Hackeybuff*
Guest
And actually that is something that is perfectly debatable.
No, the Devils, barring some Act of God, will never outdraw nor outsell the Rangers. That's common sense. But the next few years to a decade will truly determine how much of a fanbase the Devils actually have.
The Devils moved to NJ in 1982. Which means that our earliest fans will be reaching, or have started, child bearing, money making, family raising age in the next few years. If you were a fan of hockey in 1981 in NJ, you were either a Rangers, Isles or Flyers fan. The Devils have been tasked with creating fans from scratch since then, as converts tend to be the outlier rather than the standard. So the people first exposed to hockey by the Devils, these fans who weren't a fan of any of the other three, are starting to procreate and settle. Sports loyalties get passed on by generation; I have many a hockey fan friend in New Jersey who are Rangers/Flyers fans by blood for that very reason.
Another thing to keep an eye on is that, with the Nets moving, the Devils are the sole major sports franchise bearing the name New Jersey in the state. Sure, the Jets, Giants, and Red Bulls play there, but they are all "New York" teams. Could that have a positive effect on the Devils popularity?
It'll be interesting to watch.
I remember when the Rockies left Colorado and landed in East Rutherford. I was 16 at the time. I can imagine the average person starts out as a fan around 10 or 12.
So the average earliest true Devils fan would have been born in 1970. I would say they have teenage kids and some of them even have kids in college.
I have a daughter who just graduated from high school. So I think we are now on our second generation of Devils fans and heading towards a third soon.