I went to the Flyers game this evening and the only delightful moment, other than Denis Gauthier checking Jay Bouwmeester over the boards and completely into the Flyers bench, was the loud booing Chris Gratton received every time his name announced. I love how we hold grudges in this town. I find it very heartwarming how we never forget a thing in this city.
For those who don't remember, Chris Gratton was basically the 1998 version of Kyle Calder. A turd who produced absolutely nothing in Orange and Black. Plus, to make matters worse, the Flyers traded phan favorite Mikael Renberg to Tampa Bay in order to pick him up. Gratton rewarded the or-GAN-i-za-TION with a 22 goal year in 97-98 and a one goal through the first 26 games of the next season before he was jettisoned back to Tampa Bay for Renberg, oddly enough.
In the aftermath of the four game sweep at the hands of the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals, Gratton was hailed as the second line center we desperately needed to get us over the hump. As we've seen way too many times in this town, the best laid plans don't always come to fruition. This move never came close to significantly improving the team. I can't really put my finger on exactly why, but the whole Gratton mess just left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. As a result, most Flyers phans were ecstatic when we finally kicked "Grats" to the curb and got "Renny" back.
Anyhow, let the Chris Gratton story be a lesson to all professional athletes. Don't cross us. We'll never let you forget it.
For further evidence of this phenomena, please see our treatment of J.D. Drew over the years.
For those who don't remember, Chris Gratton was basically the 1998 version of Kyle Calder. A turd who produced absolutely nothing in Orange and Black. Plus, to make matters worse, the Flyers traded phan favorite Mikael Renberg to Tampa Bay in order to pick him up. Gratton rewarded the or-GAN-i-za-TION with a 22 goal year in 97-98 and a one goal through the first 26 games of the next season before he was jettisoned back to Tampa Bay for Renberg, oddly enough.
In the aftermath of the four game sweep at the hands of the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals, Gratton was hailed as the second line center we desperately needed to get us over the hump. As we've seen way too many times in this town, the best laid plans don't always come to fruition. This move never came close to significantly improving the team. I can't really put my finger on exactly why, but the whole Gratton mess just left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. As a result, most Flyers phans were ecstatic when we finally kicked "Grats" to the curb and got "Renny" back.
Anyhow, let the Chris Gratton story be a lesson to all professional athletes. Don't cross us. We'll never let you forget it.
For further evidence of this phenomena, please see our treatment of J.D. Drew over the years.
2 comments:
I don't usually comment on hockey posts, because I mostly don't care, but...
Chris Gratton sucked a$$ when he was here. I, for one, was so happy to hear that he was gone when they got Renberg back.
To read that he was a part of the flukey goal that won against the Flyboys last night made me want to hurl on the train this morning.
You still suck a$$, Gratton.
One of the biggest wastes of space in Flyers history, right next to the invisible man Kyle Calder.
Post a Comment