Tribute Why I’m a Rangers Fan

[DaBadGuy7]

I was at a neighbor’s house in early 99 and turned on FOX and saw the Rangers play the Bruins. I was intrigued on what I saw. Then the Rangers played the Red Wings on Valentine’s Day and I was hooked. Despite the fact I was living in NJ and Devils were in the midst of their great run. I stuck by the Rangers through the dark ages and it’s been fun rooting for since the lockout.

That game is YouTube, the white liberty jerseys in all lol:

 

[ecemleafs]

I've always thought soccer and hockey resembled each other a bit in structure.

my 2 favorite sports.

 

[SingnBluesOnBroadway]

Posted this on the main board in a thread asking why people are fans of their team, I always find it quite interesting hearing people’s back story especially when they root for a team other than their hometown one. Thought you guys might be interested

I’m from Vancouver, so becoming a fan of the New York Rangers is a little odd. Growing up in a huge hockey market I had been watching and playing hockey ever since I could remember, the first draft I followed was in 2002 when Rick Nash was selected first overall. He became my favorite player so I rooted for the Jackets, they were the underdog expansion team and Nash carried them alone. My mom contacted the Jackets organization as well as Nash, and was able to get them to send a bunch of signed merchandise despite the fact we lived in a whole nother country. I went to a Jackets vs Canucks game and during warmups Nash spotted me and skated over to the bench and in the area where players go to enter the tunnel he talked to me and signed my jersey.

In 2011 my mom & I went on a trip to New York and I fell in love with the city, there was a near magical charm to the place; something in the air. It was during a huge winter storm, I believe JFK was actually closed down like a few days before we arrived because of all the snow. Walking down 5th Ave with all the snow was just the most beautiful sight, and coincidentally my hometown Canucks were in town to play the Rangers during this trip. We bought tickets last minute and went to the game, it was a 1-0 shutout for Henrik Lundqvist. I was still a Jackets fan at the time but there was this aura about MSG that this was a special place. Seeing all the history. Gave me feelings I‘d never experienced at GM Place/Rogers Arena.

I had a pretty rough upbringing; my father passed away when I was 1 year old, one of my best friends got murdered when she was 15; hockey was always an escape for me. Both playing and watching it made me feel as if all of my problems in real life didn’t exist, so I liked cheering for a team from a different place and imagining I didn’t grow up in some of the circumstances I did. I’ve always had a strong affinity for New York and then in 2012 Rick Nash was coincidentally traded to the Rangers, which was too perfect, I instantly switched my allegiance from the Jackets to the Rangers.

Though Nash did eventually get traded to the Bruins for a short-lived tenure, I couldn’t bring myself to cheer for any team but the Rangers. The runs from 2012-2016 were such emotional rollercoasters and made me form an attachment to the Rangers that I’ve never felt for anything else. When Marty St. Louis’s mother passed away and all the Rangers went to her funeral together to support him, us coming back from those 3-1 series deficits, him scoring that goal on Mother’s Day, and the overtime winner against his hometown team.

The next year with Zuccarello’s terrifying head injury and how this team just continuously rallied around each other's hardships. How so much of this team had all the odds stacked against them, Lundqvist going from barely getting drafted in the 7th round to having a hall of fame career, Zucc going undrafted and being the little engine that could. There’s something special about this team. It also doesn’t hurt that whenever my Canuck fan family & I banter back and forth I can always rub ‘94 in their face despite the fact I wasn’t yet born at the time

Thank you for sharing.

 

[kovazub94]

I became a Rangers fan when they wrapped me in NYR colors at the hospital after being born

And your Dad wasn’t a Ranger defenseman about to be bought out? Weird...

 

[kovazub94]

Came to US from former Soviet Union in ‘92 and went to Baruch college in January ‘93. In cafeteria friended a couple of Ruskies, one a diehard Rangers fan, the other the islanders. Got a pretty in depth old and recent history lessons and even though Isles went to upset the Pens before losing to Habs in the ECF, that summer of ‘93 I became a New York Rangers fan (you’re all welcome), in no small part influenced by having Kovalev, Zubov, Nemchinov and Karpovtsev (RIP).

 

[will1066]

I got started watching a free game on WWOR TV channel 9 back in 87 or 88. First player I ever saw on the tele was Sandstrom. Liked the uniform and colors and that was it.

 

[Edge]

Growing up, my father always had tickets to games because of his job (he worked for a bank that was, at the time, the largest in the world).

My first game would've been around 1982, when I went with my dad and siblings to see the Rangers played the Capitals. First player I can remember was Don Maloney.

I'll never forget the feeling of coming up out of the subway across from MSG and looking at the arena all lit-up. It felt huge.

I would go to games throughout my childhood and can remember meeting James Patrick somewhere around 83/84 and he was my favorite player for a while. I still have the picture.

I remember being at a school dance in 94 and listening to the radio in the car when the Devils tied game 7. I can remember getting home in time to catch the GWG in OT.

A few years later I went to work for the team as an intern. Then it became a paid internship. Then it became a job. I remained there until 2003 and had some amazing experiences I'll never forget. My only regret is that I was there through some really shitty years.

I then went to work for the league for a few years and eventually branched out on my own.

But the Rangers for me were a gateway to all kinds of fun memories, work experiences, and life goals. Since as long as I can remember, I followed the Rangers and Yankees like a hawk. It was my escape at times, and it later helped put food on the table.

 

[gravey9]

The story of how I became a Rangers fan was oddly enough published in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul v4. Lame, but true.

The shortened version of it is this. Growing up my Dad and I shared sports as our thing. Knicks, Dodgers, Giants football. My dad grew up in Brooklyn and never stopped rooting for the Dodgers after they left. And that was really our source of bonding. But hockey wasn't really a part of the picture.

But then, when I was 10, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Obviously a huge change for our family. My dad was a middle school teacher in a nearby school district and though he was in and out of work due to treatment and hospitalizations, he decided to sign the two of us up for school trip that his middle school was going on to see the Devils play at the Meadowlands. A the time, I think he thought it would be a nice bonding thing for us in all the upheaval even though he really wasn't a big hockey fan.

But the night of the game, my dad couldn't go. He was too sick. But for some reason, my dad convinced my mom to go with me instead. Keep in mind, though my mom was also a teacher, she did not work at my dad's school or anywhere nearby.

So, my mom and I get on this school bus filled with middle school kids who don't know us. I'm in the 5th grade and again, also don't go to the schools in that school district. We literally know no one. It's a little awkward to say the least.

At the game, we end up sitting next a kid who it turns out was one of my dad's students. And I'm not sure if he clocks how weird this is for us or not, but during the game, he sorta takes me under his wing and teaches me all about the game.

It was Devils/Flyers and I believe Peter Zezel or Rick Tocchet or some Flyer made this gorgeous spin-0-rama goal and I was hooked. (The Devils were terrible, it was the mid 80s). That night when I got home I ran up to talk to my dad about the game. Very excited. But when I got to his room, he was in the bathroom, dealing with the effects of chemo.

And so I end up talking to him through the bathroom door. And I tell him I'm going to be a hockey fan now, I'm going to root for the Devils. And he says you can't do that. (in my home, fandom was handed down like a sirname and if you didn't go along you'd be mocked until you changed - which I think is totally fair.) So I asked him what team do we root for? And he replies the Rangers.

From that moment on I was a Rangers fan. I threw myself in wholeheartedly. For the next five years my dad battled cancer and eventually lost that battle. And in those 5 tumultuous years, where almost every other area of my life sucked, the Rangers became my lifesaver. Literally. Even though, at the time, they sucked too. But they were the thing my adolescent self could depend on when nothing else seemed dependable. you could even depend on them losing. To say the ethos of being a Rangers fan fit like a glove was an understatement.

And so, when I root for the Rangers today, every shout and scream, every cheer and groan comes from the deepest part of my being. For good or for bad. And for that, I can thank/blame my dad and also that one thoughtful student of his that decided on that one night to pay it forward.

 

[Ratelleitlikeitis]

(The) Chief was [I believe now the late also great] D Jim Nielsen.

Prof I have to have mo coffee and see if it comes to me.

When I think of "The Professor", first name comes to mind is WNEW FM Scott Muni, legendary rock DJ.
Tho my fave there was Allison Steele, "the Nightbird" --- what a hot sexy voice!

Here's another clue...a centreman with four Cup rings.

 

[bernmeister]

The story of how I became a Rangers fan was oddly enough published in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul v4. Lame, but true.

The shortened version of it is this. Growing up my Dad and I shared sports as our thing. Knicks, Dodgers, Giants football. My dad grew up in Brooklyn and never stopped rooting for the Dodgers after they left. And that was really our source of bonding. But hockey wasn't really a part of the picture.

But then, when I was 10, my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Obviously a huge change for our family. My dad was a middle school teacher in a nearby school district and though he was in and out of work due to treatment and hospitalizations, he decided to sign the two of us up for school trip that his middle school was going on to see the Devils play at the Meadowlands. A the time, I think he thought it would be a nice bonding thing for us in all the upheaval even though he really wasn't a big hockey fan.

But the night of the game, my dad couldn't go. He was too sick. But for some reason, my dad convinced my mom to go with me instead. Keep in mind, though my mom was also a teacher, she did not work at my dad's school or anywhere nearby.

So, my mom and I get on this school bus filled with middle school kids who don't know us. I'm in the 5th grade and again, also don't go to the schools in that school district. We literally know no one. It's a little awkward to say the least.

At the game, we end up sitting next a kid who it turns out was one of my dad's students. And I'm not sure if he clocks how weird this is for us or not, but during the game, he sorta takes me under his wing and teaches me all about the game.

It was Devils/Flyers and I believe Peter Zezel or Rick Tocchet or some Flyer made this gorgeous spin-0-rama goal and I was hooked. (The Devils were terrible, it was the mid 80s). That night when I got home I ran up to talk to my dad about the game. Very excited. But when I got to his room, he was in the bathroom, dealing with the effects of chemo.

And so I end up talking to him through the bathroom door. And I tell him I'm going to be a hockey fan now, I'm going to root for the Devils. And he says you can't do that. (in my home, fandom was handed down like a sirname and if you didn't go along you'd be mocked until you changed - which I think is totally fair.) So I asked him what team do we root for? And he replies the Rangers.

From that moment on I was a Rangers fan. I threw myself in wholeheartedly. For the next five years my dad battled cancer and eventually lost that battle. And in those 5 tumultuous years, where almost every other area of my life sucked, the Rangers became my lifesaver. Literally. Even though, at the time, they sucked too. But they were the thing my adolescent self could depend on when nothing else seemed dependable. you could even depend on them losing. To say the ethos of being a Rangers fan fit like a glove was an understatement.

And so, when I root for the Rangers today, every shout and scream, every cheer and groan comes from the deepest part of my being. For good or for bad. And for that, I can thank/blame my dad and also that one thoughtful student of his that decided on that one night to pay it forward.

Your dad was a trooper, an example for us all.
Be comforted.

 

[bernmeister]

Here's another clue...a centreman with four Cup rings.

And here's another clue for you all
the walrus was Paul

... no wait, different puzzle!

 

[Row I Goon]

How many Aussies support the Rangers? At least this 50 year old one!

Played football and cricket as a kid - dad was local, mum was Eastern European (her family fled the communists and ended up scattered across the globe). Mum’s sister settled in Toronto and was forever sending her Leafs and BlueJays gear for me. Had little idea who either team were.

Married my high school sweetheart, who happens to be from Vancouver AND a huge Canucks fan and on our honeymoon to New York she surprised me with tickets to MSG - Rangers v Sabers. I was hooked.

Upon returning to Melbourne, Australia, looked for local hockey and found that an amateur national league exists and am a paid member of Melbourne Ice and head one of the un-official “cheer/chirp’ supporter groups, the “Row I Goons” (we all sit in Row I). We’ve won the Cup 4 times in the last 10 years. So it’s a tied “love” for me, Rangers and Ice. It is just coincidence that the jerseys are similar colours....(that’s me on the left below on the ice with our captain and my brother in law immediately after the 2017 Cup winning game)

 

[Tawnos]

Like many, I inherited my fandom. My grandfather was a Rangers fan. My dad has season tickets during the 60s and 70s. He even met my mom at a Rangers game.

The main thing that I think really solidified my passion for the team was the age I was when they won the Cup. I was 11, which is a good age to really ignite a fandom. It didn’t hurt that game 7 against Vancouver was on my birthday. That was by no means the beginning of my fandom. We went to games before that. I’d just say 94 was when it focused.

 

[Kovalev27]

Because heartbreak lets me know I’m alive

 

[AB13]

I am Swedish but lived in New York for a few years in the late 2000s. Started supporting the Rangers because of that mostly, but also because how cool the MSG was, and the sexiest jerseys in hockey. My idol was always Lundqvist, but I also really liked Zherdev, Girardi, Callahan and Avery ( of course).

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

Growing up, my father always had tickets to games because of his job (he worked for a bank that was, at the time, the largest in the world).

My first game would've been around 1982, when I went with my dad and siblings to see the Rangers played the Capitals. First player I can remember was Don Maloney.

I'll never forget the feeling of coming up out of the subway across from MSG and looking at the arena all lit-up. It felt huge.

I would go to games throughout my childhood and can remember meeting James Patrick somewhere around 83/84 and he was my favorite player for a while. I still have the picture.

I remember being at a school dance in 94 and listening to the radio in the car when the Devils tied game 7. I can remember getting home in time to catch the GWG in OT.

A few years later I went to work for the team as an intern. Then it became a paid internship. Then it became a job. I remained there until 2003 and had some amazing experiences I'll never forget. My only regret is that I was there through some really shitty years.

I then went to work for the league for a few years and eventually branched out on my own.

But the Rangers for me were a gateway to all kinds of fun memories, work experiences, and life goals. Since as long as I can remember, I followed the Rangers and Yankees like a hawk. It was my escape at times, and it later helped put food on the table.

Jeep! My first favorite player as well.

 

[gravey9]

Jeep! My first favorite player as well.

I loved Jeep as well. When I was a teenager, I had a mutual connection and he invited me back to the locker room after a playoff game in the early 90s. One of the years they lost to the Caps. I got to meet a lot of the team and hung out for a bit with JP. He was really nice. Actually apologized to me because they lost the game. Great memory. My favorite moments. I accidentally made one of the guys, maybe Kelly Kisio, sign an autograph with his broken arm in a cast. And watching Joey Kocur swipe 4-5 bottles of soda into his bag from the hospitality table. And a very young Brian Leetch approaching me asking me if I had seen Jeep anywhere, just assuming that a random fan would know his nickname (which I did).

 

[mas0764]

First hockey game I ever watched was 1994 Game 7 Rangers Devils ECF. The frenetic pace and frankly the calls by Gary Thorne on ESPN hooked me. I lived in Pennsylvania so I didn’t have MSG. I was 11 years old, my dad had put it on.

I then watched all the finals except games 5 and 6, I think. I don’t have any memory of those. I remember even in PA that series seemed to enthrall the entire .... what, 5th grade class? I think it was 5th grade. I remember everyone picking sides in school, either pulling for Rangers or Canucks.

Game 7 is a memory I think I’ll retain vividly forever.

Been a Rangers fan ever since.

 

[egelband]

I got started watching a free game on WWOR TV channel 9 back in 87 or 88. First player I ever saw on the tele was Sandstrom. Liked the uniform and colors and that was it.

This is pretty much my story too. I was aware of the Rangers beforehand since Barry Beck had lived across the street, Mom was always impressed and mentioned him when she saw him around the neighborhood. The local diner (remember those) had his signed pic up so I saw that all the time too. I was just kind of surrounded by it, despite not having Ranger fan parents or siblings. So when i started getting more interested in pro sports I fell into the Rangers. A few years later I would start going to games at the Garden, could get tickets for $15 or $16 I believe. blue seats, of course. Beck was a bit before my time but the first players I followed, so to speak, were Samdstrom, Kisio, Greschner (I met Carol Alt once at a game), Don Maloney, Jan Erixon...

Also the most annoying nitwit kid in summer camp was a rabid Isles fan.

 

[CTRanger]

I was born in ‘71 and became a Ranger fan in ‘79. Didn’t know anything about hockey but I just loved listening to the games on the radio at night while I was trying to go to sleep. The Rangers made their run to the finals in the spring of ‘79. In Feb of ‘80 I watched the U. S. Men’s Hockey Team do the impossible. I still get emotional to this day talking about it. Hockey became part of who I am from that moment forward and thus so did the Rangers. One of the greatest moments of my life was taking my boys each individually to their first Ranger Games.

I’ve been to a lot of games, including conference final games but never a cup final game. But I must say maybe the 2 greatest games I’ve ever seen at the garden live were the ‘96 World Cup of Hockey games. Back to back early Sept an absolutely incredible game against Russia and then a demolition of Slovakia. The star power on those teams was ridiculous and the atmosphere was indescribable.

LGR

 

[CasusBelli]

I became a hockey fan when I was eight. It wasn’t the sport per se — I didn’t know anything about it (thought the C on the jersey meant “center” and wondered what position the A is) — but I moved to the US (South Florida to be exact), not speaking a word of English, and had a hard time making friends. Kids are also cruel.

Happily, there was a group of kids who were really into hockey, and they were extremely nice to me from the get-go. They, like me, were also good students — not concerned with being called “nerd” or “geek.” So, soon enough, we were watching Panthers games tomorrow and gushing over the Russian Rocket’s scoring prowess — only to soon commiserate over nearly a decade of misery.

My experience with the Rangers was less exciting: I moved to NYC for college and wanted to follow a local hockey team. I hated the Devils because of Stevens from back in the day — and the isles fans I knew were losers — plus Rangers had the pedigree of being an Original Six team. So here we are — Bleeding Blue.

Also: loved Hank, Callahan, Dubi, Staal and Girardi from the very beginning.

 

[RangerBlues]

I was born in ‘71 and became a Ranger fan in ‘79. Didn’t know anything about hockey but I just loved listening to the games on the radio at night while I was trying to go to sleep. The Rangers made their run to the finals in the spring of ‘79. In Feb of ‘80 I watched the U. S. Men’s Hockey Team do the impossible. I still get emotional to this day talking about it. Hockey became part of who I am from that moment forward and thus so did the Rangers. One of the greatest moments of my life was taking my boys each individually to their first Ranger Games.

I’ve been to a lot of games, including conference final games but never a cup final game. But I must say maybe the 2 greatest games I’ve ever seen at the garden live were the ‘96 World Cup of Hockey games. Back to back early Sept an absolutely incredible game against Russia and then a demolition of Slovakia. The star power on those teams was ridiculous and the atmosphere was indescribable.

LGR

I was born in 69 and started paying attention that 79 playoff run. I was hooked on the game from there. And then it was still a game of violence that score was kept.
My Father was no hockey fan. He called the game as fake as wresting. but wrestlers were more talented and entertaining.
My only trips to MSG as a child was wrestling and the circus.
Dad would make fun cause the Rangers were thrown out while Ringling brothers was in town.

 

[CasusBelli]

Posted this on the main board in a thread asking why people are fans of their team, I always find it quite interesting hearing people’s back story especially when they root for a team other than their hometown one. Thought you guys might be interested

I’m from Vancouver, so becoming a fan of the New York Rangers is a little odd. Growing up in a huge hockey market I had been watching and playing hockey ever since I could remember, the first draft I followed was in 2002 when Rick Nash was selected first overall. He became my favorite player so I rooted for the Jackets, they were the underdog expansion team and Nash carried them alone. My mom contacted the Jackets organization as well as Nash, and was able to get them to send a bunch of signed merchandise despite the fact we lived in a whole nother country. I went to a Jackets vs Canucks game and during warmups Nash spotted me and skated over to the bench and in the area where players go to enter the tunnel he talked to me and signed my jersey.

In 2011 my mom & I went on a trip to New York and I fell in love with the city, there was a near magical charm to the place; something in the air. It was during a huge winter storm, I believe JFK was actually closed down like a few days before we arrived because of all the snow. Walking down 5th Ave with all the snow was just the most beautiful sight, and coincidentally my hometown Canucks were in town to play the Rangers during this trip. We bought tickets last minute and went to the game, it was a 1-0 shutout for Henrik Lundqvist. I was still a Jackets fan at the time but there was this aura about MSG that this was a special place. Seeing all the history. Gave me feelings I‘d never experienced at GM Place/Rogers Arena.

I had a pretty rough upbringing; my father passed away when I was 1 year old, one of my best friends got murdered when she was 15; hockey was always an escape for me. Both playing and watching it made me feel as if all of my problems in real life didn’t exist, so I liked cheering for a team from a different place and imagining I didn’t grow up in some of the circumstances I did. I’ve always had a strong affinity for New York and then in 2012 Rick Nash was coincidentally traded to the Rangers, which was too perfect, I instantly switched my allegiance from the Jackets to the Rangers.

Though Nash did eventually get traded to the Bruins for a short-lived tenure, I couldn’t bring myself to cheer for any team but the Rangers. The runs from 2012-2016 were such emotional rollercoasters and made me form an attachment to the Rangers that I’ve never felt for anything else. When Marty St. Louis’s mother passed away and all the Rangers went to her funeral together to support him, us coming back from those 3-1 series deficits, him scoring that goal on Mother’s Day, and the overtime winner against his hometown team.

The next year with Zuccarello’s terrifying head injury and how this team just continuously rallied around each other's hardships. How so much of this team had all the odds stacked against them, Lundqvist going from barely getting drafted in the 7th round to having a hall of fame career, Zucc going undrafted and being the little engine that could. There’s something special about this team. It also doesn’t hurt that whenever my Canuck fan family & I banter back and forth I can always rub ‘94 in their face despite the fact I wasn’t yet born at the time

This is a really moving story. Thank you for sharing it with us.

 

[NYRFANMANI]

I was born into an Iranian family, living in a state of Germany that maybe had three ice rinks in its entire history.
These were more ice-discos, with maybe one figure skating club. I didn't even know this sport existed and frankly neither did my fam, nor the entire state.
Later research showed that we had a club in our city in the 80s.

One faithful day some kid on the block showed up with NHL 2000 (or 2001, long time ago) for PS1 ... I never looked back.
Immediately, transcendentally !, I knew this is the most awesome, energizing, amazing thing I have ever seen.
The speed, the violence and beauty of it all, has me in love to this day.

My boys chose the obviously strong teams at the time. Dallas, Wings, Avs. I was drawn to NY. Red,white and blue are a
major deal in my corner of Germany, so I picked the Rangers. They had Fleury on the wing. Super small, lightning fast, super fun to play, got hooked.
And then I saw Mike Richter and that was the moment I was sold. Having a goalie be named "judge" is just badass, it has to explain itself!

The most awesome time started, when I got my first PC with internet (mid 2000s) and I embarked on a journey of reliving NYR and hockey history,
what I had missed so far.
The penalty-shot save by the judge on Bure has been burned into my memory. Seeing that the first time, felt like I was beamed back in time and actually there.
Everything Hasek was just indescribable, I had never seen a more valiant effort in ANYTHING.
One of the most memorable NYR moments was logging on NHL.com to find out the Rangers traded for Jagr. I knew enough by then, to be really exited.

I started buying icehockey magazines, had my entire wall dedicated to hockey posters. Started to buy Rangers memorabilia through my US connections.
As I got older, I could rearrange my schedule to watch as much live as I could and of course, one faithful day I found HFB, the rest is history.

 

[leetch99]

I likely started as a Maple Leaf fan since my Dad was back in the late 60's and early 70's. I shifted at some point and I am guessing because my hockey card collection starts abut then in 1971 . My brothers were Hab and Leaf fans as well. I was the Lone Ranger in my school .I listened to every Ranger game I could when I had the chance on the AM radio . Every game without fail reception would cut out for 15 minutes ...never knew why that happened ? I loved Marv Albert and all the guys in the booth . We would get a couple of Ranger games a year on the television . Vic Hadfield was my first fav Ranger . We came close but just could not get it done . Then it got a WHOLE LOT WORSE....my brother one year younger became a Fishstick fan....life was very bad in those years but if I can stick around for a few more seasons I might have the last laugh . 94 was UNREAL ! I was fortunate enough to have watched Darren Langdon entertain us in Junior with a local club...loved him as a Ranger !!!! Anyways...happy to call this group home base for all my Ranger news and info . I will take a stab at the Professor.......possibly Bobby Rousseau ?