It&rsquos not like he has decided to take a few days off in the middle of the Stanley Cup finals

It’s not like he has decided to take a few days off in the middle of the Stanley Cup finals. After all, he chose the career path, so he has to deal with the consequences. I really was dissatisfied with the way a lot of the fans reacted to this. I mean, it's not as though Luongo has decided to sit out the playoffs. Luongo politely turned down the invite, saying he wanted to spend time with his wife and family. For the record, Luongo's wife lives in South Florida and is pregnant, the baby due in April.

There was outcry from many fans, most of which say Luongo doesn't have the right to refuse the All-Star invitation simply because he wants to spend time with his wife. But have we as fans pushed it too far with the outcry this week over Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo.Early this week Luongo announced that despite being voted in by the fans to start the NHL All-Star Game at the end of this month in Atlanta, he would not be going. That is a given, in that when they walk down the streets, or try to enjoy a quiet night out, someone is going to recognize them, and they deal with that It comes with the territory. Professional athletes, by signing the big money contracts, by playing on the teams, and carrying such a high profile, are signing away parts of their private lives. Has it really come to this?As fans of sports, we find ourselves wanting the absolute best out our teams and their players. And why shouldn't we? After all, we go through the ups and downs with them. We pay hard-earned money to watch them in the arenas or on TV for that matter.

But does purchasing tickets, jerseys, other merchandise give us the right to dictate what the players can and cannot do with their personal lives?This week there was an uproar in Vancouver, and personally I'm not sure the recipients deserved the backlash from their decisions. Hard to fathom that they’ve had this much trouble winning this year.And now there’s this Mats Sundin saga. Will be or won’t he be traded?Either way, this season’s a lost cause. After 45 games, the team is five games under .500 (16-21-8), seven points out of the playoffs and No 14 in the East out of a 15-team conference. And most fans I’ve talked to don’t GM John Ferguson Jr.