First-half jinx recap!!!

The first 41 games of the 2010-11 season has been marked by me making a solid effort to catch every Panthers game over the internet, allowing me for the first time to get a really good look at how the Cats play between highlights. My evil feed pirating vice has been paired with finding local Florida commentary devoid of the stereotypical Panthers hate, giving me a much more rounded outlook on the Panthers. The combination of LBC live threads and Fox Sports Florida have provided all of us with some great jinx related material for the first half of the season (sometimes fueled by my ‘on top of the world/the sky is falling’ reactions when the Panthers win/lose, respectively). The top three recurring nightmares jinxes from our first 41 games:

#1. Three wins in a row  

41 games in, the Panthers have yet to win three games (in regulation) in a row. Ridonkulous, right? The Cats did put together an impressive 3 wins against Phoenix (SO), Colorado (OT) and Washington, but those three felt like quadruple overtime games that they just barely seemed to win. 4 times now, Florida has won two consecutive games, enough to raise our hopes, just to crash and burn in the next game. But why is this a jinx? The last two times the Panthers have gone for three, someone somewhere halfheartedly notices (or everyone everywhere rejoices) that the Panthers are going for three! Hip hip hooray! Of course the Panthers enter the third game half asleep and surrender the two points sometime before the third period. Although I wouldn’t mind winning two out of three and playing onwards and upwards, we seem to slip into a three game losing streak and start the vicious cycle all over again with a pair of encouraging wins.

#2. Bryan Allen and the curse of .500

For those who don’t remember the exact circumstances of the game on January 3rd, here’s the scenario. Entering a divisional game in Carolina, the Panthers hastily put up a 3-1 lead in the third period in a building where the Panthers are horrendous. Things look mighty swell at this point, but two quick Hurricane goals remind us all of Florida’s history at the RBC Center. Upon entering overtime, Bryan Allen scores the game winner to ensure the Panthers a rare win in Carolina. Allen’s victorious post game interview consisted of a seemingly harmless comment. Quoth Allen, "We were wondering when the last time the Florida Panthers were above .500." Well, although we did hit .500 briefly earlier this year, to answer Allen’s question, the last time the Florida Panthers were above .500 was ‘a very, very long time ago.’ How would the Panthers follow up this encouraging win? They would get their game tying goal ignored en route to a 3-2 loss at home. Facepalm—Allen, what did you do? Hey Bryan, maybe the question you should have asked was “We were wondering how long the Florida Panthers will stay above .500?” The answer to that question would be two days. Now note that the loss against Atlanta would have been our third win in a row, but instead started a three game losing streak. Another turn of the vicious circle!!!

#3 The 3-goal lead

By far the most crippling jinx this year has been our impeccable, unshakable ability to blow two and three goal leads. Of course, the opponent would be Carolina, and on the dark night of December 15th 2010 in Sunrise Florida, the Panthers would contract the disease. The first period would end with Florida holding an impressive 3 goal lead against the Hurricanes. But something transpired in the locker rooms that fateful intermission, because we fans could do nothing but watch the Cats lose game in horrifying fashion. 4-3 would be the final score, but the dreaded three goal lead would seemingly cost us many more points then the two that were lost that night. I can’t remember the exact figures to back up my claim, but in the subsequent 12 games since December 15th, no lead has been safe. Two goal lead, you say? We’re screwed!! Three goal lead? No! anything but that, anything! In many ways, Florida holding a lead is like a fat kid holding a candy bar, in two minutes it will be long gone.

Of course, I’m not superstitious or anything, but these things have been remarkably consistent over the first half of the season! Now the pact you have to make with yourself is not to try and be all self-conscience in an attempt to not spring the jinx, breaking these curses is a battle that the Panthers have to fight by themselves! Anyways, the daily adversities that the Panthers are plagued by have made the first half of the season quite interesting!