Boston Bruins The demographic of Boston Bruins fans

[HockeyMomx2]

Totally agree.

I've only had 4 Captain Black cigars in the past 14 days so and my last pack cigarettes was smoked on May 12th and that was my first since March 16th so I'm almost at one pack in 3 months so I'm really hoping I got it beat this time around.

You got this.

 

[Spooner st]

Not to get too far off-topic but I did the Champix about a decade ago, it was effective. But I also didn't have a good experience with the drug, just gave me a weird feeling overall when taking it and also made it hard to sleep. After the first script was gone I didn't buy any more even though it recommended taking them for another 6-8 weeks.

I did do the laser therapy before and that to me is the best way I've tried. It's not invasive, it's based on acupuncture but using lasers instead of needles. It just takes the cravings away, and you have a thought about smoking and then its gone. Some will say it's just placebo effect but I've done cold turkey a bunch of times and I seen a noticeable difference. I lasted 4 months without a single smoke but the willpower wasn't there at the time like it is now. Two of my friends did the laser therapy the same time I did and haven't smoked since and that was almost 5 years ago. This time was sort of a modified cold turkey and it's gone well considering just 4 packs in over 5 months and 3 of them were smoked partying at a hotel for 3 days. Like @ODAAT I got a bad flu just before new year's this year and it gave me incentive to drop the smokes on Jan. 3rd as I couldn't enjoy it anyways.

Tried everything on the market, a liquid when ingested and you smoke its disgusting and you cuffed all the time.
Lazer,acupuncture, hypnotherapy, pills, electronic cigarettes.
I actually was the Distributor for Portugal/ Spain back in 2007 for electronic cigarettes. Manage to stop 3 months, then I couldn't stomach it no more my throat was sore.
Patches to me worked the best. But it only works if you're ready to quit.

 

[BruinDust]

Tried everything on the market, a liquid when ingested and you smoke its disgusting and you cuffed all the time.
Lazer,acupuncture, hypnotherapy, pills, electronic cigarettes.
I actually was the Distributor for Portugal/ Spain back in 2007 for electronic cigarettes. Manage to stop 3 months, then I couldn't stomach it no more my throat was sore.
Patches to me worked the best. But it only works if you're ready to quit.

Ultimately I think that's the key above everything else. I did like that for the laser that you coughed up $250 up front for the initial treatment and the two follow-ups, knowing you just spent that sum of money added to the motivation.

 

[BruinDust]

You got this.

I appreciate the support, I think I got this too.

 

[Spooner st]

Ultimately I think that's the key above everything else. I did like that for the laser that you coughed up $250 up front for the initial treatment and the two follow-ups, knowing you just spent that sum of money added to the motivation.

It is, ultimately whatever will help you in the end is a crutch.
The real key is you're ready to quit.
One thing that I used to help me to be successful, was the idea of killing it in the egg.
I'll try to explain it the best I can.

Killing the very first thought when it tries to install itself in you brain, before it develops into an idea and a desire.

By killing it in the egg means not letting any thoughts of smoke related develop itself. Kill it right away. That's what really help me. But I was committed. It's all on us in the end.

 

[jgatie]

Who knew that the demographic of Boston Bruins fans was entirely ex-smokers?

 

[BruinDust]

Who knew that the demographic of Boston Bruins fans was entirely ex-smokers?

I did get this thread off topic pretty good.

 

[Kovi]

I think maybe it was true that the blue collar fan was most prevalent. back in the days of the old Garden and elevated Green Line, I think was probably the population. But I think that was more the population in town at that time, vs specific to the sport. Hockey didnt require tons of money, it was played outside and accessible, and there is a physical component. Heroes were guys who were all "regular Joes" whom fans could relate to. Lunch pailers if you will.
With the expansion of the NHL and "more targeted" marketing a new fan base is introduced to the world's greatest sport. Now you have a mix.
My dad use to remark when we watched games on tv that the Canadian fans were "so dressed up" with ties on, etc. (I remember that distinctly).

and I bet if you carefully tracked it, you'd find that yes, the female fan base has increased exponentially and are not just casual fans. It is always my rule that if I was going to the watch hockey, I needed to be a student of the game and not just a fan, because as a woman, I wanted to be able to contribute to the conversation and not hv people as me if players are "cute". I drove a guy out of the Lodge seats once because he challenged me to name the players on 4 lines. He was a Rags fan, and he only asked once. Before I got to ...Samsonov...he was gone. So, they'd do well to include females in all their marketing.
Anyway....I think in Boston you find a loyal, intensely invested fan base of all types now. However, the blue-collar feel is definitely still there.
Having gone to a game in AZ this past fall...its a very clean, cordial experience, where as in Boston, you gotta be ready to put up or shut up.

Wouldnt have it any other way.

 

[CamMac]

This thread is hilarious.

I quit in September after I was doing some work on some Irish dudes house in Dorchester on a Friday night, he had some friends over drinking on his porch and after we finished the job he invited me and a co-worker up for a drink. One drink turned into a lot more, and I was chain smoking throughout the night. Ended up blacking out and woke up in my bed the next morning with the worst hangover I’ve ever had and my throat felt like absolute shit.

I was able to quit cold turkey from that, but I’ve been getting the urge to smoke recently. Doesn’t help that like 3/4 of the people at my job smoke.

 

[BruinDust]

This thread is hilarious.

I quit in September after I was doing some work on some Irish dudes house in Dorchester on a Friday night, he had some friends over drinking on his porch and after we finished the job he invited me and a co-worker up for a drink. One drink turned into a lot more, and I was chain smoking throughout the night. Ended up blacking out and woke up in my bed the next morning with the worst hangover I’ve ever had and my throat felt like absolute ****.

I was able to quit cold turkey from that, but I’ve been getting the urge to smoke recently. Doesn’t help that like 3/4 of the people at my job smoke.

It does cause hangovers to be that much worse I find, and more frequent.

I'm fortunate that very few people where I work smoke, and no one in my area of the building smoke at all. But you can tell that once upon a time there were a lot of smokers, as there are three smoke huts constructed around the property to accommodate smokers, but very few people even use 2 of the 3 huts now, the few remaining smokers congregate at just one.

 

[bobbyorr04]

I did get this thread off topic pretty good.

Probably my fault for posting the smoking gif

Who knew that the demographic of Boston Bruins fans was entirely ex-smokers?

Not entirely

The last time I tried to quit my wife told me to start again because I got pretty miserable

...so I still smoke around 10 cigs a day (a few more on game day) which actually helps to calm me down

 

[GordonHowe]

Who knew that the demographic of Boston Bruins fans was entirely ex-smokers?

I smoke. Started in my 30s, so not hooked the way some are. 2 or 3 a day at most. One before starting work, one on my break.

Good luck to all of you seeking to quit.

PS There are all kinds of Bruins fans, and I love that many of them continue to be "blue collar" types. I've worn the blue collar, the white collar, and possess a Masters, too. I love the Bruins and everything they've always exemplified, at their best.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I did get this thread off topic pretty good.

Not really.

I suspect smoking is equated more with blue-collar types.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

The blue collar fans, hard working blue collar shift, and blue collar appreciation seems lazy. As if it’s specific to Boston.

As if fans in Los Angeles or San Jose don’t appreciate hard work. They just want a smart guy.

It always strikes me as lazy. Perhaps it was true at one time that Boston had more working class people in the area that somehow appreciated hard work (can that even be proven?) but I can’t see how it’s relevant now. Brick references blue collar shift frequently. It always makes me roll my eyes.

 

[GordonHowe]

The blue collar fans, hard working blue collar shift, and blue collar appreciation seems lazy. As if it’s specific to Boston.

As if fans in Los Angeles or San Jose don’t appreciate hard work. They just want a smart guy.

It always strikes me as lazy. Perhaps it was true at one time that Boston had more working class people in the area that somehow appreciated hard work (can that even be proven?) but I can’t see how it’s relevant now. Brick references blue collar shift frequently. It always makes me roll my eyes.

Well, that's too bad.

Bruins fans have always -- always -- demanded hard work, effort, physicality & accountability to each other. Those are the qualities Bruins fans have always cherished.

Do I think fans in FLA or AZ -- or NY, or Vancouver, or OTT, or TO -- value different qualities more?

Yeah. I do.

I'll take my Bruns. Jack, Brick, lock, stock & barrel.

 

[WestCoastBruinsFan]

I joined the Navy so I wouldn’t have to be Blue Collar and work hard for a living. Did that for over thirty one years and then got another job which hastened retirement. Also, I have never smoked.

 

[bobbyorr04]

The blue collar fans, hard working blue collar shift, and blue collar appreciation seems lazy. As if it’s specific to Boston.

As if fans in Los Angeles or San Jose don’t appreciate hard work. They just want a smart guy.

It always strikes me as lazy. Perhaps it was true at one time that Boston had more working class people in the area that somehow appreciated hard work (can that even be proven?) but I can’t see how it’s relevant now. Brick references blue collar shift frequently. It always makes me roll my eyes.

Back in the 70's they used to call the Bruins the 'lunch-pail gang' because they were a group of tough, hard working, muckers and grinders who brought their lunch pails to work ...hence 'blue collar worker'

The blue collar thing was attributed to the Bruins ....not the fans

... at least that's how I understood it.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

Well, that's too bad.

Bruins fans have always -- always -- demanded hard work, effort, physicality & accountability to each other. Those are the qualities Bruins fans have always cherished.

Do I think fans in FLA or AZ -- or NY, or Vancouver, or OTT, or TO -- value different qualities more?

Yeah. I do.

I'll take my Bruns. Jack, Brick, lock, stock & barrel.

Hey, I love Brick. It just feels like an old, outdated thing to say. I think it’s an easy narrative.

It feels like I’m being told that all Bruins fans fix cars, work in construction, and have grease all over them after putting in hard days that make their backs ache, so when we see Shawn Thornton play hard, we’re like, “Hey, I work hard, too. I get and appreciate that.”

But in another city, like Toronto, they don’t value that as much? They want a guy who uses his brains more? They don’t have tons of people doing backbreaking work? I think guys like O’Reilly, Neely, Stan Jonathan, would have been loved anywhere they played.

I don’t know, just how I always felt about it. Not looking to argue with a fellow Bruins fan.

 

[GordonHowe]

Hey, I love Brick. It just feels like an old, outdated thing to say. I think it’s an easy narrative.

It feels like I’m being told that all Bruins fans fix cars, work in construction, and have grease all over them after putting in hard days that make their backs ache, so when we see Shawn Thornton play hard, we’re like, “Hey, I work hard, too. I get and appreciate that.”

But in another city, like Toronto, they don’t value that as much? They want a guy who uses his brains more? They don’t have tons of people doing backbreaking work? I think guys like O’Reilly, Neely, Stan Jonathan, would have been loved anywhere they played.

I don’t know, just how I always felt about it. Not looking to argue with a fellow Bruins fan.

I think I understand, and even if we disagree, we can do so without being disagreeable.

As noted, I've worn both "collars," and I have an MA. I'm also white, 55, and stuck in my ways.

Believe Bruins fans appreciate the qualities enumerated in my previous post. They can live in Boston, its neighborhoods, CT, NH, VT, RI.

It's not the collar they wear. It's what's in the heart. Not that other fans elsewhere don't appreciate the characteristics of what we call "Bruins hockey," but those bits are held very high here. And they should be.

I'll value hard work, et. al. over pure skill any day of the week. Always & forever.

That, rightly or wrongly, places me squarely in the New England clan.

Proud to be there.

 

[Fenway]

Bruins fans get it from their parents who got it from their parents.

The Red Sox have the same DNA.

The roots of Bruins fandom is Irish and Italian blue collar and I don't think that has changed that much. The Red Sox and Celtics pick up fans from people who went to school in Boston and stayed in the area.

 

[GordonHowe]

Bruins fans get it from their parents who got it from their parents.

The Red Sox have the same DNA.

The roots of Bruins fandom is Irish and Italian blue collar and I don't think that has changed that much. The Red Sox and Celtics pick up fans from people who went to school in Boston and stayed in the area.

It's a tribal thing, and that's very Boston. The town has changed a great deal over the past 20 plus years. It used to be: "Boston: A city of sports, politics and revenge."

Or, as I'll omit Red Sox and replace them with the Bruins: "They killed my grandfather. They killed my father. And now they're coming after me."

 

[JRull86]

The blue collar fans, hard working blue collar shift, and blue collar appreciation seems lazy. As if it’s specific to Boston.

As if fans in Los Angeles or San Jose don’t appreciate hard work. They just want a smart guy.

It always strikes me as lazy. Perhaps it was true at one time that Boston had more working class people in the area that somehow appreciated hard work (can that even be proven?) but I can’t see how it’s relevant now. Brick references blue collar shift frequently. It always makes me roll my eyes.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

View attachment 234135

Boston hardcore, nice!

 

[The Hajj]

I've been a hardcore Bruins fans since early childhood. All of the kids on my street in Methuen wanted to be like Bobby Orr or Phil Esposito.
Took the hard road of life as a teenager and young adult. Made things very difficult for my family. Took off for Idaho over 30 years ago and made a new start.
Started a manufacturing company, invented a few new firearms, and have been blessed with a wonderful woman in my life.
I have never stopped being blue collar. Still run machines, sweep floors, clean toilets, etc. Smoke cigars every day. Lots of them.
Quit drinking 21 years ago, cold turkey, and have never faltered.

GO BRUINS !!!

 

[ODAAT]

I became a Bruins fan because Dad was a Habs fan and always liked to pi** him off as a teenager....it worked

Mum too a Habs fan, she worked for PE Trudeau and he gave her season tix every year as a thank you for not disclosing, shall we say, sensitive things to his wife

Mum wasn`t proud of doing so but she loved hockey