The fan's dilemma: Who to cheer for when your team is out of the playoffs?

Even the luckiest of sports fans (or the most talented of bandwagon fans) will eventually run into this dilemma. Your team is out of the playoffs - what do you do now?

a.) Stop watching the playoffs and start working on your golf game? Very few sports fans will fall into this category, but some team loyalists may lose interest completely when their team is out. As someone who has had to choose between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins for the finals the last two years, I have to say - it's always fun to watch, even if you love to hate both remaining teams.

b.) Choose the team who beat your team to win the conference and the championship?

or

c.) Vindictively cheer for whoever plays against the team that brutally massacred your team on the way to the finals? Speaking specifically about the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, any animosity I felt toward the Montreal Canadiens vanished as soon as I saw the faces of the Penguins fans. The disbelief that their team lost to a number 8 seed at the last EVER game at Mellon Arena was exactly what I needed to become interested in the NHL playoffs once again.

But who do I cheer for now?

Tonight is game 7 for the Eastern Conference semifinals so tonight either Boston or Philadelphia will go on to play the habs in the conference finals. I'm going to have to cheer for Philly tonight for another reason altogether. For me, the correct answer is:

d.) Make alliances with other fans and cheer for their teams. I have a close friend who is a huge Flyers fan and not only would I love to see the elated (and shocked) look on her face if the Flyers advanced, but I have no doubt she'd be standing next to me cheering for the Caps if the roles were reversed.

Let's go Flyers!!

If nothing else, I won't have to go through this dilemma again. If all I'm left with is Boston, Montreal, Chicago and San Jose... Well...

Let's Go FLYERS, dammit!!!!