How you became a Penguins fan ?

[Led Boots]

Yep, this ^

I moved to Pennsylvania (from the U.P.) in 1985. Watched the resurgence of the franchise from then on. Mario's personal accomplishments alone brought many thousands of fans to the NHL. He brought a level of grace to the game that will never be seen again.

The point battles between he and Gretzky...all of the "Who's the greatest" debates (could start a fight quicker than politics or religion).

Then, the late 80's, they started to add pieces - Mullen, Murphy, Francis. Then late 80's into the 90's - Sammuellson(s), Recchi, Stevens, Coffey, Tochett...back to back Cups...the list goes on and on.

People go on and on about how "Mario saved this franchise"...Some may think that's hokey or whatever...Mario changed lives around here...he changed hockey forever.



"Notwithstanding Gretzky's abiding majesty, posterity will never forget that no athlete—not even the sainted Lou Gehrig—has ever before Lemieux been struck down by a deadly disease at the very moment when he was the best of his sport at the best he ever would be. And since: Lemieux has achieved miraculously in remission, struggling, on the side, with a back injury so grievous that it has benched him after he merely laced up a skate. That is the stuff that answers people these days when they wonder where all our sports heroes have gone."
—Frank Deford, Newsweek

 

[SUBdrewgANS]

From Harrisburg PA, got the penguins channel growing up.. it's history from there.

How i started liking hockey though is a completely different story.. that I dont even have an answer for.. I've liked hockey/penguins for as long as I can remember.. No one in my family likes or plays hockey, I somehow picked it up on my own.

 

[ColePens]

For me... I was born into it. My parents were season ticket holders and I started skating/playing at 3. Born in 1985 and Mario was taking this city by storm. My parents completely bought in and thus my hockey career started.

All thanks to #66. I still remember being downtown for the parade/party for winning the Cup. Greatest time to be a hockey fan.

 

[Al Smith]

First memory listening to game on the radio as a kid in 1971 or so and Pens beat the Blackhawks on a goal by Val Fonteyne. I think that was a big deal back then.

 

[ColePens]

I live in Australia, a place where there is only one channel on pay TV which airs 1 random game every couple of days. One day when i turned on the TV Pittsburgh were playing Detroit, it was the game where Jordan Staal scored a hattrick and backchecked Datsuyk to set up the GWG. I fell in love with Staal that day and the Penguins organization, thank god game center exist

Man.. we have a lot of Aussie fans! That is bad ass. I'm happy to see that.

We don't get winter here, never even made a snowball. Needless to say when the TV was showing hockey highlights I was amazed by the size of the ice surface, the fast movement, and a guy named Mario going through people (it probably also helped he was on a team named after penguins). Back then any kind of hockey game was few and far between on TV (ESPN2 didn't come out til some yrs later and even then we didn't get it for a few more yrs) so I would tape any one that was on, watch ESPN for any highlights, scour the newspaper and cut out box scores and pictures of games.

Getting the internet was the best thing that ever happened to me as a hockey fan. I could watch box scores (they were behind, but better than watching 10 minutes of a bottom line during NCAA basketball or football season only for it to go to commercial during the NHL scores), eventually the radio feeds came around, and there was also chats. I guess in the end I had to be a bit obsessive to stick with it, but it's neat to have seen it grow as much as it has not only here but in other areas.

For some reason, I always thought you lived in Boston. You know the game very well for someone who didn't have a team in the local area.

Yep, this ^

I moved to Pennsylvania (from the U.P.) in 1985. Watched the resurgence of the franchise from then on. Mario's personal accomplishments alone brought many thousands of fans to the NHL. He brought a level of grace to the game that will never be seen again.

The point battles between he and Gretzky...all of the "Who's the greatest" debates (could start a fight quicker than politics or religion).

Then, the late 80's, they started to add pieces - Mullen, Murphy, Francis. Then late 80's into the 90's - Sammuellson(s), Recchi, Stevens, Coffey, Tochett...back to back Cups...the list goes on and on.

People go on and on about how "Mario saved this franchise"...Some may think that's hokey or whatever...Mario changed lives around here...he changed hockey forever.



"Notwithstanding Gretzky's abiding majesty, posterity will never forget that no athlete—not even the sainted Lou Gehrig—has ever before Lemieux been struck down by a deadly disease at the very moment when he was the best of his sport at the best he ever would be. And since: Lemieux has achieved miraculously in remission, struggling, on the side, with a back injury so grievous that it has benched him after he merely laced up a skate. That is the stuff that answers people these days when they wonder where all our sports heroes have gone."
—Frank Deford, Newsweek

Powerful stuff. Great write up by that guy.

 

[lornloxor]

I was maybe four or five and I was watching some NHL highlights on TV. Then I saw Mario completely dominate teams and instantly became a Pittsburgh Penguins fan. He shot right and so did I so that also helped

 

[The Shovel Penguin]

I'm from WA state and first got into hockey when the Pens and North Stars were in the finals, my brother happened to be watching it on TV. It was mostly the sport I fell in love with first, I want on and adopted the Pens as my team, mesmorized by Mario, (and as a teen girl developed a little crush on Jagr, what can I say) so the Pens and I have had a 20+ years long love affair.

 

[tntkid]

For me it started with the Mario Lemieux & Jaromir Jagr years.
These two guys were magic together.

The Crosby & Malkin years are easily just as good.

Management knows how to draft/trade the right way to build the perfect team.

The Pitts Philly playoff games have always been a favorite.

 

[Steve Durbano]

I was a Penguin fan before Mike Lange was the Pens announcer. Ed Conway did the play by play back on the radio then.

I saw my first game in the Igloo when the Pens wore the original powder blues.

 

[AquaticBirdman]

I second that.

It was 1991 and I was 8 years old. Everyone and anyone you can think of in MTL was obviously a Habs fan, but as soon as I caught a glimpse of Mario in action it was "love" (in a purely heterosexual way!) at first sight. I became a die-hard Pens fan to the core ever since. The fact that Mario grew up 2 blocks from my grandparents in the town of Ville Emard helped matters a bit too.

Needless to say, it wasn't all roses. When we got bounced by the Isles in 93, only for the Habs to win the cup the same year I didn't hear the end of it for about a year from all my friends. It ain't easy being a non-Habs fan living amongst the most obnoxious fanbase in the NHL. Having to suffer through the "X Generation" era was really rough as well. But hey...we all know how that story turned out right?

 

[lirit]

Was born a couple months before our first cup.

Was dressed in Penguins clothing and socks that are too big since I was born.

 

[Ogelthorpe]

My daughter would also like to add that she was a Pens fan since she was a few hours old.

View attachment 62419

 

[JQR]

I'm a bandwagoner, I guess. 4 years ago I had never heard of Sidney Crosby and I had no idea how hockey was played, aside from guys with sticks hitting a puck.

Then my wife said that we should watch the Olympic hockey games. So I did. I was rooting for Team USA and literally no clue what the **** was going on in front of me. But it was oddly addictive. Then I watched that Crosby guy in the USA vs Canada game. I could tell he was good, probably a lot better than anyone else, but only because the commentators kept talking about him. After the gold medal game, I decided I was going to watch hockey.

Now the question was, who would I be a fan of? The only games I had watched were during the Olympics, and the only guy I could name was Crosby (didn't even know his first name). Oh, and these twins I saw play. They were pretty neat. I live in NY and we have plenty of teams, but none of them appealed to me. I hate Long Island, I have no real connection with NYC, and Buffalo just kinda seemed, "meh." First I Googled "twins in nhl" and found the Sedins were in Vancouver. I contemplated being a Vancouver fan, but ultimately said no because the games would never be on locally and the team was located across the country. So I said, well hell, what team is that Crosby guy on? Turned out to be Pittsburgh. I live about 8 hours away, so this made more sense than Vancouver. I was also under the impression that Crosby was just a really good hockey player, not the face of the NHL.

All this time, my wife just figured it was a phase that I would grow tired of. Little did she know, she created a monster. I have a fairly obsessive personality in some regards. When I take up a hobby, I go balls-to-the-wall. Hockey was no different. Everything I could read, I read. Everything I could watch, I watched. I started going to local Albany River Rats (Albany Devils) games. My wife has regretted her suggestion to watch those Olympic games ever since.

The other night, she came downstairs when I was watching a game and I had my laptop on my lap, typing away on HFBoards. She asked me why I was on the computer instead of watching the game. I explained to her that this is the only communication I really have with fellow hockey fans, much less Penguins fans. Then I pointed out that I have never actually watched a game with another hockey fan. I think it made her feel bad because she hasn't given me any **** since then, haha.

So that's my story. TLDR: I'm a bandwagon fan.

 

[Ogelthorpe]

I'm a bandwagoner, I guess. 4 years ago I had never heard of Sidney Crosby and I had no idea how hockey was played, aside from guys with sticks hitting a puck.

Then my wife said that we should watch the Olympic hockey games. So I did. I was rooting for Team USA and literally no clue what the **** was going on in front of me. But it was oddly addictive. Then I watched that Crosby guy in the USA vs Canada game. I could tell he was good, probably a lot better than anyone else, but only because the commentators kept talking about him. After the gold medal game, I decided I was going to watch hockey.

Now the question was, who would I be a fan of? The only games I had watched were during the Olympics, and the only guy I could name was Crosby (didn't even know his first name). Oh, and these twins I saw play. They were pretty neat. I live in NY and we have plenty of teams, but none of them appealed to me. I hate Long Island, I have no real connection with NYC, and Buffalo just kinda seemed, "meh." First I Googled "twins in nhl" and found the Sedins were in Vancouver. I contemplated being a Vancouver fan, but ultimately said no because the games would never be on locally and the team was located across the country. So I said, well hell, what team is that Crosby guy on? Turned out to be Pittsburgh. I live about 8 hours away, so this made more sense than Vancouver. I was also under the impression that Crosby was just a really good hockey player, not the face of the NHL.

All this time, my wife just figured it was a phase that I would grow tired of. Little did she know, she created a monster. I have a fairly obsessive personality in some regards. When I take up a hobby, I go balls-to-the-wall. Hockey was no different. Everything I could read, I read. Everything I could watch, I watched. I started going to local Albany River Rats (Albany Devils) games. My wife has regretted her suggestion to watch those Olympic games ever since.

The other night, she came downstairs when I was watching a game and I had my laptop on my lap, typing away on HFBoards. She asked me why I was on the computer instead of watching the game. I explained to her that this is the only communication I really have with fellow hockey fans, much less Penguins fans. Then I pointed out that I have never actually watched a game with another hockey fan. I think it made her feel bad because she hasn't given me any **** since then, haha.

So that's my story. TLDR: I'm a bandwagon fan.

I would consider you a new fan, not a bandwagon fan. You honestly didn't know much about hockey and chose a team because of the one thing that drew you to the game. Glad we can be here to talk to you!

 

[JQR]

I would consider you a new fan, not a bandwagon fan. You honestly didn't know much about hockey and chose a team because of the one thing that drew you to the game. Glad we can be here to talk to you!

Haha, yeah I consider myself a new fan too. I just think that when people find out I started following the Pens so recently they just assume I'm a bandwagoner. So instead of explaining that whole thing, I just agree with them.

 

[Mordax]

Born in Pittsburgh. Can't really recall how I got into hockey, but I was playing roller hockey w/ my friends just about everyday from 3rd grade on (early 90s). Penguins posters on all my walls. HUGE hockey card collection (come on retirement fund...!!).

 

[Antaris]

Back in 1991 my father was on a trip in Pittsburgh. Brought me back a hat, a puck and stories of Mario.

Hooked ever since.

 

[namsnoodle]

Kind of weird but here's my story (in fact it's a piece from my blog titled "How I Becamea Fan of My Favorite Sports Teams"

(1st Grade 1995/1996)Pittsburgh Penguins- Remember when the NHL use to be broadcasted on ESPN? Not only that, but ESPN would also rebroadcast the previous nights game the next afternoon.(right after school would let out for the day) My mother was helping my brother with a school project at the table where the T.V. stood. It just so happened that on the television was a hockey game. I remember sitting there watching it and saying to myself "Whoever scores first, I want to win" the team that scored first in that game was none other than the Pittsburgh Penguins. When they scored the goal I responded with a firm "Yes!" And I remember my mom saying "Oh do you like that team?" Too which I also followed up with another "Yes". From then on, I have been a Penguins fan ever since.

 

[MtlPenFan]

It needs go no further than that. That was the moment where, as a Montrealer who couldn't stand the Habs and wasn't a fan of ANY team, I chose Mario as "My guy"

 

[SaintRon]

Friday, February 22 1980 +

Growing up in a Burgh suburb (watched them lose many a game back then) +

= this Penguin fan

 

[WayneSid9987]

Martimer here. Grew up an admirer of all great hockey talent but i was a Gretzky/Oilers/Kings fan. Read stories about Sidney Crosby and got to see him play in the Midget Air Canada Cup in Bathurst, New Brunswick and at the Canada Games. Followed his career through Shattuck, Rimouski, World Juniors. Became a Pens fan the moment Craig Patrick read his name at the podium.

 

[Ozz]

They and Mario were an exciting team to watch and follow when I got into hockey in the opening years of the '90s.

 

[MonsterSurge]

I'm from Pittsburgh
I witnessed superstar, Rico Fata, dominate nothing

Pretty good reasons, eh?

 

[Bar Down]

I lived in 5 different cities growing up. Both of my parents were from Pittsburgh however, and they bought TV packages so we could watch wherever we were. When I was living in Chicago as a kid, I saw Lemieux for the first time on TV. I was captivated by how smooth and dominant he was, how he commanded the outcomes of games. Jagr too, but not like Mario. Ever since then I've been hooked. I've been lucky as a fan, started in 1989. Only went through a few years of bad hockey before dominance returned in the form of 87 and 71.

 

[OLDPENSFAN]

November 1967, I was 7 years old the Pens were the new kids in town. Went with my cousins against the Burins and feel in love with hockey and Penguins. I seen the Good, Three Cups, Mario, Sidney, Bad, losing to the Islanders, three times in the playoffs when they should have won and the Ugly, losing to the Flyers all those years in Philly. After two bankruptcies, Mario's cancer, Battleship Kelly pounding the crap out of everyone, including Dave Shultz and the greatest goal in the Stanley Cup finals (Mario vs the North Stars), I still check the box scores like a kid. It has been a wild and wonderful trip these last 46 years and I hope the best is still to come. Go Pens!!