Up until recently, West Coast hockey fans haven't been giving the Sharks their full due. Games that would have been packed to the rafters back east simply did not sell out at HP Pavilion. And while East Coast sports enthusiasts do tend to take their hockey more seriously than those on the West Coast, it would seem that loyalty to a team, like so many in the cut throat business of high tech, only goes as far as the winning streak. It's an old, old story: Everyone loves the vp of sales when he's making seven figures but doesn't know he exists when he's between jobs.

This kind of: I'll Only Back a Proven Winner mentality embodies much of what has been giving Silicon Valley such an unsavory reputation. It also smacks of bandwagon jumping and is frowned upon by true sports fans everywhere. The message is clear: win or lose, you always back your team. But in Silicon Valley, where engineers have a proven track record for switching companies for mere pennies and a finger full of stock options, fickleness continues to rule supreme. Don't even talk about loyalty, here in Silicon Valley, it only goes as far as one's latest professional conquest. And as that mentality spills over into other areas, it is small wonder that the Sharks, working hard to maintain a lead in their conference, head into the play-offs without the benefit of a packed house every game.