tictacbergerac:

madlori:

tictacbergerac:

OH SHIT I NEVER SAW THIS BUT LISTEN,

PHIL KESSEL (A STANLEY CUP CHAMPION] WAS TREATED BADLY BY THE TORONTO MEDIA DURING THE 14-15 SEASON [HIS LAST FOR THE LEAFS]. THEY CALLED HIM UNCOACHABLE, LAZY, FAT, AND CANCEROUS TO THE TEAM [this last one is especially offensive because Phil Kessel (a Stanley Cup Champion) is also a cancer survivor] because Phil Kessel (A Stanley Cup Champion) was meant to be a top-scoring forward, a real playmaker, but he was having a really bad dry spell. 

After he was traded, a lot of people were happy to see him out of Toronto and kinda thought that’d be the end of the Phil Kessel (a Stanley Cup Champion) story. 

Boy howdy were they wrong.

Phil Kessel (A Stanley Cup Champion), fucking blossomed in the Pens franchise. He fit right in, made friends. His brand of dry humor has been loudly appreciated in interviews, both with himself and other players. I’m not Phil Kessel (A Stanley Cup Champion) but it really seems like he’s happy in Pittsburgh. 

The really awesome shit, however, happened during the playoffs, where Phil Kessel (A Stanley Cup Champion) led the team in scoring. When the Pens lifted the Cup, it was an ultimate “Fuck You” to the Toronto media and fans who had booed, scorned, and given up on him. Phil Kessel (A Stanley Cup Champion), who had been called fat, lazy, unmotivated, uncoachable, cancerous, was a Stanley Cup Fucking CHAMPION. It’s a redemption arc that ends in the biggest fucking trophy in professional sports. It’s a redemption arc that ends with the President of the United States standing onstage and saying “Phil Kessel Is A Stanley Cup Champion,” a phrase we utter to remind the people who gave up on him just how wrong they are.

There’s a pretty great addendum to this in terms of the meme.

There’s a well-known hockey YouTuber and podcaster called Steve Dangle, who’s gotten enough of an audience that he gets to interview players and do Official Hockey Shit. Steve is awesome. Anyway the Leafs are his primary team (so he knows all about Phil), but one time at a press event he got to talk to Sidney Crosby, and he was able to ask ONE QUESTION of the greatest hockey player in the world, and this is what happened:

Steve: I’m here with Sidney Crosby, Stanley Cup champion Sidney Crosby…*snaps fingers, pretends to be puzzled* Hey, who else is a Stanley Cup Champion? Hey, is Phil Kessel a Stanley Cup Champion?

Sid: *grins* Phil Kessel is a Stanley Cup Champion.

Steve: That’s right! Phil Kessel is a Stanley Cup Champion.

Both: *beam at camera*

(you can see the video clip of this here: https://twitter.com/Steve_Dangle/status/758353225833598977)

^^^How could I have forgotten? That video is adorable.