So the NHL canceled all games through November 30. Color me surprised. I tweeted this earlier, but I’m going to expand upon my simile. This is like high school. Homecoming/Winterball/Prom is a month away. Even though you realistically know that no one is going to ask you to the dance, there’s that tiny part of you that secretly wonders if someone is going to ask you out of the blue. As the days pass, you feel disappointed, but you tell yourself it doesn’t really matter because you already knew that no one was going to ask you to the dance. Does it make it hurt less? No, it makes it hurt more, because you feel like an idiot for getting your hopes up. The NHL clearly didn’t get asked to many dances, because they’re milking this tactic for all it’s worth. Realistically, we knew that we lost an 82 game season in October, but we feel like we lost it all over again when the NHL and the NHLPA couldn’t come to an agreement. We’re upset because “I knew there wouldn’t be an 82 game season but they got my hopes up again, so I’m just an idiot who played into their hands.” We know realistically that the two sides are not meeting often enough, and that if we see any games in the NHL this season, they won’t happen until 2013. Yet each time the NHL cancels more games, we feel bereft, with a renewed sense of loss. Let’s just accept the fact that any schedule set up now is lost to us. Don’t fall for the NHL, and the band-aid they are slowly ripping off your heart. Take a hold of it yourself, rip it off, and tell yourself things will be different next year.