How long have you been a Blues fan?

[TK 421]

@Bendak @Bendak @Bendak

Are you on vaca or do I need to send blessings of Saint Wilford and a crash kit out with the search party? There are posts that need liking over here man, this was no time to test your limits with the spice. You're probably off god knows where wheezing the ja-uice with Pauly Shore(this part's just for me), but if you find time we need that Bendak magic yo.

 

[CaliforniaBlues310]

I’m 28 years old, but I’ve been a fan for over 20.

I grew up in Peoria, and my grandparents have always had season tickets for the Rivermen. I knew from a really young age that I absolutely loved hockey, and being able to go to games almost every weekend was huge for me. When I was around 5 or 6, I realized that the Blues were the Rivermen’s parent team, so that’s who I went with for the NHL.

I was all-in on both teams from there, and we got the Blues games on tv so that definitely helped. I did get more into the prospect aspect and such when we got the AHL team. The move also made me love the Blues even more, and despite moving from there in 2011, there was no way I was abandoning this team.

As some people might know, I was born into a Chicago sports family. I’m team Cubs, Bears, Bulls, and Illini(not CHI, but IL) as well. Despite seeing Jordan win titles when I was pretty young, I have felt very deprived of good luck as a sports fan for most of my life(until the Cubs won of course). I NEED to see this team win a Stanley Cup. I know I’ll have the same reaction I did when the Cubs won, and I count that as the best night of my life so far. I have a lot of emotional attachment to the Cubs(family/best friend who passed), but hockey IS my favorite sport. I’ve always known we’ll win in the year I least expected them to, and I hope really hope that’s this year.


Sorry if this was long, but I just love this game and how much of an impact it’s had in my life growing up.

 

[Vladdy the Impaler]

I have fond memories of my aunt taking me and my brother to games at Savvis, starting when we were just toddlers. I looked forward to those games more than anything during the school year.

We would always make an entire afternoon out of it. On Saturdays, we'd go to church at St. John's in our Blues jerseys and then get to Savvis early to watch the old replays of classic games they used to play up on the jumbotron. Eating our jumbo hot dogs and watching old clips of the Blues greats, hearing good old Dan Kelly's voice echoing in Savvis one and a half hours before puck drop, was pretty much a pre game ritual for us.

I honestly wish they would start playing some of the old game footage on the jumbotron again....

I also used to collect miniature zambonis at every game. Depending on who we were playing, my aunt would buy me that team's themed zamboni. Eventually I got all 30 of them. My brother used to collect the pucks, and so we each had a shelf in our room where we would put all of the pucks and zambonis for every single team in the NHL that we had seen play at Savvis.

Those early Blues memories will live with me forever.

 

[LBlues24]

22 or so years since I was old enough to understand. Being from the Toronto area I grew up surrounded by family and friends who were fans of the ‘blue and white.’ I loved the colour blue as a kid and didn’t want to be a home town homer; love for the blues took off from there.

Still one of my fondest memories is when we came back from 5-0 down against the leafs and won 6-5 I don’t even remember how many years ago now. LGB.

 

[Ranksu]

@HerpaDerp you forget 70+ option. @Robb_K cant give his vote.

 

[Brockon]

Born in home with 2 teachers for parents in 1990, sports were of secondary (or possibly even less) concern...

I started working mill shutdowns in 2010-11 (Pulpmill, sawmill, plywood plant shutdowns) and noticed very quickly that lunchroom chatter tended to be playoff oriented (shutdown season is April-July). I started following hockey, so as not to be left out of the lunchroom chatter. Living in the Central interior of BC - the Canucks were all the rage, but watching them wasn't captivating.

When I moved to Kelowna in 2013, my best friend and I made our way down to the 97 street pub for the playoffs. 24 flatscreens seemlessly covering the same game in sync, coupled with the best wings in town (they also boasted 97 different flavours).

I watched us beat Chicago in games 1 & 2 to that year, then lose 4 straight to be eliminated. All I could think to myself was, wow that team is absolutely relentless on the puck. Heavy and skilled, these guys play the game the right way... I've been hooked ever since.

Edit: minor typo and grammar fixes.

 

[Robb_K]

@HerpaDerp you forget 70+ option. @Robb_K cant give his vote.

I voted in 50+. They put me in with all those young guys. I've told my story many times on these different hockey fora. I grew up in Winnipeg, back before we had global warming-even before The Warriors (WHL team). We didn't have an NHL team. My father and uncles were Juniors fans, and we couldn't root for Toronto or Montreal. But, my father had a brother in Chicago, and we used to visit there in Christmas and summer vacations. I was skating at 5, and played organised hockey at 6. When I was 6 (late 1951) my uncle took my father and me (and his 4 boys) to a Black Hawks game (that's what they were called back then), vs The Canadiens. I became a Black Hawks' fan. That was further reinforced, when they traded with Detroit for Glenn Hall (1 of my 2 favourite goalies along with Jacques Plante). And it was even reinforced more, when one of our neighbours and family friends, Ab McDonald, joined The Black Hawks system (St. Catherines, Ontario). I became a Blues fan during The Blues' expansion draft, when they drafted Glenn Hall. I became a Blues' Fan for life when Ab was traded to The Blues in 1968. So, I've been a Blues' fan for almost 53 years, without ever seeing a hockey game live in St. Louis (although I've seen The Blues play live over 100 games (mostly in Chicago and Winnipeg. with some in Vancouver, Oakland, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Detroit, and Toronto). I've been waiting a long time to see The Blues win The Stanley Cup. Let's hope they do it this year while I still remember who they are and who I am!

 

[stl76]

My story as a Blues fan really begins in 1967. My dad and uncle were kids (10-13 roughly) when the Blues first came to St. Louis, and they were hooked from then on. Both started playing hockey after watching the Blues play and have been life long fans.

Fast forward to the late 80s and I came into the picture. By now both my dad and uncle had been playing hockey most of their lives and split season tickets. I was fortunate enough to get to go to a lot of games with them growing up in St. Louis. I started skating around 4-5 and playing organized hockey around 6.

Hard to say exactly when I began being a fan of the Blues because honestly it stretches back about as far as I can remember. Can honestly say tho that both myself and dad/uncle probably would have never cared much about hockey (much less played most of our lives!) if it weren’t for the Blues coming to St. Louis when they did.

I still get to play hockey twice a week and sometimes even get to skate with my old man. Unfortunately my uncle doesn’t play anymore, but I do cherish getting to lace em up with my dad when he can. Guess I just want to say how grateful I am for having hockey in my life, and the role it’s played in my family and keeping us close. The Blues have honestly had a huge and lasting positive impact on my life and my family.

I hope to have many more years to come of cheering for the Blues, but my dad and uncle are both well into their 60s. Just hope they and the other Day 1 fans get a chance to see the cup come to St. Louis.

LGB!

 

[Captain Creampuff]

For me was the 1993 playoffs. I still remember being in awe of how Cujo played. Since then I have been hooked. So 26 years of happiness & agony so far.

Right here. I was already doing hockey stuff at the time but watching CuJo is when I fell in love with hockey and ended up becoming a goalie.

 

[Blueston]

WashU?

Rice. The video game actually made hockey fans of many of my friends.

 

[BlueDream]

I love our fanbase. St. Louis can be called a baseball town or whatever, but it's a great hockey market with people who are very passionate about the Blues. It's also cool how we have so many Canadian and European fans on this board as well. When we finally win the Cup, that's gonna be one hell of a celebration.

 

[brokeu91]

I’m 28 years old, but I’ve been a fan for over 20.

I grew up in Peoria, and my grandparents have always had season tickets for the Rivermen. I knew from a really young age that I absolutely loved hockey, and being able to go to games almost every weekend was huge for me. When I was around 5 or 6, I realized that the Blues were the Rivermen’s parent team, so that’s who I went with for the NHL.

I was all-in on both teams from there, and we got the Blues games on tv so that definitely helped. I did get more into the prospect aspect and such when we got the AHL team. The move also made me love the Blues even more, and despite moving from there in 2011, there was no way I was abandoning this team.

As some people might know, I was born into a Chicago sports family. I’m team Cubs, Bears, Bulls, and Illini(not CHI, but IL) as well. Despite seeing Jordan win titles when I was pretty young, I have felt very deprived of good luck as a sports fan for most of my life(until the Cubs won of course). I NEED to see this team win a Stanley Cup. I know I’ll have the same reaction I did when the Cubs won, and I count that as the best night of my life so far. I have a lot of emotional attachment to the Cubs(family/best friend who passed), but hockey IS my favorite sport. I’ve always known we’ll win in the year I least expected them to, and I hope really hope that’s this year.


Sorry if this was long, but I just love this game and how much of an impact it’s had in my life growing up.

I want to like your post, but I just can't when you also confess to be a Cubs fan...oh, the webs we weave

 

[Default]

Probably all 21 years of my life. Too cliche?

I grew up in a hockey and NASCAR household where I’d watch as many games as we could with my father. He’d sit me down to watch hockey games to keep me occupied when I was age 3 (or so my parents would tell me). I started collecting hockey cards when I was 5, and I also kept a stat book around this time for the Blues so I could keep track of the players and how many points they would get throughout the season. We didn’t have internet around this time so I would watch as many games as I could before I had to go to bed, if I ever missed any I would have to watch ESPN in the morning and get the stats from the bottom line where they didn’t always show ALL the stats for the game so it would throw me off a bit. Nevertheless, when my parents’ friends would come over they’d be impressed that I could keep a conversation going with the adults about hockey (age 8+ or so) which was pretty cool looking back on it now. I dedicate a lot of my gained knowledge for the NHL towards the EA NHL games as I played them a disgusting amount when I was younger. It was really rare to like the Blues around the SoCo Mehlville area where I grew up and currently still live, so when I’d attend Elementary and middle school (2002-2008 or so) I would RARELY ever meet another blues fan and if I did they knew little to nothing about the game or the team so it always rubbed me the wrong way. In addition, every other f****** week was Cardinals or wear red week, so I’d wear my blues stuff on those days. As I got to high school the blues started to be “cool” so it started to pick up (2011-2012). The 2015 playoffs were rough for me and my family because we knew it would be my fathers last playoff run as he had stage 4 colon cancer so losing to the Wild there was pretty brutal (he had been a fan since ‘67). I don’t really have an interest story of how I stumbled across the Blues or anything as I’ve lived in STL my whole life, but I have been around and loved the team as much as I do now even when they were complete trash. I was there for that turnaround season in 08-09 when it all started to come together as that’s when we got our season tickets. Glad I’ve been able to pretty much be on this journey since 1997. I may not have suffered as long as some of you, but I swear I remember all the hardships up until now LOL. This post is sort of all over the place but that’s pretty much all that stands out to me currently.

 

[TarasenkosForearm]

35, so probably started to know what was going on around age 7.

 

[Bendak]

@Bendak @Bendak @Bendak

Are you on vaca or do I need to send blessings of Saint Wilford and a crash kit out with the search party? There are posts that need liking over here man, this was no time to test your limits with the spice. You're probably off god knows where wheezing the ja-uice with Pauly Shore(this part's just for me), but if you find time we need that Bendak magic yo.

I was in deep prayer and meditation leading up to today’s battle!

 

[Chet Manly]

The Arena.

That's what made me a fan. The volume, the way the upper decks moved... That place felt like a coliseum. But with hockey players instead of lions.

 

[Klank Loves You]

Its been about 7 years since I really started to pay attention to the game. Was too expensive to play as a kid. Its a fascinating game. Arguably the most team centric of all the big sports.

 

[hullderko]

I remember "college night" games at the old Arena vs. the Blackhawks, standing room only. You got seats for $15 with a college ID if I remember correctly. Those were fun times, arguably as loud as any current arena. I have not been to an Enterprise Center game that I can recall being as loud as the old barn. That should change this year with the Jets in round 1.

 

[blues hillbilly]

from the beginning.

 

[Cotton McKnight]

I was six and went to see the Blues play at the Arena for the first time in '86. I loved it, it was faster pace then a Cardinal's game. I wouldn't shut up about it the whole way home. So the next day my sister went out and bought me a street hockey stick and a floor hockey puck. After that my parents would let me watch every game with them, and occasionally join them at the Arena.

 

[Kreegz2]

I was an Air Force brat and my dad was stationed at Scott AFB when I was 7 years old in 1996. He was only stationed there for 4 years before we moved again in 2000(to Tampa), but I've always stayed a Blues/Cards fan since.

 

[Meatball]

If I had to pick a year where I became a full-fledged fan, it would be 1995 when I was 9 (although I have a few fleeting memories of the prior season, chief among them being the last game at the Arena against the Stars).

I can distinctly remember Craig Johnson scoring the first goal in Kiel Center history when they played the Kings that night. I also remember the Canucks dispatching of us in the playoffs that year as well.

I also played a lot of NHL '93 and '94 (a masterpiece) on Genesis growing up, which helped cultivate my love for the Blues and hockey as a whole.

 

[Ted Hoffman]

I think I told this story when this kind of a thread was put up years ago.

I was 5 and lost my first teeth watching Blues-Blackhawks game at home, because I was running around the room pretending I was a Blues player like on TV and ended up colliding with the coffee table. So, it started there even if I wasn't totally into it and I really didn't get what was going on; just knew guys were skating around, running into each other, getting into fights, and scoring goals and celebrating.

I remember listening to Dan Kelly call Blues games on KMOX circa 1977 [because we got our asses kicked by Montreal], and staying up late at night I don't know how many times to hear games and being captivated by how well he called the game. I seem to remember Kelly crying the night we won in Philadelphia to break that losing streak, which I think was the next-to-last game he ever called. [I also swear I remember him saying he hoped to see the Blues win in Philadelphia before he died, but I can't remember if it was that night or if it was a few years prior because the streak had just been going on for so long at that point.] But I was still more a casual fan because the Cardinals were my thing, until 1994 and the strike.

Probably got seriously hooked in the early 90s; went to my first game in '91 the night Hull scored #86. I was there for Game 3 vs. the Blackhawks in 1993, the final game at The Arena ['94 playoffs vs. Dallas], the first hockey game at Kiel Center [Rivermen game], the first Blues game at Kiel Center [Craig Johnson scoring the first goal while getting dragged down], and a bunch of games since.

So ... geez, 40+ years? But probably 25 of it counts as "serious" and even that has been hot-and-cold at times.

 

[Robb_K]

@HerpaDerp you forget 70+ option. @Robb_K cant give his vote.

HaHa! I just realised that Ranksu thinks I was a Blues' Fan 20 years before the team even existed!!! Now that's one heck of a devoted team sports fan!!!!

He must have been hitting that potent moonshine Finnish Vodka again!

 

[Plagers4Ever]

When asked, I say I am a LIFE-LONG BLUES Fan . . . pause for three seconds . . . then explain that Life-Long refers to the life of the Blues franchise and not my life. I attended games at the Arena during the 1967-1968 regular season and playoffs and have been Bleeding Blue ever since. (Heck, I even went to games at the Arena when the home team wore red, black and white with a now hated Indian Chief emblem!!!)