First of all, let me just say that if you are looking for polished, professional content, you may just want to close this tab and never come on this site again. I swear like a trooper, I use weird British idioms that none of you will probably understand, and a lot of this will be barely coherent rants about how much my favourite ice hockey team stresses me out.
In other words, this blog will be as much of a mess as I am.
And maybe even as much of a mess as the Ottawa Senators, who knows!
Anyway, if you’re still with me, I thought for this intro post it would be easier to write an FAQ-style post, with the theme of hell, because us Sens fans are living in it.
Who the hell are you?
My name is Kelly, although I often go by Kel, and I’m currently 26. My pronouns are she/her, I’m a vegan, I’m agnostic, I’m unapologetically left wing, and I’m one of those greedy, fiendish, promiscuous bisexuals. I like alternative music and have several tattoos & piercings. I have ADHD so be prepared for brain worms. I’m everything baby boomers hate just without the avocado obsession.
Also, somewhat ironically, I cannot skate. I have the balance of a newborn giraffe on dry, solid ground so I don’t know how I’m expected to function on two thin blades on a slippery surface.
Where the hell are you from?
I was born in a small town in the south of England, but moved up to Leeds for university. I graduated in 2018 and stayed for a while post graduation. I moved to Reading (pronounced redding) for my master's degree but moved back up to Leeds after finishing the studies as I missed my friends in the north, graduating from my master's in 2022.
How the hell did you fall in love with ice hockey?
In 2016-2017 I went on a year abroad to Ottawa and studied at Carleton. In November I went to a Sens game with several other international students, but I was still in I JUST GOT TO CANADA mode, so didn’t really pay much attention to the Sens.
In February my friend who was studying in Hamilton at the time came to visit me one weekend when the Leafs were playing the Sens, so we decided to go to the Senate Tavern in Byward and watch it. The Sens won, and after this I was really hooked. I would watch all the games I could in my residence common room or on my laptop, and got the chance to see another game in March.
While I was in Canada, I decided to go travelling and stay longer, meaning that yes, I was there for most of the 2016-2017 cup run. So my first year as a Sens fan was pretty damn good.
The subsequent years have been uh, not so good.
How the hell did you stay a fan and stay sane (although the latter is debatable)?
I was in my final year at uni with a huge dissertation to write, and had to cope with the shitshow that was the 2017-2018 season. It wasn’t easy, but I’d found something I was suddenly really passionate about, and I also found something to always have in the background while I was doing essays/revision. Hockey gave me something to distract me from how terrible I felt, even if the team I supported was also terrible.
How the hell did you get around to making a hockey Twitter account?
I was fed up of having nobody to rant about the Sens to, so I decided to make a Twitter account to keep up with the news and also so I’d have people to talk to about it.
I didn’t really know many people in the UK who liked ice hockey and the only person that was as invested as me is the aforementioned friend who need I remind you is A FUCKING LEAFS FAN.
So in February 2018, just before the trade deadline, I made my Sens Twitter account. Subsequently I made a lot of friends on the site who were so welcoming and really made me feel like I belonged, even when I lived so far away from them all.
I was lucky to go back to Ottawa for my birthday in June 2018, around the time of the draft, and I was able to meet so many of the friends I'd made and watch the draft with them, in the Senate Tavern, where it all started for me.
It didn’t really go well. There was screaming and yelling. Drinks were spilled. A table was nearly flipped (sorry Brady, we all regret it now). But it was wonderful to meet people and talk about something I was so invested in.
After returning to England I carried on with my Twitter account and with being a Sens fan, even through the anxiety and subsequent depression inducing offseason of 2018. I have still attempted to watch or at least listen to the games this season, despite now working a 9-5 job that means I can’t stay up as late as I did when I was a student.
How the hell do you keep up with the sport?
I stream games (RIP NHL Streams on Reddit), I sometimes use NHL TV if there is a free game, but usually I listen to the TSN1200 coverage via the NHL app (which is my favourite coverage by the way). I also listen to a lot of hockey podcasts.
What in the hell made you decide to make this crappy blog?
Despite ranting on Twitter, I still I felt like I had so much more to say about the Sens- there's only so many characters in a tweet!
I sadly don’t have the time to write professionally or do game recaps, and the time difference does make it difficult for me. I didn’t want to attempt to commit to a site somewhere, so I thought a personal blog would be the best way to write. Think of this blog as the diary of a teenager except instead of a crush that’s breaking her heart it’s the actually the poor management of an underperforming hockey team run by the lovechild of Donald Trump and Mr Burns approx. 3200 miles away.
How the hell are you now?
How the hell can I ask you anything else?
Just drop me a tweet or message on Twitter, or post a comment! Please be nice, or at least constructive- I have time periods where I’m as fragile as Bobby Ryan’s hands.
In other words, this blog will be as much of a mess as I am.
And maybe even as much of a mess as the Ottawa Senators, who knows!
Anyway, if you’re still with me, I thought for this intro post it would be easier to write an FAQ-style post, with the theme of hell, because us Sens fans are living in it.
Who the hell are you?
My name is Kelly, although I often go by Kel, and I’m currently 26. My pronouns are she/her, I’m a vegan, I’m agnostic, I’m unapologetically left wing, and I’m one of those greedy, fiendish, promiscuous bisexuals. I like alternative music and have several tattoos & piercings. I have ADHD so be prepared for brain worms. I’m everything baby boomers hate just without the avocado obsession.
Also, somewhat ironically, I cannot skate. I have the balance of a newborn giraffe on dry, solid ground so I don’t know how I’m expected to function on two thin blades on a slippery surface.
Where the hell are you from?
I was born in a small town in the south of England, but moved up to Leeds for university. I graduated in 2018 and stayed for a while post graduation. I moved to Reading (pronounced redding) for my master's degree but moved back up to Leeds after finishing the studies as I missed my friends in the north, graduating from my master's in 2022.
How the hell did you fall in love with ice hockey?
In 2016-2017 I went on a year abroad to Ottawa and studied at Carleton. In November I went to a Sens game with several other international students, but I was still in I JUST GOT TO CANADA mode, so didn’t really pay much attention to the Sens.
In February my friend who was studying in Hamilton at the time came to visit me one weekend when the Leafs were playing the Sens, so we decided to go to the Senate Tavern in Byward and watch it. The Sens won, and after this I was really hooked. I would watch all the games I could in my residence common room or on my laptop, and got the chance to see another game in March.
While I was in Canada, I decided to go travelling and stay longer, meaning that yes, I was there for most of the 2016-2017 cup run. So my first year as a Sens fan was pretty damn good.
The subsequent years have been uh, not so good.
How the hell did you stay a fan and stay sane (although the latter is debatable)?
I was in my final year at uni with a huge dissertation to write, and had to cope with the shitshow that was the 2017-2018 season. It wasn’t easy, but I’d found something I was suddenly really passionate about, and I also found something to always have in the background while I was doing essays/revision. Hockey gave me something to distract me from how terrible I felt, even if the team I supported was also terrible.
How the hell did you get around to making a hockey Twitter account?
I was fed up of having nobody to rant about the Sens to, so I decided to make a Twitter account to keep up with the news and also so I’d have people to talk to about it.
I didn’t really know many people in the UK who liked ice hockey and the only person that was as invested as me is the aforementioned friend who need I remind you is A FUCKING LEAFS FAN.
So in February 2018, just before the trade deadline, I made my Sens Twitter account. Subsequently I made a lot of friends on the site who were so welcoming and really made me feel like I belonged, even when I lived so far away from them all.
I was lucky to go back to Ottawa for my birthday in June 2018, around the time of the draft, and I was able to meet so many of the friends I'd made and watch the draft with them, in the Senate Tavern, where it all started for me.
It didn’t really go well. There was screaming and yelling. Drinks were spilled. A table was nearly flipped (sorry Brady, we all regret it now). But it was wonderful to meet people and talk about something I was so invested in.
After returning to England I carried on with my Twitter account and with being a Sens fan, even through the anxiety and subsequent depression inducing offseason of 2018. I have still attempted to watch or at least listen to the games this season, despite now working a 9-5 job that means I can’t stay up as late as I did when I was a student.
How the hell do you keep up with the sport?
I stream games (RIP NHL Streams on Reddit), I sometimes use NHL TV if there is a free game, but usually I listen to the TSN1200 coverage via the NHL app (which is my favourite coverage by the way). I also listen to a lot of hockey podcasts.
What in the hell made you decide to make this crappy blog?
Despite ranting on Twitter, I still I felt like I had so much more to say about the Sens- there's only so many characters in a tweet!
I sadly don’t have the time to write professionally or do game recaps, and the time difference does make it difficult for me. I didn’t want to attempt to commit to a site somewhere, so I thought a personal blog would be the best way to write. Think of this blog as the diary of a teenager except instead of a crush that’s breaking her heart it’s the actually the poor management of an underperforming hockey team run by the lovechild of Donald Trump and Mr Burns approx. 3200 miles away.
How the hell are you now?
Well, it's been several years now since and hockey still keeps me going. It's brought together me and most of my now closest friends, it keeps me connected to people around the world. As someone with ADHD who drops hobbies quicker than you can shake a big (hockey) stick at, the fact I've kept it going so far is a miracle.
How the hell can I ask you anything else?
Just drop me a tweet or message on Twitter, or post a comment! Please be nice, or at least constructive- I have time periods where I’m as fragile as Bobby Ryan’s hands.
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