Although this is a Boston-centric blog, I thought I'd bring a little New York flavor to the mix. And no, I'm not talking about the New York Red Bulls, you cad, I'm talking about one of the most storied franchises in NHL history, the New York Rangers. "But who cares about hockey?", you ask, and rightfully so. Statistics* show that hockey is at an all-time low in popularity thanks to its inaccessibility to low-income/urban families and the low-scoring defensive-minded play of its teams. Even the efforts of Sarah Palin to reignite interest in the sport have been met with harsh resistance (check this out- hilarious: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7TgDanmWkg).But despite this apparent ambivalence on behalf of the general public, New York has always been a popular town for hockey, even through a 50-plus year Stanley Cup drought thought by many to be a curse for burning Madison Square Garden's mortgage in the cup following victory in 1940.
Anyway, I write about the Rangers today because tonight they will play their interstate rivals the New Jersey Devils for a chance at a 5-0 start to the season, something they've only accomplished once before in 1984. Now I do love New Jersey, as I'm Jersey born and raised, but the Devils, they're just lame. They've been one of the top competitors in the Atlantic conference for the past 15 years, winning multiple championships, and they just moved into a state-of-the-art arena, but their fan base is terrible. I almost feel bad for them. I mean, look at the Raiders. Those guys are terrible but they have the most over-the-top intense fans in the NFL. Now imagine you're a highly competitive team playing right between two large sports markets, NY and Philly. And you have no fans. How irritating is that? I mean, they have a few fans, but they're so lame. Anyway, I digress. Last year the Rangers completely owned the Devs, taking 7 of 8 in the regular season and winning all 3 away games in a playoff series that saw the Devils absolutely outmatched and outwitted at every turn. Of course, with their luck, the Rangers will drop tonight's game and ultimately fall behind the Devils and the Penguins in the division, but for now I'll enjoy their first-place standing. And you can enjoy the best shootout goal ever scored in NHL history by Ranger Marek Malik: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x2E1cyTVBA.
*Source: MY BRAIN
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