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Where do the Rangers and Islanders fit?





Don't forget about the Devils ....

I've noticed no such hockey tie-in. I know that Wilpon who owns the Mets had an interest in the Islanders, but it didn't impact fans. They go crazy at the Mets games when Rangers and/or the Devils are doing well in the playoffs ... more the Rangers than the Devils, but that's just the nature of the number of fans for each.

Quite a bit of fandom is based on location and age. For example, I grew up on LI but I took on the Rangers before the Islanders came along. The Islanders used to own LI hockey fans ... 4 cups in the 80s helped. But, now there is more of a mix there since the Islanders haven't competed recently.

NJ is divided a bit, too. Few established hockey fans shifted to the Devils when they moved here from Colorado [they were the Rockies]. But, fans who were young adopted the new team.

Since the Devils have been quite successful in the last 10-12 years, they have a very solid base in NJ, but they don't have anywhere near all the fans.



btw, one of the best stories of Game 7 of the 1986 World Series is told by Lawrence Taylor. The Giants were playing the Redskins in a tough Monday Night game and the fans would break into roars .... and there was nothing going on in the game. It took them some time to realize that the fans were listening to the Mets game while watching the football game and were reacting to the Mets comeback from 3-0 down. So keep in mind ... the tie-in Giants/Yankees Jets/Mets isn't that solid of a rule. While the tie-in is very common, there's quite a bit of crossover.
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Amo i Gemelli!! wink