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« Ranger Rumblings | Main | The Rich Get Richer? »

June 25, 2007

Comments

thedirtyboy

Please tell me I didn't read what I thought I just read. Please tell me you're not going to play the card of "I'm so happy I'm a Ranger fan because everyone envies us and because we have money and you don't and blah blah blah". And please don't go comparing them to the Yankees. I only expect that from your junior- the honeymooner, not from you. I don't want to get into that whole "envy" argument again b/c it's boring already and we'll never agree on it anyway. But if you're going to try to tell me that the Rangers got Cherapanov because of their ingenuity and outside-the-box thinking... ni**a please!

They got him because of one thing and one thing only: MONEY.


The Hockey Rabbi

somebody's got a chip on their shoulder! Money is irrelevant nowadays. We lost a full season of hockey so that owners can get a salary cap.

I never said the Rangers got Cherapanov because of ingenuity or outside the box thinking. In fact, I wrote that "Luckily for us Ranger fans, at number 17 the Rangers couldn't have passed on the kid even if they wanted to", meaning they have no ingenuity but at #17 even the Rangers couldn't mess this one up. By the way, Pittsburgh was somehow able to pry a much bigger star out of Russia (i.e., Malkin) and they're not exactly a team swimming in cash. So I don't think money had much to do with this situation.

The bottom line is that the Isles lack of appeal has nothing to do with a lack of money. Most athletes are competitive, they want to be the best/#1. The Isles are the #2 team in the NY area. Period. That's not Isle's bashing, it's a fact.


thedirtyboy

Listen, you got to stop with the whole chip on the shoulder thing. I am a realist. The Islanders can win 4 cups in a row and it will never "mean as much" as the Rangers winning just one. The Islanders are a small market team in a big market state. The Rangers are where free agents prefer to sign. The garden is a historical building, the coliseum is a run down old barn. But Ranger fans need to be realists too. Their team has an allure because of where they are geographically situated- not because of any team related history. Not because there is any identifiable moment that screams "I want to wear that jersey". We can go back and forth (and I'm sure we will) for years, but there's one thing you can never talk your way out of. There's one thing that will always come back to haunt you when you try to argue for your team:

The Rangers have won ONE Stanley Cup in the last 67 years!!!!!

So let's sum up. The Rangers have the following on their side in order to help them lure free agents:

Play in New York City
Pre-salary cap unlimited Dolan Dollars
Corporate sponsorships galore
Most important market to the vitality of the NHL
Best shops, restaurants, nightlife, museums, lodging, etc in the world
Historical building
Constant Spotlight- great for endorsements

I could go on and on. The point is with all these decided advantages in the free agent game and with all the marquee names they have signed over the years, and with people flocking to NY to come play for them:

The Rangers have won ONE Stanley Cup in the last 67 years!!!!!

So do me a favor, or favour if you're Canadian. You can go cheer for the magnitude of relevance of your team, and play the whole "you have a chip on your shoulder" card... because that's all you have left to cheer for. Sports is a results based business. But you can't cheer for results because that's one thing your team DOES NOT OFFER!

The Hockey Rabbi

Agreed! And I still wouldn't trade my hell for your heaven.

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