Thoughts And Prayers
This failed kiss attempt is the lowest moment in Florida Panthers franchise history
Sunday evening was supposed to be a big night in Florida Panthers history, with the franchise making just its third playoff appearance since the new millenium, not counting last year's "qualifying round." They opened at home in front of a raucous crowd, and it was quite clear early in the game that they weren't planning on being a rollover opponent like they had been in postseasons past.
But late in the third period, the Panthers received an omen of the worst kind. While leading the rival Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3, NBCSN cameras captured one of the more brutal crowd shots in recent memory, featuring a man going in for a kiss with his date (??), swinging and missing, and then resting his head on her shoulder. Dear god this is cringe:
Prayers up, homie. There is no coming back from that one.
As expected, things went decidedly downhill from there for the Panthers. Tampa's Brayden Point scored the game-tying goal with seven minutes to go, then he scored the game-winner with less than 90 seconds remaining. There is no question that this botched-kiss-shoulder-rest debacle was the turning point.
Now, as for the question the whole internet is asking: what the hell is the deal here? Are we talking sugar daddy situation? Tinder date gone wrong? Wife just over the drunken slurring? The possibilities are endless, and I'm not going to mention some of the other not-safe-for-life assumptions some folks are making. Let's just keep this dude in our Ts and Ps and hope the Panthers as a franchise can overcome this mess.