The New York Rangers Fandom

Fans out side of Madison Square Garden

    As a sea of red, white, and blue flood the gates of the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden (1), located at the heart of Manhattan, NY. Here fans gather to watch the New York Rangers compete in the National Hockey League. Rangertown, the collective name for the fandom, is as loyal as fans can come. The team has gone many stretches of missing the playoffs, upsets during the Stanley Cup finals, and many devastating losses on home ice, yet the fans will always have the team's back. Whether it's at garden or in the opponent's arena, jerseys of red, white, and blue will always be seen.

Garden Traditions

    Over the years fans have introduced many traditions that are part of the experience of attending a game at the garden. Chants are a major aspect of many sporting events. The most famous phrase accompanied by fans is the "let's go Rangers" chant. This is used by fans to help motivate the team or in a response of a positive play (2). This chant is electric as it gets the Garden on their feet and cheering. The phrase is followed by a series of five claps and repeated multiple times. Along with this chant, the infamous Rangers goal song gets the fans wild up. The song, Slapshot, written by Ray Castoldi has been a staple at the garden for over 25 years (3). When the Rangers light the lamp, the songs commences and fans scream out a long "woah" followed by multiple "hey". This song has become a staple for fans, but some believe it came with a curse. The song was introduced the season after the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, but since then they have yet to win it again. Sticking with the theme of chants, on February 25, 1979 a game at the garden versus the New York Islanders created a chant that is almost guarantied to be heard at every game. The "Potvin sucks" chant was born after Ulf Nilsson, a Rangers foreword, was taken out by Islanders captain Denis Potvin. The chant follows the 5-5-5-3 note arrangement during the playing of "Let's Go Band" on the organ(4). When the organ was removed from the Garden, fans took it upon themselves to keep at it, by whistling the tune instead. The chant which was created out of anger and frustration has been passed down through generation to generation of fans. 

Dancing Larry

Dancing Larry at MSG

    If you have ever attended a game at the Garden, the odds you have seen Dancing Larry are high. Larry is a season ticket holder, who is in attendance of nearly all home games. He is a fan who rises up and energies the crowd. Once you hear "Strike it up" by Blackbox, it his time to shine (5). His dancing occurs during the last tv timeout in the third period. This fan favorite tradition started in 1996 and when Larry was asked how this began he replied with "one night I was doing it looked up, and I was on Garden Vision, 20 years later I am still here" (5). 

The Blue Seats

    One of the most traditional and craziest sections in the Garden are the blue seats. These consist of the 400 level seating and are said to be for the most diehard fans. The nick name of the seats comes from the blue color of the old seats in the Garden which remain after renovations. The seats are some of the cheapest due to being so far away, but that does not deter them from being sold out almost ever game. During the 70's fans seated in this area would chirp at their opponents, and even taunt the red seaters below them in the 100 level (5). The blue seaters are also the originators of many of the popular chants like "Potvin Sucks". 

Fans during the tickertape parade Jun. 17, 1994

Tickertape Parade

    June 17, 1994, the New York Rangers were celebrated by fans after winning the Stanley Cup. Even though the Rangers have won the cup previous years ago, they were never honored a tickertape parade. Over a million fans lined the streets of Broadway to celebrate the team they so dearly love(7). Here fans littered the streets with shredded paper, carried replicate Stanley Cups, and shared joy with people of the same passion.

Fandom Interaction

Home opener stick salute Oct. 12, 2014

  One of the way the New York Rangers show their appreciation toward the fans is through their stick salute after every home win. The salute was the idea of defenseman Darius Kasparatis in the early 2005-2006 season (2).  At the end of the game the team will gather at center ice and raise their sticks as a way to salute rangertown. Another way their is interaction between the fans and team itself is through social media. The teams social media management is constantly replying and hearting fans comments on different apps like twitter and Instagram. One of the more recent interactions occurred just this year when it was announced the Rangers have clinched a 2023 playoff spot. Baba O'Riley has been the Rangers intro song during the playoffs for many years, and with the news of a clinch spot the New York Rangers media team was quick to work. They published a tweet reading "Good morning Alexa Please play Baba O'Riley". One of the most surreal moments of the fandom was when thousands of Rangers fans gathered outside in New York City's Bryant Park for one giant watch party. Here fans bonded together as the Rangers played game 1 against the La Kings in 2014 (6).

Bryant Park watch party

Rangertown

    When not watching the games, fans can be seen interacting on many different platforms. This could include social medias, like Twitter and Facebook, blogs, and other fan made websites. Some of the most popular fan created sites are Blueshirt Banter, Blue Line Station, and Forever Blueshirt. These sites cover New York Ranger news, stats, scores, rumors and much more. With the many Garden traditions, fandom interaction, and even the countless upsets Rangertown still bands together season after season to cheer on the team they love.

(1) Madison Square Garden Entertainment. (n.d.) History of Madison Square Garden. MSG. https://www.msg.com/madison-square-garden/history#:~:text=As%20the%20home%20of%20the,and%20Joe%20Frazier%20in%201971.

(2)History of the New York Rangers. (n.d) In Wikipedia https://icehockey.fandom.com/wiki/History_of_the_New_York_Rangers#Victory_Song

(3)Murphy, B. (2023, April 18). 'Slapshot', explained: How the New York Rangers goal song became a staple at Madison Square Garden. The Sporting News https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nhl/news/slapshot-explained-new-york-rangers-goal-song/gq5qvuchlihoyxspm8uerv1e

(4)Ponttone, B. (2020, July 3). Rivalry Week: The story behind the famous Potvin chant. Blue Shirt Banter. https://www.blueshirtbanter.com/the-story-behind-the-famous-potvin-chant-new-york-rangers-ulf-nilsson-denis-potvin/

(5)Monti, M. (2017, n.d.) New York Rangers: The story of Dancing Larry. Blue Line Station. https://bluelinestation.com/2016/09/20/new-york-rangers-story-dancing-larry/

(6)Schwart, N. (2014, June 4). Thousands of Rangers fans watch game 1 outside in New York's Bryant Park. For The Win https://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/06/new-york-rangers-bryant-park-stanley-cup

(7)Paulus, S. (2022, n.d.). On June 17 in New York Ranger history: A tickertape parade. Blue Line Station. https://bluelinestation.com/2021/06/17/june-17-new-york-rangers-history-tickertape-parade/