With the Blue Jackets heading off into the NHL playoffs, fans are excited for a possible Stanley Cup win
By Kaitlyn Kincaid, ’18
The Blue Jackets were founded the year I was born: 2000. 17 years later it is still my favorite professional sports team. The Jacket’s record may not be the best but I will always be a fan just like many other Ohioans, because after all we are the fifth line.
I remember my first game…I was 8 years old. I don’t remember who the Blue Jackets were playing but I recall how I felt and the exciting atmosphere of Nationwide Arena. I remember walking into the large doors and walking up the large steps which seemed even bigger at the time. As I was holding my parents hands dodging the sea of people wearing red and blue I saw the mascot stinger and of course wanted a picture with him. Smiling wide with my two missing front teeth I realized that I needed a Blue Jackets jersey, specifically former Blue Jacket and captain Rick Nash’s jersey because he was my favorite player at the time. After my parents bought me my tiny jersey I slipped it on and felt like I was finally a true fan and now blended into the sea of red and blue.
Many kids had the same experience. In Ohio, sports are a big deal ranging from high school to professional. For example Columbus hosts many professional sports teams such as the professional soccer team The Columbus Crew, the minor league baseball team The Columbus Clippers, The professional Lacrosse team The Ohio Machine, and of course the professional hockey team The Columbus Blue Jackets. College sports are also crazy popular such as The Ohio State football team which probably boasts the biggest and most loyal fans in the country.
The intensity and awe that fills Nationwide arena as the players skate onto the ice is indescribable as well as the excitement when the cannon goes off when a goal is scored. The CBJ fanbase is unlike any other, fiercely loyal and filled with energy. In the last 17 years, The Blue Jackets have only had two playoff runs and the Stanley cup has never been brought back to Columbus. With the NHL playoffs beginning April 12th and the Jackets having a 16 game winning streak this season, which is the second longest in NHL history. The Blue Jackets have a prime chance of going far in the playoffs and finally bringing home the Stanley Cup. I truly believe that this could be the year the Blue Jackets bring it home for the fans in Columbus.
A Stanley Cup win would mean the world to the city and people of Columbus. It would finally validate the hockey culture the city has created and years of heartbreak fans have felt over the Blue Jackets losing year after year.