Tribute 31 YEARS AGO. LETS DISCUSS SOME MEMORIES

[RangersFan1994]

 

[Crease]

This one is unfortunately lasting a lifetime.

 

[mrmovies779]

Time to make a new memory...94 is the past,leave it there

 

[Kendo]

This one is unfortunately lasting a lifetime.

I've always wondered if Sam Rosen cursed us by saying it that way. I'm worried that retiring isn't enough for the monkey's paw and he'll need to pass...

Anyway, I went on an 8th grade trip to DC, and on the bus back I was sitting next to a Devils fan and we talked hockey while the series was ongoing. As we pulled up back at the school and got ready to exit, one of the chaperones announced that the Rangers just beat the Devils! I don't know which game was an afternoon game, so whichever one that was.

I got to watch the Cup clincher live with my brother (who I lost in 2019). I had only been a fan for a year and a half (thanks EA), so I got spoiled early.

I feel bad for younger fans since I at least got my one to last a lifetime. I hope I get to share another with the newer, younger fans that have only been invested for a year or two so far!

I also hope Sam gets to see another before he goes. <3

 

[Overcast]

The older I get, the more tiresome it is hearing about '94 every year and some tenuous parallel between every year's team and the '94 team. "This team beat the Rangers 72-3 in '93, then we all know what happened the next year!" "The Rangers did this random thing in '93, then we all know what happened the next year!"

I was too young to really know what I was watching and the likely fact that it will be the only championship I'll ever experience this team winning in my lifetime is a sour thought. 1 championship in 85 years is a sour thought. 4 championships across the team's entire 100+ year existence where 3 came pre-WW2 at a time where there were only 6 teams in the league is a sour thought. Watching other teams match or nearly match that output within a ~10 year timespan with 30+ teams in the league is a sour thought.

I'm just tired and bitter at this point. I hate watching other teams create dynasties/indomitable powerhouses in ~5 years seemingly out of thin air. I hate watching other teams draft players in the late rounds (or shit, even in the 1st round) that turn into near-generational 100+ point electric, play-driving, franchise-altering forwards for 10+ years. Meanwhile we have to count our lucky stars that we ended up with 'the best goalie in the world' or traded for someone else's former superstar because they forced their way to NY. What a consolation prize when the rest of the team can't do shit and is unbearable to watch. I hate watching other teams be perennial, strong Cup contenders while we can't figure out how to move the puck effectively.

I want it to be our f***ing turn to be top dogs and the team to beat for once. I don't follow any other team sports or any other NHL teams as closely as the Rangers so I would never be able to get the same type of satisfaction through any other avenue sports-wise.

Did I mention I'm bitter?

 

[Rangerboy030]

31 YEARS AGO

Exactly.

No hate for that team and those old enough to remember that championship, it's one of the most legendary Stanley Cups in NHL history. But there's not a single player left in the league who played during that season for any team. Hell, most of today's players weren't even alive to see it.

This franchise's obsession with the 1994 championship is just sad now. It's a bit like a balding 40-something year old still bragging about that time he hooked up with the popular girl from his highschool.

 

[DolansKazoo]

Was on a ship for most of playoffs. Walked out of a bar during the Devils game before Messier scored the hat trick. Called my Dad the next day and said "It sucks about the Rangers" and he said "What are you talking about, Messier got a hat trick". We didnt have TV onboard so I totally thought they lost. For Game 7 in the Stanley Cup, I was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, listening to it on Armed Forces radio. Will never forget where I was when they won. I should have gotten the coordinates. I should go sail there again next year if they make the playoffs. With the advancement of satellite TV , I could watch it live and maybe will be the luck this franchise needs.

 

[DolansKazoo]

Exactly.

No hate for that team and those old enough to remember that championship, it's one of the most legendary Stanley Cups in NHL history. But there's not a single player left in the league who played during that season for any team. Hell, most of today's players weren't even alive to see it.

This franchise's obsession with the 1994 championship is just sad now. It's a bit like a balding 40-something year old still bragging about that time he hooked up with the popular girl from his highschool.

Have you ever ran across Mets fans? They still talk about the 1986 team. Why wouldnt people hold on to the last Championship their team won?

 

[UnderPSI]

Remember like it was yesterday. Was in high school when they won and even went to the parade. Pretty sure I still have all the PO series on VHS.

Sam wasn't kidding when he said this will last a life time... because that shit won't happen again in my lifetime.

 

[CasusBelli]

Was on a ship for most of playoffs. Walked out of a bar during the Devils game before Messier scored the hat trick. Called my Dad the next day and said "It sucks about the Rangers" and he said "What are you talking about, Messier got a hat trick". We didnt have TV onboard so I totally thought they lost. For Game 7 in the Stanley Cup, I was in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, listening to it on Armed Forces radio. Will never forget where I was when they won. I should have gotten the coordinates. I should go sail there again next year if they make the playoffs. With the advancement of satellite TV , I could watch it live and maybe will be the luck this franchise needs.

Thank you for your service!

 

[Boris Zubov]

Was at the game, but I'm tired of it being the lasting memory that this franchise has been living off for 30+ years. Unfortunately there's no light at the end of this tunnel.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Glad we're finally moving past 94 in the fanbase. At least over here. You still hear old farts waxing poetic about it on Facebook.

 

[SML2]

94 was my senior year of college. It was such a great year. Before that team all you heard about was JD and the 1979 finals. The final was draining but man the conference final vs. NJD was some of the finest competition in the history of the game.

I will still stand by my contention that Brian Noonan scored the cup winner.

People who never watched Pavel Bure play will never understand how big Mike Richter was in the Final.

That postseason by Brian Leetch was one of the greatest all time. People used to tell me how Bobby Orr controlled the game at both ends like no other. For one magical post season you could have told me Leetch was as good as Orr. You couldn't stop him on offense, you couldn't beat him on defense. He was terrific.

Maybe my all time favorite play of the run, and it's easy to miss, is that final faceoff in the Rangers zone where there's only like 1.7 seconds on the clock. The clear play, the only play available, is to win the draw back to Bure for the one timer. Messier switches who he covers and takes Bure. As soon as the puck drops, Mess beelines straight at Bure and crosschecks him, knocking him off balance. You will get no shot off today. Bure swings a two hander back at Messier but it's all for nothing. The game is over. The Rangers have won the Stanley Cup.

 

[McRanger92]

I was 1 year old. For as hopeless as everyone acts around here, I’m sure it was worse going into the 93-94 season. I think serious adversity will turn out to be beneficial for these Rangers and I’m hopeful we can reach the pinnacle again soon.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

 

[turcotte8]

 

[HFBS]

I became a Ranger fan at age 9.

The Rangers won when I was 37.

I really thought it was never going to happen in my lifetime.

I'm still glad it did.

 

[OldBlueshirt]

By the time they won in '94 I was a "young man" in his 20s, married w/o kids (yet). I was a fan for around 16 years by the time they won that year. I started following when they had JD, Espo, Maloney bros, Duguay, the Swedes, etc. Nowadays, I try not to remember the fact that twice as much time has passed since '94. In retrospect I didn't really wait that long for them to win, considering another three decades have come and gone now.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Only ranger fan in a bar full of Canucks fans. I wasn't quiet or popular

 

[Row I Goon]

Married this Canuck’s tragic in 1994.

After Game 7 she said “I hope you guys never win it again”




I blame her……

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

I became a Ranger fan at age 9.

The Rangers won when I was 37.

I really thought it was never going to happen in my lifetime.

I'm still glad it did.

I became a Rangers fan at 8 years old.

The Rangers won when i was 5.

For all intents and purposes I have not seen a championship in my lifetime. In any sport.

I won’t begrudge the old timers waxing nostalgic about it though, I’m sure it was incredible

 

[DolansKazoo]

Thank you for your service!

I would like to be able to say thanks but I wasnt in the military. I was going to school to be 3rd mate on civilian ships. Armed Forces radio was the only thing we could pick up in the middle of the Atlantic.

 

[NYRnine94]

Glad we're finally moving past 94 in the fanbase. At least over here. You still hear old farts waxing poetic about it on Facebook.

you're glad people are moving on from our one cup win in 70 years? I mean, ok? People who lived it will never stop talking about it because it was special and the world in general was better back then. I was only 3 months old but i understand what it meant to the city and fanbase.

 

[NYRFAN218]

It really is a shame that the organization's ineptitude has led to 31 more years without a Cup and that we can't even talk about one of the most legendary and memorable Cup teams in NHL history without having to be reminded about the organizational failures. If the team got even 1 Cup since then we'd all talk about 94 glowingly and what an amazing team, run, and story it is. Instead, it's just yet another reminder about how the Rangers are the least successful Original 6 team and that they have 1 Stanley Cup since WW2. Thank God for 94 though because if not it'd be 85 years since last Cup.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

you're glad people are moving on from our one cup win in 70 years? I mean, ok? People who lived it will never stop talking about it because it was special and the world in general was better back then. I was only 3 months old but i understand what it meant to the city and fanbase.

Only losing franchise's fans talk nonstop about a 30+ cup. It's as pathetic as Cowboys fans bringing up their Super Bowls.