Now for the unloved child of American sport. The Otago Daily Times completes its series of ''which team to support'' features - hey, it's only taken three years - with an attempt by sports editor Hayden Meikle to find an ice hockey team to love.
This was always going to be the hardest of our guides to the ''big four'' of American sport to write.
My interest in the NBA, the NFL and Major League Baseball has built steadily over the last couple of decades, and compiling advice for readers searching for a team to adopt was not particularly difficult.
Those three guides - December 17, 2011 (NBA); September 7, 2012 (NFL); and April 6, 2013 (MLB) - were also wholly for the reader. My allegiances (New York Knicks, St Louis Rams and Boston Red Sox, respectively) were well entrenched.
This one feels quite different. I don't have a National Hockey League team. For a while, I loosely followed the New York Rangers, when Wayne Gretzky was there in the twilight of his career. And I always liked the name Detroit Red Wings. Otherwise, the only ice hockey team I have given two hoots about has been the Dunedin Thunder.
Time to find an NHL team, then. I have enlisted the help of two contacts: rabid Vancouver Canucks fan Paul Le Comte, of Dunedin; and former Thunder man Aaron Bryant, now living in Melbourne.
THE HOPELESS CASES
1. Buffalo Sabres
Sweet nickname but the team is awful and not getting better in a hurry. Buffalo really is the forgotten cousin of American sport.
2. Carolina Hurricanes
Even if they weren't terrible, I would struggle to adopt a team that forced me to yell, ''Go Hurricanes''.
3. Ottawa Senators
How can you name a sports team after a bunch of politicians?
THE FORGETTABLES
4. Calgary Flames
Their mascot is called Harvey the Hound. This is not going to work for me.
5. Florida Panthers
There is an ice hockey team in Florida? Sheesh.
6. Arizona Coyotes
There is an ice hockey team in Arizona? Sheesh.
7. Nashville Predators
Once had a minority shareholder named William J. ''Boots'' Del Biaggio III. That is outstanding.
8. Columbus Blue Jackets
''Blue Jackets was chosen to celebrate patriotism, pride and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio and city of Columbus.''
All right, then.
9. Minnesota Wild
Immediately discounted because of my long-standing grudge against sports teams with a singular nickname.
10. Tampa Bay Lightning
Immediately discounted because of my long-standing grudge against sports teams with a singular nickname.
11. Colorado Avalanche
Immediately discounted ... you get the drift. Singular sports nicknames should be outlawed.
12. San JoseSharks
Meh.
THE POSSIBLES
13. Vancouver Canucks
Sorry, Paul. I am not going to join the Canucks fraternity. Great nickname, though.
14. Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin form a heck of a 1-2 punch. But ''Dallas'' and ''stars'' - that just makes me think of the Dallas Cowboys. I hate the Dallas Cowboys.
15. New Jersey Devils
Originally the Kansas City Scouts. Now named for the Jersey Devil, a mythological sort of flying kangaroo-horse. Yep.
16. Philadelphia Flyers
Claude Giroux is apparently a very good player. But I have never supported a Philadelphia team and I am not about to start.
17. Toronto Maple Leafs
One of those nicknames that intrigues me. Is their mascot a person dressed as a leaf?
18. St Louis Blues
The oldest NHL team never to have won the Stanley Cup. I am not going to embrace that level of failure.
19. Boston Bruins
Both Aaron and Paul pointed out the Bruins have a couple of selling points. They field the ludicrously tall (2.06m) Zdeno Chara, and they once had the great Bobby Orr on the ice. Even I have heard of him.
20. Chicago Blackhawks
A very good team, with stars such as Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. But what about the nickname? Isn't that, to use the words of Deadspin writer Drew Magary, just a little RAYCESS?
THE SHORTLIST
21. Edmonton Oilers
A team with zero chance of winning the Stanley Cup any time soon. But my cousin, now raising a Canadian family, is a fan. I like the name, too.
22. Winnipeg Jets
In Aaron's words, ''a new team for a new fan''. The Jets were formed in 1972 but folded in 1996. The team was reborn as the Atlanta Thrashers, then returned to Winnipeg three years ago.
23. Detroit Red Wings
Played a full season as the Red Wings on an NHL video game a long time ago. Like the name and the logo. But they are just too popular. I'd be bandwagoning.
24. Anaheim Ducks
Bryant: ''In New Zealand, you will struggle to find a native hockey player over the age of 25 who didn't get into hockey because of the Mighty Ducks movie franchise''.
25. LA Kings
So, so tempting but they are the defending Stanley Cup champions and that makes them out of bounds to an all-weather sports fan like me. Great goalie (Jonathan Quick) and classy forwards (Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Mike Richards). And the great Wayne Gretzky spent a big chunk of his career here.
26. New York Islanders
Only really because of the great 30 For 30 documentary on the bloke who bluffed his way into buying the franchise.
27. New York Rangers
There's just a bit of glamour there. Plus they play at Madison Square Garden, home of my basketball team, the awful-but-they're-mine Knicks.
THE SHORTER LIST
28. Washington Capitals
Led by one of the league's elite players, Alexander Ovechkin. Aaron also informs me the Capitals have an Australian on their books, which is the next best thing to having a New Zealander. I like the nickname, too.
29. Pittsburgh Penguins
Very, VERY close to becoming a Penguins fan - I am from Oamaru, after all. The biggest selling point is obviously the presence of Sidney Crosby, ''Sid The Kid'', ''The Next One'', the Canadian star and the one ice hockey player most sports fans can identify. He and team-mate Evgeni Malkin will keep the Penguins relevant for years.
THE WINNER
30. Montreal Canadiens
My beloved Canadiens. This feels right on so many levels. For starters, I always felt I should adopt one of the Canadian teams - they are from the home of hockey, after all. The Canadiens (note the spelling) are one of the Original Six franchises, and have been around longer than most American teams. They have a glorious history but have not won a Stanley Cup in two decades - so they are the Liverpool of the NHL. They have plenty of star power, including PK Subban (a defenseman of West Indian descent), Czech centre Tomas Plekanec and Canadian goaltender Carey Price. And they have a second, very cool nickname: the Habs, or Les Habitants. Vive les Habs!
