There's nothing to moan about

 

YOU'RE SCOTTISH

It hurt. It hurt a lot at the time, and we all wanted it just to be over. But you could see it hurt for them too, far more than it did for us. And to suggest otherwise is ludicrous.

I'm talking about the Scottish Cup Final, in ice hockey, between Caps and Aberdeen Lynx. We went in with eager faces, and left with tails drooping. The northerners scored within 30 seconds and then kept on coming. By the end it was 9-3 and the only consolation was that the Lynx fans didn't get the double figures they were chanting for. It was a sad end to our season.

But then the moaners started on social media. The players were embarrassing, they weren't trying, they didn't care, why had we bothered going up to Dundee...etc, etc.  And, in some way, that was the worst bit. Because it clearly wasn't true, and why do that on a public forum where the players or their families or friends can see? The team needs our support in loss as well as victory.

Two years ago this team didn't even exist. In their first season they fell out of both Cup and Playoffs at the quarter final stage (1st round!), but finished a close second in the league title race. They brought in crowds of over a thousand regularly. They proved that they could beat any team in the league on their day, and created expectations in the fanbase. They gave people hope, which I wrote about last March.

For longstanding Caps fans this was a revelation. OK, so we were no longer in the EIHL, the top level of pro hockey in the UK, but in the much lower level Scottish National league. It was a bit slower to watch, less skilful. But that was soon forgotten. Firstly because we had 'our' team back on the ice again. Secondly, because, unlike the EIHL days, we were competitive, in a league where almost everyone else was too. Matches were exciting, unpredictable. Entertaining. Hence the bigger crowds. ('Old' Caps struggled to get much more than 700 people through the doors.)

In only their second season they again finished a close second in the league, so they remained as  competitive. They also took part in a new, smaller competition called the Northern League, which mixed 3 SNL teams in with one from the NIHL (a, in theory, higher level league), the Blackburn Hawks. And Caps took the trophy. In the SNL playoffs they took another bit of silver away, winning the final. And, as we already know, one week later finished runners up in the Cup. The signs of improvement from last year are obvious. Oh, and the crowds are even bigger now, topping two thousand on one occasion.

So, far from being the disappointment that that final game gave rise to, this was a season of triumphs, of expectations raised even higher, of trophies in the cabinet. And promising a Season 3 that could, should, see further upwards progress.  Even that final trip was memorable, being part of another huge crowd for the SNL, sharing the experience with others.  And we got to give Daffy a run.  (Who's Daffy? - that's for the next post...)

Finally, to all those who had a go at the team for that final game - you're Scottish, aren't you? If, by now, you aren't used to teams that sometimes turn in utterly underwhelming performances then can you call yourself a true Scot?

Isnt it a bit warm for this?

 

Previous posts mentioned being back Murrayfield ice rink to watch the return of the Edinburgh Capitals. The season has been over for a couple of months now, and won't return until September. But at least there's still been events to follow. The same coach remains in place. Most of the top players have signed up for next season, plus a couple of new faces. Sadly my personal favourite has returned to Germany, but you can't have everything. We still look like having a team that, once again, should be challenging for silverware. More to the point, we have another season of hockey to go to, after so many away from the sport.

But, unlike previous years, there's a new aspect to the off season. Murrayfield ice rink has been converted into Murrayfield roller rink (and has had a decent paint job to spruce it up). That's kept the punters coming through the door. And offered up the chance to see a another variation on sport, but still with Caps playing. Inline roller hockey.

We missed out on the first match due to another commitment (which was a shame, as it sounded like a thriller, Caps beating Dundee Tigers 7-6), but went to our first game today. Playing against Whitley Bay Sea Kings, this would prove an easier challenge for the home side, ending up 13-4 in our favour. So maybe not the most competitive of games.

But it was still fascinating, to be seeing the similarities and differences in relation to the 'normal' hockey that is our standard diet there. The skills are broadly similar, as is some of the equipment, and the rotating bench of players. There's one few player on the ice for each side, only one official, and the pace is slower. Rules are simpler too, with no offsides, no icing (or equivalent), no heavy body hits. There was only one brief fight, tame in comparison with those it's icy companion throws up, and provided the only penalties of the game. The clock continues to run down, even when a goal is scored, so the periods are much shorter. throw in the removal of Zamboni time and the roller game is over in an hour or more less than the blade one. If the overall spectacle is a bit less exciting than the winter games, it was still a fun watch.

But the biggest difference was in being a spectator, and not just because there were a lot fewer of us. It was the novelty of sitting in the rink, looking at my bare arms, and wondering where my usual five layers of clothing had got to. On what was one of the hottest days we've had this year, it was a relief to come in out of the sun to a place that was considerably cooler than being outdoors. But not so cool that you couldn't sit there comfortably in shorts and tee. This is not something I will be repeating once September arrives, and that interior gets back it's usual title - Freezerfield.

Sometimes it's good to be disappointed

 

ENJOYING THE DISAPPOINTMENT

Back in November I wrote about being back at Murrayfield Ice Rink (now renamed Murrayfield Ice Arena) and being able to watch 'our' team again, the Edinburgh Capitals.  I wrote about the sense of belonging, and the return of those old feelings of hope and disappointment that came with being a Caps fan.  Now I write, a few hours before the final match of the league season, about how disappointing last night was.  And how much I savour that sense of disappointment.

Four months ago we were watching a team that was largely comprised of ageing veterans and inexperienced teenagers.  A team playing it's first home match because, up until then, they'd had no ice to call home.  Who'd had to cross the water over to Mordor (aka Fife) for their first training sessions.  Who'd played all their early league matches on away rinks.  Who'd had their first home match postponed due to technical issues, so that their first experience of skating out on Murrayfield's ice would be to play the league leaders.  (In front of a far bigger crowd than many of our youngsters had encountered before, which they initially found quite daunting.)  It was good to be back, good to have a team to support, and there were no great expectations.

If, back then, you'd have told me that we were going to finish second in the league, and that we'd be in the hunt for the league title until the final few minutes of the second last match, on the final weekend, I'd have bitten your hand off.  I don't think I'd have believed you.  Why raise such unrealistic hopes?  But here I am, feeling disappointed that the team couldn't quite manage it.  And savouring that disappointment.

Because to be disappointed you have to have had hope.  Which is something this team have given us.  Back in 2018, when we were last able to watch the Caps perform, 'hope' was largely defined as "let's hope we don't get totally gubbed this weekend".  The standard of hockey might be a bit lower than it was back then, but the standard of hope has been raised considerably.  A few weeks ago we were in a position where, if we won all our remaining league matches we'd be champions.  That hope was fully kindled when Barbara and I travelled up to Aberdeen and watched our guys beat Lynx, those aforementioned league leaders.  Then we lost to that same Lynx at home.  But hope returned, as both teams, went on a losing streak, and suddenly the outcome of the season came down to one more game up in the north east.  So important a match that Aberdeen even put on a live stream, for the first time in SNL history.  And hope burst into life when we took an early lead.  Only to be dashed in the closing moments, as we went down to a 3-2 loss.  A deflating moment, yes, but this morning I can enjoy my disappointment.

Tonight the Caps play North Ayrshire Wild, a team who've only won two games all season.  It's now a meaningless fixture, in terms of league positions, but it's still hockey, it's another chance to cheer on our team and enjoy the spectacle.  It will, hopefully, bring another big crowd to Freezerfield, and the size and passion of the support has been another big surprise of the season, with numbers exceeding fifteen hundred at times.  It will be fun.

It's not quite the end either.  The final league positions are used to determine the seeding for the end of season playoffs, and Caps will have a quarter final against Kilmarnock Thunder.  Win that, and we'll be into the Playoffs Weekend, being held at Murrayfield on 8th and 9th of April.  Another chance to win some silverware.  Another chance to hope.  And maybe, this time, skip that sense of disappointment...?

The lion in the freezer

 BACK IN THE FRIDGE

When we first moved up (and in my case back) to Edinburgh the dominant element of our winter social life was in Murrayfield Ice Rink.  From September until March there would be few weekends when we wouldn't be in our regular seats, shouting on the Caps, and getting to know more and more people in the crowd.  But after March '18 there was no more Caps to go and support.  They lost their contract for the ice time at the rink, and were replaced by Murrayfield Racers.  We did try a couple of visits to see the latter, but it wasn't the same.  I knew too much about the way their management, and that of the rink, had gone about things and it neve sat well with me.  I couldn't become a Racers fan.

In 2020 the rink closed due to lockdown, and thereafter failed to reopen, due to a combination of technical and financial problems.  This summer brought the surprise move that not only would it be opening, but the new owners were involved with the Edinburgh Capitals, and they would be back on the ice for the 22/23 season.  Not at the same pro level they had been back in the old days, but in Scottish National League.  A lower, slower standard of hockey.  But still hockey.  And still our team.

For various reasons there were delays in getting the rink operating again.  The team had to travel to train and play only away matches.  But they were back, and starting to win some games.  We went up to Dundee to see one match and enjoyed what we saw.  But it's never the same as being at home.  Last night reminded us why.

We wondered what sort of crowd would turn up.  If there would be anything like the same enthusiasm and passion that the fans had always brought, even when they were watching defeat after defeat.  If the spectacle would be as engrossing, and emotionally involving, as it had been.  And if they really still were 'our' Caps.

There was, it was, and they were.  I don't know the numbers, but that was one of the biggest crowds I've ever seen at a hockey match in The Fridge of Dreams.  The crowd were behind the team, and there was still the same emotional connection.  It'll take me a few games to be able to immediately recognise all our players.  I can happily accept that the standard of play is lower than that which we'd once been used to, because there's still that sense of involvement in the game itself.  That feeling of being a part of something greater than yourself.  Belonging.

There have been a lot of improvements to the place itself, but mostly it remains the old barn we both laughed at and loved.  The same old rickety seating, the same dodgy PA system, and, very definitely, the same temperature that earned it the name Freezerfield.  And, for this game, same old Caps.  Looking like they were going to get hammered, suddenly generating a surge of hope, and ultimate disappointment.  From 0-5 down they got back to 3-5, and all seemed possible again.  Until the next goal.  It ended 4-6.  Against the league leaders, so we can't complain too much.  There will be wins coming soon...

I'll admit it

NEEDS CHANGE

I am not a good driver.  That's not a statement I'd have been happy to make a few years ago, but times change. 

I've been driving for 45 years and have no idea how many thousands of miles I may have covered.  All kinds of vehicles, including a double decker bus.  Left hand drive, right hand drive, manual, automatic, three speed, four speed, five speed, six speed, saloons, estates, hatchbacks, sportscars, vans, off roaders, diesel, petrol, two cylinders, three cylinders, four cylinders, five cylinders, six cylinders, and a brief shot at a rotary Wankel.  An open wheel racer and towing a trailer.  Long distances - about 650 miles was the furthest in a day - different countries, different laws, very different driving standards.  I suppose I could even claim to have been a professional driver, if you'd count punting an ancient ice cream van over the coastal roads of East Lothian. 

And I always tried to take it seriously, keep learning, keep finding ways to be a bit better, a bit safer, a bit quicker if needed, able to read the conditions and the traffic, able to stay relaxed, able to minimise the fuel consumption and not punish the vehicle.  I picked up little tips.  On a long night trip clean all the glass, except the rear window - reduces glare for lights behind you.  On an unfamiliar road you can often figure out the way ahead by keeping an eye on the line of the trees (not such a useful skill in the age of satnav!).  I liked driving.

We're into May now, and I think I might have driven about three or four times since the new year began.  And that's been the pattern for the past twelve and more months.  Before that the car got a weekly outing over the winter, from September until the end of March, taking us to Murrayfield Ice Rink to watch the Caps play.  And the odd longer trip to watch away matches, and Nottingham in April.  But with that option now denied us the wheels have sat still, the brake discs dulling, moving parts unmoved.  And parts start to seize up with disuse.

As does the driver, or at least his skills.  The reactions lose an edge, the judgement is less able, the confidence siphons off.   Now I'm near to having to think about what I'm doing, the instincts built up over decades atrophying, the enjoyment gone.  It's become a chore.

And so why bother?  I live in a city with award winning public transport, I'm fit enough to walk much of the time, the bus pass can take me anywhere in the country for free, and if I book early enough the train is no more expensive than driving, plus I get to read on the way.  So it's time to contemplate the radical.  Not owning a car.  I've had one for most of those four and a half decades, had some interesting steeds along the way.  But the interest, even fascination, with the skills of driving have long since faded.  And my life, as lived now, simply doesn't need a car on tap.  There's no use case to justify the expense of road tax, insurance, MoT, servicing, repairs and depreciation, when a hire car can be obtained cheaply at quite short notice. 

It's not gone yet, and I'm not sure how emotional I'll feel when it's no longer sat there.  The sensible decision isn't always one your fragile ego is as eager to accept as you hope it will....

2018, not all bad

SOME BEST BITS

2018 - what was that all about, eh?  Probably not a year that history will look back on kindly.  The orange man-baby stayed in the White House, his behaviour becoming ever more bizarre and alarming.  At least the US has a constitution that manages to contain the worst excesses of the wannabe dictator, but has Brazil?  The election of a brutal, homophobic misogynist takes the Trump trend a dangerous step forward.  Meanwhile the UK does it's best to compete with America as leading international laughing stock as the farce of brexit continued to display the embarrassing incompetence of UKGov and aggressive vacuity of the brexshiteers.  Scotland remains in the grip of a regime for which it did not vote and dismisses every issue it raises, the union feels more broken by the day.  And if the far right is now a major threat to world stability it still takes place to the potential catastrophe of climate change - which brings us right back to the culpability of that corrupt crook in Washington....

So I'm going to indulge myself and look back at some personal highlight from a year that saw me go to 38 music gigs, 29 dramas or musicals, 27 comedy shows, 27 films on the big screen, and 1 poetry evening.  I like to keep busy.  And Edinburgh does insist on running all these festivals!  Oh, and I managed to get through 54 books.  So my way of having a more cheerful look at the recent 365 day period is to think back on what were my highlights in all that entertainment.  And maybe a couple of disappointments.

Starting with best new music discovery.  That one doesn't take a second's thought because The Kinnaris Quintet, first seen in February and again in November, could count me as a fan from their opening number.  Their first album, Free One, is superb and has had many plays Chez Crawford, they have stage presence to back up the musicianship and imagination of their arrangements, and a couple of brief chats suggest they're pretty nice people as well.  More in 2019 please.

Best play wasn't nearly as obvious, with some excellent candidates like McGonagall's Chronicles, Ken, Infinita and the surprising Sob Story.  But I'll go for Still Alice not just for the quality of the performances and the staging, but for tackling such a tricky subject so well.

My favourite film was one of only two documentaries I went to see.  But Nae Paseran! has characters, storyline, excitement, humour and pathos to match any drama, as well as an important political message.  Going back to my opening paragraph, this film is a powerful reminder than even small actions can have big consequences in the fight against the rise of neofascism.

I'd like to have chosen someone new to me for my favourite comedy act, but none really stand out in my memory.  Honourable mention to the very entertaining Iain F M Smith who I'd happily go to see again, but he's perhaps more storyteller than actual comedian.  So I'll go for the man who made me laugh like no other all year, the surreal ragdoll that is Dylan Moran.  I'll add a mention for two local acts that rival, when measured in chuckles, giggles and guffaws, the best the Fringe has to offer - Stu and Garry and Morrison/Sutherland that goes by the name of Fanny's Ahoy!.  Who needs the big names?

It's become our habit to leave the final day of the Fringe free of bookings, and go up to the Half Price Hut to choose a couple of random shows.  We ended with a musical called Trump'd which, sadly, was probably the biggest disappointment of our August.  But that was trumped by the most enjoyable surprising discovery of the year, Where the Hell is Bernard? performed by Haste Theatre Group.  Weird and wonderful and utterly memorable.  Still makes me laugh when I think of them going down the "escalator"....

My favourite read was by far the oldest text I tackled this year.  You know those books you buy and they go on the bookshelves waiting (and waiting and waiting) until the moment you feel ready to tackle them?  So it was with Don Quixote.  As with so many books pre-twentieth century it means persevering through the first thirty to fifty pages while your head adjusts to the author's mindset and language.  Once over that hump you're in a different world, surely a major objective in reading fiction.  The society described might be very different to our own, but the frailties, cruelties, kindnesses and love of humans are very familiar.  Plus it's laugh out loud funny at times.

Some oddities to end on.  Biggest disappointment of the year was the demise of my beloved Edinburgh Capitals.  No more hockey, for the moment, and much as I'm enjoying discovering the pleasures of rugby spectating it's still no real substitute for what was lost.

Best personal achievement was completing the fifteen and half miles of Kiltwalk  in what I felt was a respectable time for my advancing years.  Not just for managing the course, but the pleasures I got from the practice walks I went on and wearing a kilt after so many decades.

I'll end on the most special surprise of the year.  Going to see that lovely, lovely man Henry Normal and finding he'd written a poem for our 21st wedding anniversary.

Well done 2018.  There's always joy out there to be found, and sometimes it's in as simple as putting one foot in front of the other.  In a skirt.

From Fringe to Fridge

MUSIC, FILM, COMEDY AND... HOCKEY

Monday - Fringe came to an end, and we fitted in a final couple of shows courtesy of the half price hut.  Tuesday - Return to the Fridge of Dreams, and a first chance to see some of the new players that will make up the Edinburgh capitals team this season.  Monday - Hot, sweaty rooms that have you wringing your shirt out.  Tuesday - Cold, cold and more cold.  Icy ice rink.

Contrasts.  Next Sunday I can indulge in the Asian exoticism of The Edinburgh Mela during the day, and the chilled and pie scented air of Murrayfield in the evening.  Life is never boring here.

I see some of my fellow Caps fans on social media over the summer, wishing their lives away until the rink opens it's doors and there's a puck getting battered about again.  That's not a problem I ever have to resolve these days  April - hockey ends for the season.  May - TradFest.  June - FilmFest.  July _ JazzFest.  August - Fringe, and all the other shenanigans that plonk several hundreds of thousands of tourists on top of us and turn entertainment into a stamina test.  And then.... hey, it's hockey season again.  I hardly missed it.

It helps to have the time to do all these things (being retired is a big part of that help...).  And, of course, it does need a bit of spare cash, and some financial planning.  (Being poor in this city is no better than it is anywhere else, and there are still way too many people who have to live lives of poverty in this, our grossly wealthy society.)  I fully recognise how privileged I am.  Part of that privilege is being able to live in one of the world's most beautiful cities, and take advantage of so much of what it has to offer.  Which, for the next seven months, will mostly mean Edinburgh Capitals...

Out of the Fridge and into the summer

THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT SEASON

It's been a long time since I last had a hockey-free Sunday, but today sees the start of the long wait for the new season in September.  Way back in last September I was able to write on here with the usual sense of bouyant optimism that's only possible before reality sets in.  Where I said that Caps fans weren't a demanding bunch and outlining our very low-level ambitions....

"If we could qualify for the knockout stages of the cup; if we could finish in the top eight of the league and have a chance to make it to the Playoffs; and, most importantly, if we can beat old rival Fife Flyers then we'll consider that a successful season."

That was followed by a post in November when the guys achieved the first of those three aims, in dramatic fashioned against the aforementioned Fifers.  The optimism was still strong within us.  But Caps can always find a way of confounding expectations.

A series of injuries in December, most notably to our star netminder, saw Edinburgh freefall down the league standings.  From looking a comfortable seventh we soon found ourselves back in familiar position at the arse end of the table.  We still put in a lot of strong performances, but ten minutes of brain fade here and there meant wins couldn't be had.  Caps got some form back after New Year, and stayed in (arithmetic) contention for a playoffs spot until three weekends from the end of the season, but faded at the very end to a slightly distant last place.  But hey, only eight points adrift of ninth.  That might not sound good to you, but it's a huge improvement on last year!

So that was aim number two put out to grass.  And, obviously, we didn't finish above the rivals from over the water.  But we can still claim some successes.  That game in November meant we qualified for the knockout stage of the cup and they didn't.  And in ten meetings the results turned out even, with five wins apiece.  Three of our five came in Kirkcaldy, a barn where we hardly ever get a result, so that was a big plus too (if we ignore the fact we lost to them three times at home as well).  The Flyers looked like a very ordinary team at times, only having the best nettie in the league gave them the position they achieved.

There were other big positives as well, at least compared to last year.  None of the players we began the season with had left by the end, none had suffered season-ending injuries.  They could be hugely entertaining at times, with a greater depth of attacking options than we were used to.  So it's ironic that having a star defenceman as coach did nothing to improve the record when it came to giving away soft goals.  But there were plenty of guys in the lineup we'd be delighted to see returning for 2017-18, even if there's disagreement among fans as to who they should be.  Most notably our captain, Jacob Johnston, who seems to have divided opinion more than any other.  For the record, I'd be one of those who'd love to see him back in a Caps jersey and thought him one of the outstanding players on the squad.

The club itself felt as though it had moved forward in other ways too, especially in communications.  As fans we were kept better informed than before, and that was a huge plus in making supporters feel more involved.  Credit to Mr Gent.   There were a lot of efforts put into attracting new supporters, and numbers did increase, albeit to nothing like the levels needed to help the team become truly competitive.  There's still plenty of space to fill in the Fridge of Dreams.  Ice hockey remains one of this city's great undiscovered pleasures.  It's a shame, for the fans we do have are (in my wholly unbiased opinion) the best in the league.  Loud, enthusiastic, we'll keep shouting win or lose, don't fade away when the results aren't going so well, and will stay behind to cheer our team off the ice.  We may be small in number but atmosphere there is aplenty.  (Never more so than in the comeback against Fife in THAT match in November, still my favourite memory of the season.)

I finished off my spectating season taking in a match featuring the 'baby' Caps who play in the Scottish league, and last weekend in Nottingham watching the semis and final of the EIHL playoffs.  No Caps, but plenty to cheer about, an interesting fans forum where we could ask questions of some of the team owners who dictate the shape of the league, and, in the final, one of the greatest hockey matches you might ever see.  Definitely worth a watch if you can spare the time (it does go on a bit....).  You can see it here until 8 May.

Now it's time for speculation and, eventually, signings, as summer passes on.  There are doubts about the future, rumours that Caps (along with Fife and Dundee) might leave the EIHL and join another league, rumours that our coach could be A, or B, or C, or ....  Time will pass, the waters will clear and one day we'll know what's happening.  But as long as there's a decent standard of hockey to watch in Murrayfield then I'll be there, back in my seat and ready to shout.  My name is Blyth and I'm a Capsaholic.

If there's a hard way to do something....

ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO

A few weeks ago I wrote here about the start of the new ice hockey season and the sense of hope that came with it.  In it I said that we caps fans weren't a demanding lot.  We're loyal, and, knowing how inferior our budget is to the bigger clubs, our hopes and expectations are realistic.  I wrote :

"If we could qualify for the knockout stages of the cup; if we could finish in the top eight of the league and have a chance to make it to the Playoffs; and, most importantly, if we can beat old rival Fife Ayers (their misprint, not mine) then we'll consider that a successful season."

Tonight we had the chance to see the first of those simple aspirations come true.  With the added edge that it was in a match against old rivals Fife Flyers.  After a run of four wins in five games the team had got themselves into the position where a win in regulation time would guarantee a place in the knockout stages of the cup.  A Caps game that actually had an important outcome, now that's been a rarity over the years!

What we got was a drama of Shakespearean intensity and complexity, and heart stopping tension.  Complete with a bit of light relief, courtesy of the Fifers.  Caps were 0-1 down after the first period.  And a bit of as disaster in the second, with Fife adding a second, us getting one back, but two more Fife goals before the end.  Trailing 1-4 was, I confess on the disheartening side.  They've managed a few comebacks in recent games, but four goals in twenty minutes was asking a lot.  And even if we scored three then won in overtime it wouldn't make that cup place secure.

We're now wondering what Coach Dobron said to the guys before that third period started.  They must have been magic words.  Two goals in the first three and half minutes, the equaliser four minutes later, and constant pressure on the Fife goal gave us the lead with more than four minutes still on the clock.  And another a couple of minutes later just to be on the safe side....

It wasn't always pretty.  But it was exciting, impressive, exhilarating, exhausting to watch.  There will be a lot of sore throats in Edinburgh tomorrow morning.  When our fifth went in a surprising number of Flyers fans started heading for the exit, more following after the sixth.  There weren't many left when the buzzer went.  They don't do loyalty in Fife, not like Caps fans.

What a night.  A three goal deficit turned into a two goal victory.  Humiliation for our oldest rivals.  And, for once, Caps have qualified for something.  The way they are playing this season it won't be the last.

If you live in the Edinburgh area you really, really should come along and give this team a watch.  (Fixture list here.)  It might not always be quite as drama packed as tonight's occasion, but it certainly won't be dull.

#MonTheCaps

Return to the Fridge

AND SO WE BEGIN AGAIN

As I begin writing this I'm conscious that his time tomorrow I'll be sat, with a high sense of anticipation, awaiting the arrival on ice of the Edinburgh Capitals EIHL ice hockey team and the start of their 2016-17 season.  It's that time of year when everything is possible, from the glory of optimism to the ignominy of reality.  A blank canvas on which the outlines will only gradually take shape, the hints of shape and colour only emerging as the weeks pass.  With only one certainty - they have, surely, to achieve a better record than last year's squad managed.

There was a time when they too were winners.  After a slow start results wise the Caps emerged as a difficult proposition for any team to tackle at Murrayfield, and capable of spring surprises away from home.  They rose to the giddy heights of fourth in the league, albeit briefly, but looked certain to achieve a solid mid table position come March.  Or so we thought by the end of November.  And then things happened.

Players left, for a variety of reasons, some of them unavoidable.  Players picked up injuries that weren't just going to keep them off ice for a few games, but for the entire season.  And the fear of coming to Edinburgh steadily evaporated as the heat got more intense.  One win at the beginning of December, another in the first fixture of the new year.  And that was it.  More players departed, more picked up injuries.  Replacements were brought in, they picked up injuries.  In a league where imported players dominate, out of our original line up of thirteen only three of them would still be out there in Caps jersey in the closing weeks of the season.  Most tried hard, much to the appreciation of the fans, as Caps plummeted to a distant tenth.  Out of ten.

We're used to losing.  It comes with being a Caps fan.  We enjoy our underdog status, lap up the chance to be gallant losers.  But watching those guys, so few in number against each opposing team, you couldn't help feel sorry for them.  And proud too, for they never gave up.  Trevor Gerling was both a star and a hero for never giving up whatever the odds, and providing flashes of inspiration that had us off our seats.

But that was last year.

Now there's a new coach, a (mostly) new group of imports, and hope in the chilled air of the Fridge of Dreams.  We've seen them play two warm up games.  And lose.  But that was no surprise.  Some of the guys had only flown into Scotland the day before the first of those matches last weekend.  It's hard to play as a team when you've barely learned each others names yet.  When you're still trying to understand the local accent, and that of your Czech coach.

And yet there were so many hopeful signs in those disorganised first showings.  Flashes of talent and skill that, once harnessed, will be a threat to opponents.  A sense of working together, even if not yet to a pattern.  And an intelligent approach from the coach, making sure he got the chance to learn about all the players at his disposal and build the mental picture of strengths and weaknesses heading into his first full week with the squad.  Signs of players wanting to take on responsibility, provide leadership.  And signs that if anyone messes with us we'll fight back.  Signs we want to see.

One week on and the squad has an important addition, and an important omission.  One of last year's star forwards has arrived, in plenty time to take part in the training sessions.  But we are still missing our starting netminder (goalie to non hockey fans) who's still stuck in Canada with visa problems.  So we know there's more to come yet.

Caps fans aren't a demanding lot.  We know we're competing with many teams who have several times our budget.  We know stoicism.  If we could qualify for the knockout stages of the cup; if we could finish in the top eight of the league and have a chance to make it to the Playoffs; and, most importantly, if we can beat old rival Fife Ayers (their misprint, not mine) then we'll consider that a successful season.  And once you're into the knockout stages of any competition there's always the chance of upsets....

But more than anything we want a bunch of players who'll try, week after week, who'll become a squad we can cheer on because we know that they'll give everything they have.

Winning would be nice though....

Coming to the hockey

IT'S NOT ALWAYS LIKE THIS....

As I explained at the beginning of this year one of the big changes in my life, our lives, since moving north has been an increasing addiction to ice hockey matches and a passion for supporting the Edinburgh Capitals.  The strength of the resultant feelings continues to surprise me, and the story has moved on since.  This season we are proud to be season ticket holders at the Murrayfield rink, and I now find myself a member of the Supporters Club committee.

There's no going back now.  I'm even in danger of becoming a hockey bore, with a tediously (?) evangelical approach to encouraging others to come along and see what they're missing.  And when people from our old life down south come up to visit they are firmly told that if they come up on a weekend between September and March that will be taken as tacit agreement that they want to go to a match....

Two couples have been up here recently and both experienced hockey for the first time in their lives (well three of them did, one woman recalled going to games at Wembley in the sixties!).  It turned out that they picked their times wisely.

The first match was against Braehead, with the Caps putting in a storming performance and coming up convincing 6-2 winners.  Our friends saw some great goals and were sitting with some very happy fans.  I had to tell them it isn't always like this....

The second took place yesterday, and this had a bit more drama thrown in.  A woeful looking Capitals team (and some, ahem, 'controversial' refereeing) found themselves four goals down to arch rivals Fife Flyers.  Our friends were enjoying the experience, the speed and excitement, and the occasional gentile bout of fisticuffs that broke out on the ice.  They also felt a bit sorry for us, watching a drama unfold that might not leave us in the happiest of moods....

What followed will remain with me for a very long time, and certainly gave this southern couple something to remember from their visit.  A late goal in the second period kept the fans' hopes of a recovery warm, like a sighting of land from a lifeboat.  It turned out not be a mirage.  A change of tactics, and our North American pros earning every penny of their pay, saw two goals early on, and screamer of a shot from Ryan Hayes to equalise with five minutes to play.  Finishing up with a Caps winner in overtime.  No script writer would dare come up so implausible an ending in this cynical age....

And guess what?  I had to tell my friends that it isn't always like this....

It might be the top level of British ice hockey, but the resources available to the teams in this league vary enormously.  With Caps being firmly towards the lower end of the wealth scale.  You become a Caps fan and you become an aficionado of disappointment, a connoisseur of misfortune, someone used to dealing with the blows.  It's a very Scottish feeling, that underdog status, and one to be savoured like you'd been given the chips and no fish.  You learn to enjoy what you have.

Then there are those nights, like last night, when you not only get the full fish supper, but peas, bread and a decent bottle of wine thrown in.

No, it isn't always like this.  But when it is it's one of the greatest feelings in the world.

If you're in Edinburgh you should come along.