Something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is how fascinating the concept of sports is. Take the Rangers for example. At any given time there’s a lineup of 18 guys being cheered on by thousands and thousands of people. Some rich, some not so rich. Some in New York, some in countries New Yorkers have not heard of.
Everyone reading this is presumably a hockey fan, and I’m also sure you’ve all had moments where the Rangers have meant more to you than being just a sports team. There’s always been the idea of big sports moments being connected to where you were at the time. Be it where you watched, who you were with, how old you were, or any details, you likely know where you were during the big moments.
I remember where I was during 2014 Eastern Conference Finals Game Six. My friends invited me out to watch the game with them, but I said no because I was worried they would talk so much that I would miss key moments. It sounds lonely in hindsight, but I essentially locked myself in a room alone and just took it all in.
There was a lot going on during that time in my life. My parents were starting to get divorced, I had some issues at school, and my mental health was all over the place. But for two and a half hours, none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was a bunch of guys trying to put a puck in the net.
That sounds silly to say! But it’s real. Hockey has been with me through beautiful moments in my life. My wife’s first Rangers game to my wife reminding me that there was a game that we needed to watch. Going to games with my best friends, my family, and more. Meeting Jaromir Jagr when I was younger and listening to him yell to no one in particular “I don’t care about these kids, just get me a diet coke!” These are all memories I’ll always cherish.
In November, 2017, one of my best friends passed away. I had met them through being a Rangers fan, but they lived across the globe. I used to live-message them updates on the games, then when they woke up, they’d message me back their analysis after they’d watched, too. Given that we lived so far away, we had no mutual connections, so when he passed away, I had no one to talk to about it and couldn’t attend the funeral. So I watched the Rangers game, typed a bunch of analysis, and for the first time, I didn’t hit send. The last note I wrote from that night?
“I’m so glad hockey brought us together.”
All in all, hockey will always be what it is: a bunch of guys skating around and trying to outscore some other guys. But if you’ll continue to indulge me, I hope you can take some time to appreciate just how much the sport can mean. You might need that appreciation given how the Rangers are playing!
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