Blue Jackets: Choose Your Own Adventure

The fact that I am sitting here writing a blog entry speak volumes.  I hardly ever do this.

The fact that I am starting it during the third period of a Blue Jackets game, instead of actually watching the Jackets game, speaks even higher volumes.

The fact that the Jackets have started the season 0-6 is unfathomable.  But then again, it's the Jackets. They have proven they can disappoint you in a wide variety of ways.

When I was a kid, I used to read a lot of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.  If you are not familiar with the series, each book presented the reader with choices throughout the story.  For example if you wanted the character to turn left down a dark hallway,  you were told to turn to a certain page.  If you wanted the character to turn right into a bright room, you were told to turn to a different page.

I have to admit, I don't remember a whole lot about the stories, but one in particular stands out.  I remember it because no matter what choices I made, my character seemed to die every time.  No matter what I did, something prevented me from surviving.  Occasionally, I think I would survive...but it would not be the outcome for which I hoped.  I was imprisoned, lost, etc. I never was able to finish the book with the ultimate happy ending.

This is what it's like to be a Jackets fan. Every season seems to bring a new adventure that leads to an unhappy ending.  There are always new excuses and new story lines that are the reasons for the team's lack of success.  Occasionally you get a playoff appearance to make you think you are getting closer to the ultimate happy ending, only to start the story again and become enslaved by the Ant People (or whatever the heck they were in that story I am thinking of).

Last year the excuse was injuries but the Jackets finished the season on a positive note.  Fans, media, players, coaches...everybody had high expectations for the start of this season.  The Jackets were healthy.  They acquired Saad.  They dominated in the preseason.  They had the most depth ever at the forward position.  To come out 0-6, to the worst start in franchise history, is mind boggling.  To not even get one single win in the first six games is just beyond belief.  To think back to two weeks ago, to all the positive energy, high hopes, and excitement I had about the season is frustrating to a point of numbness.

So now what?  Does the team get rebuilt again?  At some point this madness has to stop, right?  At some point, we have to find the ultimate happy ending of the story right?  I'm sure it's hidden somewhere in the Blue Jackets' Choose Your Own Adventure book.  I'm just so tired of starting over to try and find it.