For almost as long as the Islanders have been in existence, there has been a seething hatred between us, the fans and the fans of that other team in Manhattan. If anything over the years that rivalry has only grown more fierce with each time both teams face one another. Obviously we know where this blog stands on the issue. (As if there were any other possibility.)
Sure there's a bit of a rivalry between the Mets and the Yankees, but up until the 90's the teams didn't really square off against one another on a yearly basis the way the Yanks did when the Dodgers and Giants were still in town. There's also the Knicks and the Nets, but if there's a rivalry there, I've never heard much about it. Only with the Islanders and the Rangers can you really have as distinct a possibility of a brawl in the stands as there is of one on the rink.
But let's take a look at some of the things that created the rivalry and keeps it going as strongly as it is. The obvious reason that first comes to mind is geography. It's nearly impossible to have 2 teams so close to one another, let alone three (if you want to count the Devils). By nature, proximity dictates that there are going to be comparisons between the two teams since they share media, spotlight, and fan bases. And of course, hockey being the passionate sport that it is, amplifies the situation. There really is only so much room for a top dog in regards to hockey in New York. There's almost a mentality like the old movies say. "This town ain't big enough for the both of us."
Then there's the people these teams represent. Largely when the Islanders arrived they became the symbols of suburbia and its blue collar workers and average Joes while the Rangers were all of the stuffed shirts, white collar guys, and corporations. They were, in their own eyes, hockey royalty, a sentiment you can see still exists sometimes. Meanwhile, if the Rangers were royalty, then the Islanders were (and some would contest still are) the black sheep of the NHL. Of course fans of the two teams would be at odds with one another. Sometimes it's not just about hockey, but about the guys you have to deal with that root for the other team.
And then of course, there's the history itself. A newborn hockey team creating a dynasty in New York that the Rangers fans had never witnessed when their team hadn't (at the time) won the cup since 1940. A lowly Islander team knocking them out of the playoffs in 1975. Islander alumni getting pissed off when Rangers fans would flood the Coliseum during a game between the two teams (still a point of frustration for Isles fans).
For the Islander fan's part, we've tried to grin and bear it through the tough years, dealing with the jokes and the poking from Ranger fans more than any other team's fanbase. This is because, for whatever reason, through every event, every victory, and every great moment for the Islanders, the typical Ranger fan seems to get a little bit more bitter. If the Islanders win a game, a typical Ranger fan might say something about the team moving, or about Rick DiPietro's contract, or about how the refs handed the Islanders the game.
Meanwhile, their team's payroll is significantly higher than that of the Islanders. Perhaps that is why they get so angry when their team loses to the "lowly" Islanders. Either way, here's to hoping that we continue giving them more reasons to be bitter.
A brief message to Ranger fans before we move on, however. I know some of you out there keep saying you can't wait til we move to KC, and that you hope to see us go away. I hope for the opposite. You folks don't deserve the reprieve.
Speaking of rivalries though, there's another game coming up with the potential of being the next step in the creation of a rivalry. It's the game, aside from the Rangers, that everyone has been anticipating since last February. Call it what you will; Black Friday, Black and Blue Friday, the day the Isles stood up and said, "Enough," or the day the Islanders beat the holy hell out of the Penguins.
That's right folks, Pittsburgh's coming to town soon. After all of Mario's crying and threatening to leave the NHL and the Islanders being pressured to cancel a showing of a prideful moment of Islanders Hockey over the summer, we're a season removed and looking at a situation where there is a true potential for another fierce rivalry, especially if the Islanders continue on their current winning ways. I'm not exactly hoping for Fight Night, Part II, but I would like to see a strong game from the Islanders that night. I might even pick up some tickets and attend in person.
That kind of leads into another point though. The team's looking pretty good so far this year. Yes it's early, but after a crumby first game and a victory that was kind of a slow start, they are showing signs of playing a much better game of hockey this year, improving on the success and fine points of last year. I don't want to get my hopes up just yet, but as an eternal optimist I really can't help myself.
The crazy fan in me wants to believe that Tavares is well within his means to score 40+ goals this year. It wants to believe that if the team continues playing this way we can, in fact be playoff bound. It wants to believe that we could even be an outside contender for the cup.
I know it's still early in the season, but it's fun to dream. The dose of reality here is that the team started off good in the first stretch last year too, but something is tangibly different this year. They feel like an improved version of what we saw in the latter parts of last year rather than the team we saw during the dreadful 20 game stretch. Jack Capuano is doing a great job so far and hopefully he keeps up the good work.
The future is almost here, folks and it looks good. Not only do we have a solid young core of players in the NHL right now including guys like Tavares, Moulson, Grabner, Nielsen, and Hamonic, but we've got guys who will, within a year or two be ready to take their stabs at adding to that core. There are guys like Strome who has already started lighting it up again in juniors, Calvin de Haan who could pan out to be a solid defenseman, and of course, Nino who is potentially up with the big boys for the long haul this year when he gets off the IR.
Things are looking up folks, not just for this year, but for years to come. It's good to be an Islander fan for once. Enjoy it, revel in it, and keep your heads high. If nothing else, at least it'll piss off your Ranger fan friends.
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