Loyalty To Your Team: Do you stand by them, even when you’re not in the same city?

"My Niklas Sundstrom jersey circa 1997"

Hi. My name is Michelle and I’ve been a NY Rangers fan since 1992.  It’s been a long 19 seasons, which shows my age a little.  I cringed when I tallied it up.

I got into hockey in 1992 when there were a couple guys in my French class that liked the Rangers, and I believe one liked the Islanders.  Growing up on Long Island, one would think that I would like the Islanders, but for some reason I chose the Rangers.  I had no knowledge of the sport at the time, and just picked them.  I’m kind of glad I did looking back on it.  It was one of my smarter decisions back in 1992.  My hairstyle was not so lucky.  I was a Rangers’ fan pre-94 Stanley Cup, which many people jumped on the Rangers train in 1994-1995. Which, ironically many people jumped off shortly thereafter. Sometimes they hopped back on when they were winning, then back off when they were losing.  I believe the term is called ‘bandwagoning’.  I had jerseys, shirts, one of those fancy pullover Starter jackets, stickers… etc. I watched every game on MSG, and went to a few at MSG and the Coliseum.  I watched whether they won or lost, whether they made the playoffs or not.  If the game was on, I watched it.  If I missed a game on TV I was upset.  I cheered them on from my couch.  As time went on, I considered myself a loyal fan.

When I moved to an undisclosed remote location in upstate NY in 2002, I was plunked right into Sabres’ country.  Which is kind of odd, since we were 4 hours from Buffalo, and 3 ½ hours from NYC.  MSG there carried mainly Sabres games.  That made me sad.  But I stayed true to the Blue.  I watched games when I could, usually if they carried the 7pm Sabres game, the Rangers game aired at 11pm.  I would watch the games the following day, even though I knew the score. I would log onto the Rangers website several times a day.  It was strenuous, almost a full time job in itself.

Then the lockout o’2004-2005.  I didn’t follow hockey that season, obviously.  When the ’05-’06 season came around, I contemplated about finding a different team.  It had nothing to do with how poorly they had played, it had to do with the fact that I couldn’t watch the games on TV. But the mere thought of me following the Islanders or the Sabres or the Devils made me nauseous.  It was something as a self-respecting New Yorker, I couldn’t do.  So I continued to follow the Rangers.  From the 2006-2007 season to last season, I followed hockey, but not like I had before the lock out. If I didn’t catch a game, it wasn’t a big deal. Frankly, halfway through the 2009-2010 season I did stop watching games. I was busy with life, marriage, nursing school… I did explore new players though.  A few caught my eye, John-Michael Liles (then with Colorado, now with Toronto.  I like to refer to him as ‘hashtag JML’.), Mark Stuart (with the new Jets), Chris Porter and Roman Polak of the Blues. Their styles of play caught my eye, but my loyalty was with the Rangers still.

Last season, I explored the idea of adding a western conference team to my arsenal of teams, giving me an East Coast/West Coast thing.  The team I selected?  St Louis Blues.  Yeah, I know, totally random.  I teetered back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  Every time I thought ‘hey, I could just like the Blues’, I had a guilty feeling.  I couldn’t do it.  It felt like I was giving up my first born.  It was odd.  I swear, my Rangers jerseys would move around in the closet and jump to the front.  My jerseys played a guilt trip on me.

Giving props to the 21^st century, the internet, the iPhone and modern conveniences, it’s easier to be a fan of your team, even if you’re not in the same city, let alone the same state.  Most cable or satellite providers offer NHL Center Ice.  Or you can subscribe to an online streaming game plan.  While somewhat pricey, you can stay connected.   When I found out that we were relocating from our undisclosed upstate NY location, somewhere between Buffalo and New York City, to the city of Atlanta I was shocked.  But I also expected to be able to see some hockey games since the Thrashers were there.  But, they moved, leaving me with no hockey teams again within a 3 hour drive.

Coming into this preseason, I have a renewed faith in the Rangers and the NHL.  Not that I ever really doubted them, but I have a new found love for the game again.  A new passion.  Kind of like being a born again hockey fan.  Now, I’m a Rangers fan in Atlanta. If that ain’t loyalty, I don’t know what is.