While we wait for the next West coast game, I thought I'd do a little feature on one of the most recognizable Islander fans out there. Have a look:
We hear Islanders fans are a rare breed. We hear it from everyone. I even heard it on my morning drive on Friday on SiriusXMNHL when Mick Kern told Mike Rossy what he loved about the Islanders and Rangers fans are they’re the first to call when things are good and the first to say how bad their own team is. No excuses, just passion.
Along with the pride and passion that goes along with the NYIBC there is also another very noticeable, very vocal group of Islanders fans sitting way up high in section 329 is the Blue & Orange Army, the “unofficial supporters club.” You can’t miss them and you can’t help but hear them.
They are a diverse group of varying ages and backgrounds and as any other large group of humanity, you take the good with the bad. One of the “good” is a young man that always stands out -- really stands out at almost a full head taller than most. His thin build, long dark hair and taped up specs make him seem to be the fourth Hanson Brother. Even Steve Carlson of Slap Shot fame told him he’d fit right in. After all -- he IS a hockey player. He’s also a soccer player, a musician, a DJ and a student. But most of all -- He’s an Islanders fan.
I’ve bumped into Tom of Section 329’s “Army” at many Isles events; as a season ticket holder for the last five years, he’s a fixture. I never really had a chance to speak with him, but once I noticed he had a cameo in last year’s NHL Stanley Cup commercial, I knew I had to ask a few things about who he is.
When Tom was in high school, he was taking advantage of the special promotions such as the Havoc Zone and Loudville, but the folks in those back rows of 329 were just too enticing.
In 2009 there were only a few fans up in those rafters making a racket, he was enticed. “It so happened that we were all soccer fans (of different clubs) and loved the atmosphere the supporters of the clubs created with different chants and songs. So we figured let’s try to bring that atmosphere to the Coliseum. The first thing we really sang was the “We Are The Islanders” song we sing after goals. And since then we've been writing and growing. People started coming up and asking if they could sit with us. And that’s how we've grown so much and gotten to where we are today.”
Huge. Rows deep and all in synch. But sadly, while we’re all fans, not everyone is friendly. There are times the Army takes some flack.
“It seems for every one or two fans that give us grief, more fans seem to like us. You can't please everyone and that's fine. I'm not going to hate on you for not liking us. Some people just want to be quiet at a game and that's fine. We want to give energy off and hope the players pick it up and use it as well as demoralize the away team.”
Don’t think the players can’t hear them. They can. So can most of the arena. “Some people find it annoying to sing a whole game; it's the same in soccer too. But more people seem to like it and we hope we can spread that through the Coliseum. The overall thing is support the team, like us or not, just support the team.”
As fans we are all frustrated with the Isles at times, (especially now) but Section 329 does a great job of verbalizing that frustration and in doing so, easing it a little. I asked Tom what his favorite chants have been through the years?
“I think my favorites were “Mil-Bur-y SUCKS!” And when we had that 15 game losing streak in November three years ago was singing “All we are asking, Is win us a game!” to the tune of Give Peace a Chance by John Lennon.”
We should sing it again this week, don’t you think?
Last month the Section 329ers were given a special, private Q&A with Garth Snow and Jack Capuano. Brian Burke used to say “If you listen to the fans, you’ll be sitting with them soon.” But this organization has always gathered the fans for face time with the GM and whatever coach happened to have the bench that year. Whether it was the idea of Charles Wang himself, or his son-in-law, Chris Dey, or Garth’s own idea, there have been many of these fan meetings.
Years ago, the message board that I was involved with, Islanders Country, had a sit down with just six people, then there was the Town Hall meeting which was open to the general public. Yep, this organization does try to listen to the fans. They don’t always act on what they hear, but they do like to hear it.
But I wondered if this particular one had anything to do with the “Fire Cappy” chants that rain down on the ice recently.
“I think the Q and A was given to us as a thanks for the support we give and have given through the years because let's face it-- the team has been garbage for a long time and we were the only people making any kind of noise for awhile. As for holding down the “Fire Cappy” chants, we can't stop the rest of the building from doing it, so I don't think that was the reason.”
Tom would like to hear the entire coliseum crowd a little louder and more supportive, especially on those afternoon kids day games. “Those crowds are always big, but always quiet which doesn't make sense. We do have the fans to do it, just look at the playoffs last year. We were the loudest building out of all of them. The support is there.”
The question is, how long can the fans be supportive if the Islanders can’t fix their issues. I asked tom what he thought the Isles should do. “As for the Islanders fixing things, we need defense and secondary scoring. I'd like to see Brock Nelson get playing time because he's looked solid in every game he's played in. Players going to the slot would be a good thing too. We have so many rebounds left for us on a plate in the slot, but no one is ever there. That's really frustrating for us the fans seeing a wide open net but no one to shoot at it. I'd love to see Griffin Reinhart come up next year as well as Ryan Pulock. You have a big strong Dman in Reinhart who can dish a puck and a guy in Pulock that can blast slapshots which could help our power play and offense immensely. I'd also like to see Victor Crus Rydberg get a shot next year. That guy is quick and has a nasty set of hands on him. We need an elusive win right now, if we get that I think we can build momentum and go forward.”
Well, when you have dug a hole as deep as the Islanders have -- there’s no where to go but up, Right? RIGHT???
Well, when you have dug a hole as deep as the Islanders have -- there’s no where to go but up, Right? RIGHT???
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