Hockeyphiles, please stand up!

Yeah, I think it's time to come clean with my love for hockey. Do I ever try to hide it? Not so much, but I just want to make a public statement admitting my passion and drive for the sport. Does this actually correllate to the current skyrocketing success of the Atlanta Thrashers? Hmm... could we be on to something here?!

Ever since I came into contact with hockey, I loved it. I believe my first game was back in December 1991, when the Quebec Nordiques came to visit the New York Islanders. My dad got us amazing seats that seemed closer than I've ever been to any Mets game (my only frame of reference at that point)... tickets that you would only have if you got them for hella cheap or for free in the present. I wish there were records of games that far in the past, because I could swear that the Isles won that game and it also featured a hat trick from Derek King... I could be wrong.

Over the years, I attended a few more games at the Coliseum and grew to love the game more. I started collecting hockey cards, watching games on TV. What really threw me over the edge is playoff hockey. After sitting in the cheap seats for the Isles' run against the Pittsburgh Penguins in '93, I knew what it was like to be a hockey fan, not just a body in a seat. It was an incredible experience... and I'm fairly certain that was the last time I was at the Coliseum for a hockey game. Following that run, the Islanders became a joke and didn't produce at all. Mismanagement led to players being shipped around the league and allowed some amazing draft picks go elsewhere (do the names Zdeno Chara, Roberto Luongo, and Todd Bertuzzi ring a bell?). Their competitve absence on the Island led to my ambivalence in hockey... and other things dominated the time for me (high school, music, etc.).

When I moved to Georgia in 2000, I somehow took my love for hockey with me and greatfully never lost it. When the Isles made a push forward in '02 against the miserable Toronto Maple Leaves, something inside me clicked and I became absorbed in the sport again... and took a liking (and subsequent love) for the Atlanta Thrashers.

With that long story aside, last weekend I finally made my return to Long Island, home for my first 18 years. Granted, I haven't returned to town in nearly two years, but the bigger deal for me was coming back to the Coliseum... and this time not an Islanders fan. When I found out that I could arrange a trip, I planned to do it earlier in the year - sometime in late September or October would be great. That never worked out, but then I came across the hockey calendar and found that the Thrashers were making a northern stop on the Island during the first weekend in November. I knew my destiny at that point.

Never before have I been a fan of a visiting team... a full-on fan. Of course, in my early years as a Thrashers fan, my heart was torn between whether I'd give my support to the opposing Islanders or the Thrash, but I would never go to the extent of wearing an Islanders jersey to an Atlanta game. Over the years, it got easier to get in the Thrashers' corner and put off the Isles. But this matchup was of a different level. I couldn't just wear anything and go Thrash-crazy. So I opted to show the support and not only wear my Blueland jersey but also my Thrashers scarf for my arrival to the venue.

The Coliseum is one of the oldest hockey arenas in all of the NHL and it has a ton of heritage to go along with it. You walk in and you can't help seeing the championship banners and retired numbers (and bow-tie? Awkward...) hanging from the rafters. Once you see that, you know what this place, these fans have witnessed and experienced over the years. And it's been said that the Coliseum can either be the best arena in the league in terms of atmosphere (when full) or the worst (when lacking in fans) and I completely agree. Maybe it was because of the amazing seats we scored (much thanks to David for those!), but we lucked out that night and got a decent crowd, and everyone was rockin' there and it was loud as anything. Our seats were row G behind DiPietro's left side... so to be on an attack-twice side of an Atlanta game again, I couldn't ask for anything more!

We got there a little late and missed Vigier's opening goal, but once we got to our seats, the goals still kept on coming. Blunders from D.P. (lame chant, by-the-way) resulted in a snoozer of a goal from Hossa and D.P.'s inability to recognize where the puck was ended up in another goal by way of Brad Larsen/Bobby Holik. A 3-0 lead, still in the first period, resulted in chants that made Atlanta fans, well... perplexed.

"WE WANT DUNHAM! WE WANT DUNHAM!"

I couldn't help my laughter and immediately started in on the yelling. After his horrendous play last season, no Thrashers fan would ever dream of saying such a thing in a game when he is your goalie on the bench. It blew my mind. D.P. never got pulled, and the heckling ensued. Whenever he'd make a routine save or handle the puck, he'd get such a rousing applause... you know, because he was actually doing his job, but jeopardizing the game for the Isles. Hilarious! If Kari were ever having a bad game, no one would ever start a "MOOSE MOOSE MOOSE!" and plead that our franchise goaltender be pulled. It just wouldn't happen. So it still amazes me that people think that booing Dany Heatley when he comes to town is a little far-fetched. In any other hockey environment, it would be a lot worse, and I witnessed that on Long Island on Saturday.

The remainder of the game was more of the same. A Steve McCarthy power-play goal in the second sealed the deal and it wasn't hard to fend off any kind of weak rush the Islanders put forth. Moose held down the fort and le Thrash persevered and left the Coliseum with a 4-1 Atlanta victory... and made this Thrashers fan ecstatic.

There were other aspects of the game/environment that just made the travelling experience wonderful. It was complete unity when Thrashers fans connected during Hossa's goal, the second Thrashers score of the game, and it was even better chatting with the, say, two other Thrashers fans in attendance in between periods. Getting on the big screen was a loud happening and getting death-stares from 8 year-old Islanders fans was amazing. The absence of the kiss cam was a little disappointing, but the Lemon Tree promotion "Who Needs a Haircut?" (which resulted in my appearance on the big screen) was priceless. And I couldn't help but kinda gasp at the thought of paying only 6.50 for parking... who would've thought?!

After the game, and after I realized how awesome it was to be a vocal Thrashers fan in opposing territory, I immediately looked into possible road trips to Southeast rivals. I had a great time... even if the Thrashers lost the game, I think I still would've had fun yelling and getting deadly stares and being an ass... and being a part of a setting that I was a part of years ago.

This is without a doubt going to continue. Pics from Long Island to come soon and there's also gonna be an update of last night's phenomenal comeback victory over the Ottawas.