Jared Max: What Defines A New York Rangers Fan?
By Jared Max
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I have been watching the Rangers since I was five years old.
I grew up in Bergen County and was a hockey fan before the Colorado Rockies became the New Jersey Devils. My father was not a Rangers fan. My older brother liked the Flyers. I was born for the blue.
One of my first connections to the Rangers was their logo — the shield — that graced the team's sweaters for two seasons in the late 1970s. Many Rangers fans despised this jersey. It was the first one I knew. I loved it.
Espo. Greschner. Dugay. The Maloneys. Walt Tkaczuk. Anders Hedberg. John Davidson. I loved these guys.
My favorite player was Pat Hickey. I followed him even after he was traded from the Rangers to the Rockies in a five-for-one blockbuster that brought Barry Beck to Broadway. While he, too, became one of my favorite Rangers, Hickey was my guy.
Tucked away in a box somewhere in my home is a 4 x 6 black-and-white glossy signed photo from Hickey.
"Hope you're ready for the '79-'80 -- Pat Hickey."
I was ready, indeed. But seven games into the next season, Hickey was dealt to Colorado. I still tracked his career and collected his hockey cards when he went to the Maple Leafs.
Not long ago, fans who wanted to contact athletes had to write letters to their favorite players. We used the U.S. Postal Service to deliver our notes and autograph requests. The communication was private. The reward was magical. Checking the mailbox every day for a response, there was no better feeling to a young sports fan than receiving a signed photo from a favorite player.
I have had many Rangers favorites. After Hickey, there was Pierre LaRouche and Mark Pavelich. John Vanbiesbrouck. Mark Osborne.
Jan Erixon. James Patrick. Bob Brooke. Reijo Ruotsalinen. Tomas Sandstrom. Ahhhh, Sandstrom. I still hate you, Dave Brown, for the dirtiest cross-check against one of my faves. And, yes, I loved Ulf Nilsson, too.
Funny story. When I met Denis Potvin at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, I asked if we could get a photo together. As we posed, I told him, "Denny, my fellow Rangers fans are going to kill me for this."
He smiled wide and said, "Just tell 'em 'Potvin's CUPS!' Four of them."
Ha!
Until June of 1994, most Rangers fans were like Chicago Cubs fans. Our heritage was marked by defeat.
I missed the first 33 years of the "1940" chant but was not spared a selection of painful memories that made 1994 evermore golden. One biggie comes to mind. The 1986 Wales Conference Finals against Montreal.
Two years after being kicked in the face by the Islanders when Ken Morrow scored the overtime clincher in the deciding fifth game of the Patrick Division semifinals, Rangers fans were treated to pain provided by rookie Patrick Roy in one of the most memorable games of the Hall of Fame goalie's 17-season career. While the Canadiens advanced to the Stanley Cup finals with a 4-1 series win over the Rangers, Game 3 nearly killed me.
Trailing two games to none, the Rangers grabbed the lead in Game 3. They gave up the lead three times. In just over nine minutes of overtime, the Rangers had outshot the Canadiens 13-2. But then Claude Lemieux beat Vanbiesbrouck. It was one of the most deflating losses I have experienced as a Rangers fan. I still recall watching that game on my grandmother's bed in South Florida.
Eight years later, I witnessed the thrill of victory.
In the late afternoon of May 25, 1994, I called my friend, Dave, to ask if he would like to drive to Brendan Byrne Arena with me to try to get tickets to see Game 6 of the Rangers-Devils conference finals. Yes, the Messier game. Unintimidated by scalpers, determined to get inside, I told my friend to walk with me into the ticket office. My plan worked. Last-minute seats became available, and we watched history from the corner of the lower bowl. Ultimate exultation! Of course, three weeks later we said we could die in peace.
Now a journey begins like never before. In 1994, I did not expect the Rangers to go to the Stanley Cup finals, let alone win. Now my chips are on the table. I feel like I did as a Yankees fan in the late 90s.
There is one goal. There are so many favorite players. Henrik Lundqvist, of course. Derek Stepan. Derick Brassard. McDonagh and St.Louis. Hagelin and Zuccarello. Hayes, Krieder and Klein. Love these guys.
Sing it, Rangers fans. HEY! - HEY! … HEY! - HEY! - HEY!
Oh, and one more New York Rangers favorite. Sam Rosen — his voice is like sweet music to the ears.
"It's a power-play goal!!" makes me happy the way the opening notes of a Rush song on the radio do.
Let's Go Rangers!!
P.S. Many years after my childhood fascination with Hickey, my brother teased me that I wrote him for his autograph because I probably had a crush on him. While he may have been right about why I had written a marginal Yankees pitcher named Ken Clay (6-14, 4.72 ERA over three years in New York) and gotten his autographed photo, too ("What did you think, he was cute?" my brother asked), I think my Hickey connection was legit. After all, he led the Rangers with 40 goals in the '77-'78 season.
Jared Max is a multi-award winning sportscaster. He hosted a No. 1 rated New York City sports talk show, "Maxed Out" — in addition to previously serving as longtime Sports Director at WCBS 880, where he currently anchors weekend sports. Follow and communicate with Jared on Twitter @jared_max.
