Why am I, well an obvious and easy answer to this question is that after accquiring NHL 09 for the Xbox 360 a few years ago I realized that the only thing I understood about the game was the goalie position, in that all I needed to do was to put it bluntly, "see puck, stop puck". So after realizing this I decided to start a be a pro career as a goalie.
But as I didn't have a team I decided to do a random selection. And by that I mean I started at the Ducks, and very quickly closed my eyes and hammered the right trigger on my controller to keep cycling through the teams, until I had lost track of how many times I'd pressed the button. Then after two minutes I stopped, opened my eyes and voila, waiting for me was the New York Rangers. In hindsight that was a terrible decision, I mean how the hell do I unseat Henrik Lundqvist?
The answer was very easily :P but enough of that, the story is after being promoted from the Hartford Wolfpack, (still think that is a better name than the Connecticut Whale, but I understand the new name)
After playing at the world famous MSG, and leading the team in the playoffs to a Stanley Cup, I grew an affinity with the club, and eventually led myself to choose them as my team, as I have the best memories playing for them.
But despite all this, I reckon there are reasons why if I hadn't stopped on the New York Rangers that I still may of ended up a Ranger or at the very least, An Islander. But mainly a Ranger.
1. The city itself, where the hell do I start here.... How about architecture? Good place as any to start, from the Empire State building, to the Chrysler building, to the near completion Freedom Tower. New York has always had some incredibly breathtaking architecture. (disclaimer, I like architecture) It's one of the main reasons I would love to go to the city, to see the incredible designs, to see someone literally build something from the ground up, (which is literally what people do in Manhattan anyway :P)
The beauty of Manhattan island architecture is amazing and can be described aptly twice a year, as the sun lines up perfectly with Manhattan as it sets.
2. World Famous Landmarks, St Louis has the Arch, LA has some sort of sign, Minnesota has snow.... Well NYC has yellow taxis, Central Park, a giant version of Paris' Statue of Liberty, All those building, Manhattan is a world wide icon, MSG, Wall Street, The UN are based there, Broadway. No other city has as many landmarks that are instantly recognisable to anyone world wide. How many people have ever seen the Arch in St Louis, Not many I'd wager, but how many people can tell you what the Empire State Building looks like, or the Statue of Liberty? A lot more I assure you.
3. I think it's the greatest city in the world. They have one thing that cities that Dubai simply lack. Sports, Dubai has spent billions on massive building, literally, massive building, like the Burj Kalifa, but Dubai simply doesn't have the sports teams that NYC has, sports teams that can divide a city, or simply unite the town together in that no matter where you are from, the entire city can come together in a common goal.
Dubai and I use them as an example because I think they're after that title of Greatest city in the world, their best and biggest sports event is a horse racing meeting. In Comparison NYC hosts the 48th Superbowl this year, and supposedly is the backdrop to a new Formula 1 race 2015 in June. Two outdoor NHL games, and a world famous marathon.
4. The Rangers colours. I am a fan of the Indianapolis Colts in the NFL, and they wear a blue shirt. I know blue is the colour of choice for a lot of NHL teams, Lightning, sabres, leafs, islanders, blue jackets, and many others. Blue is my favourite colour, so I almost definitely would have been towards the rangers at the very least.
5. Madison Square Gardens. To put it simply, it is the greatest arena in the world period. No contest, I have loved this place since as a little kid I watched Muhammad Ali fight Joe Frazier there. I've always wanted to go, and eventually I will someday. The fact that the Rangers play there is just a coincidence to me. And if the arena does have to move within the next ten years, then I want to go before it moves. It is an incredible arena and if you are a fan of sports, I can't recommend highly enough that you go to MSG and just soak in the sporting history that has happened there, even if a team of yours isn't playing, go and just soak in the history.
6. Henrik Lundqvist: He is one of the best in NHL 09, and I would of compared myself to him, and trying to overtake him, and in that time he became my favourite player, the man is just insanely good. He is also rather handsome if you didn't know, and I'm gonna drop this on Junaid Tuesday night. "Henrik Lundqvist, Junaid could he turn you?" Also The Colts had the worlds best player at his position in Peyton Manning so that would of helped draw me towards Lundqvist.
7. The way the Rangers played at the time under Tortorella. Believe it or not, I'm a very defensive person, no matter how good the Colts offense is on any given year of madden, I always try and improve the defense until its the best in the league. Don't get me wrong, the offense would still be good, I would just make that defense unbeliavbly good. The Rangers suited my personality at the time, being so defensive, it would have appealed to me. I'm a firm believer of the phrase "offense wins you a game, but a defense will win you a championship."
I'm not sure if there are any more reasons, I'm sure there are somewhere in the deepest darkest corners of my brain they're lurking somewhere. But these reasons above mean if fate hadn't landed me in The Hartford Wolf Pack at first, there is still a good to great chance that I still would end up as a New York Ranger.
So why are you a fan of the team that you are? Email to betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.co.uk Tweet me at @MasonCooper4, or feel free to leave a comment.
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