When I first started getting in to sports in the late 80's/early 90's I was living in Pennsylvania, and a fan of the Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers. Back then the Penguins won the Stanley Cup two years in a row, the Pirates lost to the Braves in the ALCS three years in a row, and the Steelers made it pretty far in the playoffs a few times, almost winning a Super Bowl, despite the best efforts of Neil O'Donnell. Penn State even won a National Championship in 1994. Don't give me that "Nebraska officially won" crap. We all know the truth.

My thought process back then was "We may not win every year, but my teams will always be in the hunt for a championship." How wrong I was. The Pirates followed up their three straight trips to the NLCS with 15, going on 16, losing seasons. The Steelers lost in the AFC Championship game at least 27 times, most of those to the Patriots. The Penguins lost in the playoffs from 1993 to 2001, then totally tanked in the next three seasons.

Things all changed for me in 2005. I had given up hope on the Pirates, the Penguins had some promise, and the Steelers were in the middle of a 15-1 season, armed with rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. I knew this would be the year my team would finally win a championship that I would appreciate. That wasn't the case. The Steelers lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship. The next season they actually won a Super Bowl, but I couldn't enjoy it because the whole playoffs and the whole Super Bowl I was just waiting for them to lose another heart breaker.

Now the Penguins are on fire in the playoffs, armed with two of the best players in the game in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Their goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, has always been regarded as a future star, but the future never came until now. Things are looking great for the Penguins, with just four more wins to go until the Stanley Cup. The only thing that stands in their way is the Flyers.

I don't know if it is because I have followed hockey closer this season (believe it or not, you actually get to watch hockey when it's your job, rather than working a 40 hour a week job as a fan) but I am locked in with the Penguins, just as I was with the 2005 Steelers. When the Penguins lost game four against the Rangers, their first playoff loss in eight games, I was pissed for the rest of the evening. When they beat the Rangers in game five in overtime, I couldn't help but sing the Rangers' goal song.

Now the Penguins have four more games to win until they make it to the Stanley Cup. Winning this series will either be extra sweet, since it is against the Flyers, or it will be worse than the Steelers losing to the Patriots in 2005, because Flyers fans are that much more annoying.   Game one starts tonight, and I for one cannot wait.  Four more wins to go.