Getting emotional, vulnerable, and existential, if I may.

[FoxyClean]

Way too much of my physical, mental, and emotional health is reliant upon the performance of this team.

There are times where I feel amazing in life simply because the Rangers have been doing well. At the same time, there are times where my life is good, but I feel like shit because the Rangers suck.

I was raised a diehard fan, and I have issues with hyper-fixation in which I am super invested in one particular thing in my life and it consumes me. Most of the time, this fixation has been the Rangers.

Is anybody else here in their 30s and getting to the point where they think they may never (in a conscious capacity) witness a Stanley Cup?

Even worse, does anyone else here feel like they’ll be thinking about the Rangers never winning a Cup on their f***ing death bed?

I’m fully aware of the fact that sports isn’t everything, or even that important at all. But at the same time, it’s really hard to invest decades of yourself into an entity and receive nothing but pain in return.

If anyone can relate, I’d appreciate some input.

 

[eco's bones]

Life just in itself is a big fat tease and the thing about sports as far as fans go is you can easily end up like the pet rat in a cage on that roundabout thing just chasing after nothing. Anyway for me the Rangers did win once after 22 years of ferociously watching them and now it's another 31. So it could happen but there's no guarantees and I'm an older f***er now and there's a pretty good chance that will be my one and only. At least for some that could be proof that God exists. Just think though.....32 teams and if every team takes their turn they'll win every 32 years. The odds aren't great. I would say they're stacked against us. Too many teams is what I think but in the future there will probably be more......so I don't know what to tell you about us winning another one. Anywhere if and when you do win there's euphoria but euphoria always inevitably fades and once you win there's inevitably the period of arrogance and greed for more and more......and either's not among the better of humankind's traits. They both can get kind of ugly. That's kind of what happened to Isles and Devils fans and they've never recovered to become recognizable and fully fledged examples of human beings since. There's something really off about them if you ask me. You can almost smell it. All games are kind of silly distractions anyway.

Anyway the above contemplations make me happy that I no longer follow other sports like baseball, football, basketball or football/soccer. It would be just too much for me to be constantly living on the peripheries of hope. I do need an off ramp. It's the anarchist in me that doesn't have faith in anybody or anything. A vacation from the rat race can be a good thing. To have some time just to relax and say f*** everything and even if it's just sitting around bored doing nothing at all. Boredom can be a friend.

 

[FoxyClean]

Life just in itself is a big fat tease and the thing about sports as far as fans go is you can easily end up like the pet rat in a cage on that roundabout thing just chasing after nothing. Anyway for me the Rangers did win once after 22 years of ferociously watching them and now it's another 31. So it could happen but there's no guarantees and I'm an older f***er now and there's a pretty good chance that will be my one and only. At least for some that could be proof that God exists. Just think though.....32 teams and if every team takes their turn they'll win every 32 years. The odds aren't great. I would say they're stacked against us. Too many teams is what I think but in the future there will probably be more......so I don't know what to tell you about us winning another one. Anywhere if and when you do win there's euphoria but euphoria always inevitably fades and once you win there's inevitably the period of arrogance and greed for more and more......and either's not among the better of humankind's traits. They both can get kind of ugly. That's kind of what happened to Isles and Devils fans and they've never recovered to become recognizable and fully fledged examples of human beings since. There's something really off about them if you ask me. You can almost smell it. All games are kind of silly distractions anyway.

Anyway the above contemplations make me happy that I no longer follow other sports like baseball, football, basketball or football/soccer. It would be just too much for me to be constantly living on the peripheries of hope. I do need an off ramp. It's the anarchist in me that doesn't have faith in anybody or anything. A vacation from the rat race can be a good thing. To have some time just to relax and say f*** everything and even if it's just sitting around bored doing nothing at all. Boredom can be a friend.

I appreciate the wisdom and introspect you provide here; it’s very enticing to trade misery for boredom and indifference but I don’t know if I can. It’s ingrained in me - an addiction, per se. It feels like gambling your happiness at 1/32 odds. Very hard to justify. Late-stage sports fandom is insufferable.

 

[Row I Goon]

55 year old multi-code fan here with mildly addictive personality traits chiming in.

Have spent decades riding the emotional roller-coaster as teams Ifollow have waxed and waned in their success (or lack of). I knew I’d gone too far when I began betting, losing and then chasing the losses. Thankfully, family intervened and I no longer gamble BUT I get still get “passionate” about games and results. What keeps me “sane” is community such as this - and I have one for each of the codes and teams I follow (for the record they are Man United in the EPL, Collingwood in the AFL and Melbourne Ice in the AIHL). When results don’t go my way my outlet is via the community and a self-reflection that, at the end of the day, I still have everything in my life at the final horn that I had at the start of the game. Acknowledging you may have an issue is a big first step and I respect your decision to share and am humbled that you did it here - maybe that’s the biggest win you should celebrate - That you are part of a community where the club you support may never win a cup in your lifetime but you found a bunch of like-minded blokes who are prepared to listen. That’s gotta be worth something, agree?

Or you can disagree and reply that I’m full of shit. And that’s ok, too.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

38 year old here - one thing I think that might be missing from the equation right now is a bit of gratitude. I am incredibly thankful that I found hockey - or hockey found me to be my greatest passion. It's the greatest game in the world, and my life is better for it. I am also grateful to be able to go to and watch Rangers games. Think about how many people out there do not have this luxury. I get to share this passion with my kids. If they win a cup one day, that will be incredible - but never forget to be grateful for what you have today. Someday you'll realize it, and the sooner the better.

 

[alkurtz]

I've learned, even in our team's darkest times, never to give up hope. Let me give you some background and then relate a story.

Background: I'm 77, Ranger memories to 1958, became a fanatic fan in the early 1960s, season ticket holder in the old blue seats from 1969-1976. Still, rarely miss a game on TV, have raised two hardcore fans. I must admit that as I get older, I deal with disappointment much easier. It once was the losses bothered me for days, now it's just minutes.

The story: In the early 1990s, I was camping with my family in Terra Nova National Park in Newfoundland. In the campsite next to ours was a local family from St. John's. Newfoundland. Naturally, we began to talk hockey. I told him that, when I was in my twenties, I used to joke that I would never see the Rangers win a Stanley Cup, but that now that I was in my forties, it wasn't a joke anymore.

A few years later, of course, the Rangers did win a Cup. I've had so many wonderful things happen to me in my life, personally and professionally, but that night in June 1994, ranks as one of the highlights. I still can't watch clips of Matteau's goal, the final seconds of game 7, or Mess hoisting the Cup, without getting chills.

The upshot: as bleak as things look now, there is always hope that someday, all of you younger fans will have that experience. Maybe it won't be in the next few years (things do look bleak, I'm pretty disgusted with the team now, though I will never give up watching), but the arc of history is long. They will win a Cup someday. I never thought it would happen, but it did. It will, for you too.

 

[Machinehead]

One thing that helped me a lot was experimenting with other sports and getting into different teams.

Granted, you can't make that happen or it's not the same, but I find that I'm more passionate about the teams I naturally started to like than the ones I was brainwashed into liking.

If it's a hyper-fixation thing, you absolutely cannot rely on the Rangers. That's the reality.

Even if it's not sports, you have to find other outlets, because yeah, this is probably what the Rangers are and I don't see them changing.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

38 year old here - one thing I think that might be missing from the equation right now is a bit of gratitude. I am incredibly thankful that I found hockey - or hockey found me to be my greatest passion. It's the greatest game in the world, and my life is better for it. I am also grateful to be able to go to and watch Rangers games. Think about how many people out there do not have this luxury. I get to share this passion with my kids. If they win a cup one day, that will be incredible - but never forget to be grateful for what you have today. Someday you'll realize it, and the sooner the better.

This is a healthy mindset.

@FoxyClean I think looking at this likes BAB does may help? A change in perspective can be everything.

An anecdotal example if I may:

The least amount of fun I've ever had watching a game was game 7 vs the Caps in 2015. The stakes were obviously high but I'm someone who can remember bits and pieces from almost every game that the Rangers have played in the playoffs since I've been watching (and in some cases, entire sequences in the more recent games.)

I don't remember any of that game other than the Stepan goal. I know Ovechkin scored in the 1st period and Hayes tied it in the 2nd, but I don't remember those plays because I, someone who had no control over the outcome of the game, was a nervous wreck.

I came to the realization that this is supposed to be fun and if I'm allowing myself to get that wound up then what the f*** is the point of even watching?

Enough stressful shit is going to happen in life that you're going to have no choice but to deal with. This is supposed to be enjoyable and I get it, when the team sucks watching the games is a chore but theres no use in getting all domed up over something that is 10000% optional.

If its impacting you that much emotionally, it may not be a bad idea to step away for a bit. No shame in that at all, people have stopped watching for much dumber reasons.

JMO.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I look at sports as entertainment. While I may seem like a live or die sports fans I do understand they are not real life stuff. Sports were a huge bonding factor for me and my dad. We spoke sports all the time. Being able to speak about sports with my dad for decades is much more important to me than rings. I do not mind some losing. People often think that is weird but I feel I appreciate the winning more after some losing. When the Yanks won every year I got bored. I would appreciate a Rangers ring much more than a Yankees win.

 

[LokiDog]

I’m 38. I am pretty comfortable with the notion I’ll never see this team win another Cup, and I was only like 7.5 when they last won because I’m a December birthday. I also have been playing hockey religiously since I was 3, am teaching my boys (son and step son) to play, am involved in some coaching. I will be thinking about hockey until the day I die… I don’t know about my death bed. I have lots of other people to think of at that point… but I can promise you I won’t be wasting my final days thinking about the disappointing millionaires that wore this uniform. My son is named Henrik. That’s as close as it will get. Not because I’m less of a fan but because these are strangers being paid more per year than I will make in life to play a game. I will not be wasting that type of energy on them. I’d rather get drunk and post memes making fun of them than invest in them personally that heavily.

 

[Overcast]

37 y/o here, can certainly relate to the Rangers being my hyperfixation for most of my childhood and adolescence and having my happiness hinge on the team's success. After a couple decades of intensely identifying as a Rangers fan, I was just exhausted from how entangled I made myself with something that I had no part of. I would've been one of those nerds on the MSG commercials writing songs about how much I love the Rangers and teaching my non-existent son about how we hate the Devils and how important King Henrik was. Once it really sank in that I had no part in/influence on the team and was coupled with the old saying "The team doesn't pay my bills," I took a step back and remembered that hockey is a game. It's purely entertainment.

Looking back through the Rangers "storied history" and all I'd ever see was a bunch of almosts and a whole lot of nothing. 4 Cups in 100+ years, 3 with 6 teams in the league. The futility of being a Rangers fan really hits when teams like PIT/LA/TB/CHI are winning back to back Cups, multiple Cups in 10 year periods, dynasty level teams existing for 10-15 years just running roughshod across everyone. I realized if I wanted to be a relatively normal human, I absolutely could not allow anything in my personal life to be effected by something the Rangers do or don't do.

I started "allowing" myself to not watch games if I wasn't in the mood and remembering that not watching games didn't matter. It didn't make me less of a fan than someone who did watch. I started reminding myself that if my entertainment was not entertaining me, it's ok to do something else that is entertaining or fun to engage with. I didn't have to force myself to engage with something that wasn't entertaining to show some random person how loyal I was to *my favorite team*.

I think for most people, a lot of it has to do with nostalgia. I started watching in 1993 when I was 6 with my dad and my brother and it was a bonding thing, so the hyperfixation stemmed from that. By the time I was like 12, both my dad and brother didn't give a shit about hockey or the Rangers at all, but I felt that I HAD to keep being a hyperfan because..reasons? I didn't want to or couldn't let go of something I so strongly identified with. Being a Rangers fan was absolutely part of my personality. And that evolved into being happy when NYR won and despondent when they lost. And I think it was fine when I was a teen, but it's not a good way to operate as an adult.

Anyway, TLDR is tap into some other hobbies and outlets. There's so much more out there.

 

[markymarc1215]

Sports is a vice and source of invested entertainment. As a teenager, sports was my world. As a man in his late 40s, my family, career, and volunteer service is my life. Sports is a small piece of the puzzle now. Still invested but Cups or Collapses don't alter my world these days.

Appreciate life for what it is. Then come on the boards to celebrate or persecute past and present Rangers as an outlet!

 

[zlev]

attaching your mental wellbeing or sense of self to a pro sports team is a really bad idea, you are going to end up disappointed a lot. rangers playoff games are one of the most fun things that happens in my life, just the rush i get the whole day of a game is awesome and i'm really going to miss that this year but one day they'll be back in the playoffs and those special days will happen again.

 

[bobbop]

73 here. I can still remember the details of the night (November 1, 1959) when I first counted myself as a Ranger fan. Great story, look up the date.

As early as the mid 60s, I was hanging on every game, chasing scores and reading everything I could get my hands on. I worked in minor league hockey for four years and became the youngest general manager ever in professional hockey. Moving on to other things, I was proud to be a season ticket holder for 25 years, commuting to games from NE Philadelphia. When I was in my 20s, I made a vow to myself that I would be at The Garden the night the Rangers won the Stanley Cup. Incredibly, 20 years later, I was there.

Now as I get older, I still find myself as passionate as ever. I check the news every day, watch most games and try to quietly manage the team from afar. I’ve always been able to handle winning and losing but this season has been the worst. I have never seen a team that seemed so disinterested, so unmotivated and just so unlikable. It just hits in a different kind of way.

Having lived in 11 states and having had business relationships with half the teams in the NHL, I’ve made a lot of friends in the game. I root for a lot of teams and a lot of individual players. While I root for many, I only bleed for one. That’s what makes this season so damn sad.

 

[Machinehead]

I was forced to watch the Rangers, the Yankees, and the Giants. Third generation.

I saw the Yankees win four championships. I was but a wee tot. I said "boy howdy, it sure would be nice to see them win one as an adult" and in 2009, they f***ing gave me one.

In 2007, the Giants won, for my money, the greatest Superbowl there ever was. They knocked off a dynasty with an 18-0 record. If they stopped right there, I'm done as a football fan. I lived my life. Four years later they do it again. Like f***in just for fun. Here's the same season over again so you can relive it. You're welcome.

In 2008, I tried out for the lacrosse team in high school, so my friend and I started watching the college game. We were super competitive -- he made it and I didn't. So when he started watching Johns Hopkins, I said "f*** you, I'm rooting for Syracuse." 2008 NCAA Champions. And you know what else? 2009 NCAA Champions. Here, have this repeat immediately.

I got into soccer in 2014. I chose Liverpool, or I guess they chose me. 11 years later, I have seen them win every single trophy that they could possibly win in the sport.

September 1st, 2023. I said "I have nothing to do tonight, I'm gonna go to the Liberty game." 28 years that franchise waited for a championship. I was there 13 months.

It's like here's my son the doctor. Here's my son the astronaut. Here's my daughter the astronaut. And this...this is Jimmy. Yes, he always wears the helmet.

I've had it better than almost anyone, and I understand that, but you know what bothers me? I care about this community the most. The shit that I've seen, I'd give a lot of it up to see it here just once.

If there's one reason to take heart, I guess it's this: it really is worth it if they win. That entire off-season of the nuts in a wheelbarrow gif is truly worth all of it.

 

[NYRfan85]

I'm a NY Jets fan, so I'm already conditioned to expect to never, ever see a championship in my lifetime.

I was only 9 when the Rangers won the Cup, and I wasn't interested in watching sports back then. I'd like to see one someday when I actually follow them!

Thankfully, the Yankees have given me the experience of watching multiple World Series wins, as well as the Charlotte Checkers winning the AHL Calder Cup in 2019 (moved to the Carolinas after college).

 

[TheGortonConspiracy]

bro not to belittle your story or try and gain sympathy from anyone at all but try and get your heart ripped out twice in a 12 month period. couldnt eat didnt want to work or hang out with anyone. really changed my perspective on what matters in life. i watch hockey now to just escape for a little bit. i went from not missing a game for seasons in a row to watching about 60% of games this year. the weight this team has on my emotional health is so miniscule now. honestly more a self observation than anything else. best of luck

 

[Uglybstrd]

I`m 56, but has never witnessed the Rangers win the cup as a fan (became a fan in 1995 (!)), I will not die in peace I fear.

 

[Crease]

Being a fan is supposed to be fun. It’s a hobby. If it becomes debilitating I think you’re doing it wrong.

 

[noncents]

33. grew up watching with my brothers and dad. i'm the most online of them which lends itself to a negatuve fan relationship: just too much mental energy expended in service of a bad team.

i had a kid recently and can't watch as many games, which is great. especially this year.

the issue i have with this hellish ride is that this team is so poisoned. they're not young upstarts. they have had real success over the past 4 years. this year they just gave up on themselves, on each other, and on us. it's unforgivable. no way forward. worse before it gets better. the issue is ownership. what are ya gonna do

 

[Maliks PlusMinus]

I grew up in Scotland not knowing hockey at all. I loved sport I was great at it and I had Celtic my football (soccer) team immediately. Their hated rivals are a team called Rangers.

One day my big brother bought NHL 99 for PlayStation and my god was it good. Him and my other brother were big red wings fans, but bizarre to everyone given my hatred for the Rangers in my city, I fell in love with the one miles and miles away. I don’t know why. When I was that team it just felt right. They were mine.

Me and my brother would pretend to go to bed and sneak out to a portable tv he had bought and watch whatever hockey game channel 5 happened to show in the middle of a Wednesday night when we were meant to be sleeping for school in the morning. We craved it so much that it was just amazing and if NYR were on I could barely breath with excitement.

I would never change any of that. Wouldn’t change my journey with this team. In a way it’s like being in love with a person. It hurts a lot often, but there’s so much to be grateful for and so much to hold onto.

Remember all the good in the bad. Something brought you here and you love it. You might hate it too, but emotion is what life is all about.

I watch every match now but the magic is still there and while my soccer team wins trophies almost every year and I love it every time, the very fact we can’t makes me want it all the more. If I see it it will be beautiful, but I realise that if I don’t it was beautiful anyway.

Try to Be as grateful for the Rangers as I am

 

[NickyFotiu]

You guys with kids should consider sharing sportsvwith your kids. It meant so much for my dad and I.

I also think of a line in the movie City Slickers. Daniels Stern said something like even when he couldn't talk to his dad about anything they always had baseball. They could always talk about baseball.

 

[CasusBelli]

I'm 37. A cup would be nice, sure, but I just love hockey and the community of being part of a fan base. In the end, though, it's all entertainment and fun. When I was younger, a win or a loss visibly affected my mood, but that was definitely not healthy. It's not right to let something you can't control, and which you choose as a hobby, hurt your spirit -- let alone that of those around you. So a Cup? Sure. No Cup? That's fine too. I'm fine with boring hockey and wins as well as with exciting hockey and no Cup. It all comes back to entertainment.

 

[CasusBelli]

I grew up in Scotland not knowing hockey at all. I loved sport I was great at it and I had Celtic my football (soccer) team immediately. Their hated rivals are a team called Rangers.

One day my big brother bought NHL 99 for PlayStation and my god was it good. Him and my other brother were big red wings fans, but bizarre to everyone given my hatred for the Rangers in my city, I fell in love with the one miles and miles away. I don’t know why. When I was that team it just felt right. They were mine.

Me and my brother would pretend to go to bed and sneak out to a portable tv he had bought and watch whatever hockey game channel 5 happened to show in the middle of a Wednesday night when we were meant to be sleeping for school in the morning. We craved it so much that it was just amazing and if NYR were on I could barely breath with excitement.

I would never change any of that. Wouldn’t change my journey with this team. In a way it’s like being in love with a person. It hurts a lot often, but there’s so much to be grateful for and so much to hold onto.

Remember all the good in the bad. Something brought you here and you love it. You might hate it too, but emotion is what life is all about.

I watch every match now but the magic is still there and while my soccer team wins trophies almost every year and I love it every time, the very fact we can’t makes me want it all the more. If I see it it will be beautiful, but I realise that if I don’t it was beautiful anyway.

Try to Be as grateful for the Rangers as I am

The NHL99 intro movie is what got me into hockey. I played FIFA. Then NBA. And then I found NHL. Haven't looked back. And that's coming from a non-Canadian foreigner growing up in Miami.

 

[Maliks PlusMinus]

The NHL99 intro movie is what got me into hockey. I played FIFA. Then NBA. And then I found NHL. Haven't looked back. And that's coming from a non-Canadian foreigner growing up in Miami.

We can be heroes