Yes I am a girl and I love hockey. It’s not because the players aren’t bad to look at, even though it helps. It’s because I love the game. There's just something about the sound of skates slicing the ice, screaming fans, players being slammed into the boards, and the sweet sound of 18,000 people screaming “Lets Go Rangers.” Not to mention that my team plays in the worlds most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. Yes, I am from New Jersey and yes, I am a diehard New York Rangers fan.
Being a ranger’s fan isn’t all fun and games. It’s trying times, when it’s good its good and when it rains it pours. Being a Rangers fan takes a lot of heart and devotion. It takes a special type of person to stick by a team who hasn’t won The Stanley Cup in my lifetime.
All my life, I've wanted one of my teams to win it all, whatever "it" may be for that sport. In baseball the Yankees were always a guarantee for a while. In football the Giants haven't been giving me much hope. Basketball hasn't been on my radar.
The only sports team I've followed religiously has been the New York Rangers. The fact that the Rangers have done very well the last couple years has definitely contributed to my undying love for them. It genuinely seemed to me that last season they were the only one of my teams to have a shot at winning their championship.
Sadly things have changed and it’s hard.
Many New York Rangers fans are one defensive zone turnover away from heading to the Barclays Center and watching the Islanders. The truth is the Blueshirts are getting hard to watch and the Garden Faithful is losing hope. The defense is collapsing, their offense is barely there, and the penalty kill is close to non-existent. Henrik Lundqvist hasn’t been on top of his game and they aren’t playing like a team that wants a Stanley Cup.
Over a month ago, the Rangers went on a nine-game winning streak and a 13-game point streak. During the winning streak, the Rangers were finding ways to win when they could’ve been losing. It also didn’t hurt to have one of the leagues best goalies, Lundqvist, playing at the top of his game.
All Rangers fans should take a moment to thank the hockey gods because without that win streak, who knows where this team would be right now. A true hockey fan knows that the second half of the season is what matters most. Everything happens in the second half. Good teams prevail. The Rangers are a good team stuck in a slump. So Rangers fans, I’m asking you to stop being negative.
After looking at their record now compared to a month ago, you can say that the team has hit rock bottom. But here’s the thing with hitting rock bottom—there’s nowhere to go but up. So Rangers fans, instead of being blue, start bleeding blue. Have faith in this team.
