now. We have to adopt a new team anyways, the Iowa Wild, so why not adopt a bunch of new teams? It might take a few teams to make up for the one that was ripped away from us. So sit back Aeros fans as you drown your sorrows in beer, sit back and enjoy watching/listening to your former Aeros score and defend like the players you remember them being.