I respect your opinion, I just don't share it. My journey to becoming a Devils fan doesn't originate with living in Jersey or loving Brodeur or any of that. I come from a Ranger fan family and many of them were assholes to me growing up. I was told to become an Islander fan because I didn't deserve to be part of Rangertown. I was living in New York City. I later moved to New Jersey, but it's not like I was able to go to games. So everyone's fandom comes from their own personal experiences. I got a Messier shirt and a Gretzky poster from my parents even after I told my family I don't like the Rangers. To me, hating the Rangers predates loving the Devils. The year I decided to be a Devils fan was the year Matteau made my life a living hell. The next year it was more of a relief that I didn't have to be mocked incessantly again than it was pride that we won it all. I'm not old enough to have experienced "Mickey Mouse organization" and I didn't live through the dark ages before Brodeur.
Fandom is complicated. I don't expect you to see things exactly the same way I do. Hell, my own sister says she hates the Flyers more than the Rangers because she grew up in Jersey and most of her asshole friends are Flyer fans. But to me, it's not even close. I had a girl break up with me because I made the mistake of wearing a Devils t-shirt. Being a Devils fan in New York is more about hating the Rangers than anything else. Because you have to deal with Ranger fans every day talking about how their Original Six team is so much better than yours and how their history is richer despite one since 1940. And even when you've got the best goalie in the league and you're in the playoffs every year, it doesn't matter because your team plays in a swamp and half the crowd is rooting for the other team when they come to your building. There's my thought-process.
