There’s been a lot of press the last few days about the terrible experience some Caps fans had at Nassau Coliseum during Game 3 vs. the Islanders on Sunday. You can read the original story here, the Isles’ official team response and about a follow-up investigation into harassment and vandalism by local authorities. Caps owner Ted Leonsis said the Caps’ top brass also “had a ‘moment’ at the game.”
The general reply has been, “Not all Isles fans are like that.” Of course they’re not. Many of my friends are Isles fans, and they’re none of the things these people exhibited Sunday – racist, homophobic, threatening. I rooted for the Caps on Long Island last winter. It’s not the best example: impromptu game = no Caps gear + stomach flu > limited cheering or movement for fear of throwing up on glass/players/TV. But I was in the front row! Even the Isles bench saw me cheering for the Caps! Sorry, John! Still, the Isles fans I met were all friendly and polite – and possibly worried I was contagious.
Maybe no one noticed me down there like a Hobbit.
That doesn’t remedy the awful truth of what happened Sunday. No one should ever have to feel unsafe, bullied or personally demeaned over team colors (or anything, but that’s a rant for another blog). I guarantee each team has a small percentage of belligerent (especially when drunk) fans “cheering” for them. You can’t pick your “family,” right? That doesn’t mean we will do nothing. We’ve seen these people. Maybe sat by them. I hope we do – and going forward, always will – intervene or at least reach out with support to the opposing fans. Because you can pick your friends – and these people look fun. I want to go to a game with them:
Photo from www.drivenbyboredom.com/bsides
It seems the Long Island situation was not properly addressed by arena security, but some Isles fans did their best to help. Good on those people. Especially because the number one person who would not condone poor sportsmanship is Captain Science Pants himself, John Tavares. In November, he personally reached out to a young Isles fan who was bullied in Winnipeg. Shame on fans of any team who don’t follow his example.
I hope the “bad apple” Isles fans in question had horrendous, vengeful hangovers and are crushingly ashamed. I also hope the Caps kick their team’s collective ass in Round 1. Karma! (Again, sorry John.) Either way, I’m anxious to hear if Caps fans attending Game 4 at the Coliseum tonight experience a more welcoming atmosphere generated by all the good Isles fans who don’t want to be painted with that same brush.
I’ve been to NHL games in 13 arenas: Boston, New York Islanders and Rangers, New Jersey, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Atlanta, Chicago, Colorado, San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim. People always ask me if I worry about wearing my Pens gear there. I’m not. As popular as the Penguins are, I am rarely alone even in my row or section, and there’s a healthy contingent of black and gold in every rink. But wearing a Crosby jersey means you’re begging to get razzed! Mr. Pants laughs; he thinks I’m waiting for someone to come at me, so I can try the moves I learned from Miss Congeniality. (S.I.N.G., ladies!)
And yet, my experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. I don’t mean chirping or some boos. That should be expected and, when handled well, is all part of the fun. But we should also expect it will stay good-natured and. I hate to think I’ve just been lucky – I prefer to think almost all hockey fans are better than those who threatened the Caps fans Sunday.
Don’t get mad, get on TV. (Photo credit: RMNB)
Instead of aggression, I’ve more often encountered the casual sexism that assumes women know nothing about the game. (Sid, your jersey is still not helping.) Luckily, I am equipped to sass that unsuspecting interloper right back to the bar. And I enjoy it.
Guy at Caps game (pointing to my Crosby jersey): “Wouldn’t you rather have a real man?”
Me (pointing toward the ice): “But Mike Green looks busy.”
I’m also ususally with a small group, or sometimes even by myself. Going to a hockey game alone is a bit weird, but I honestly don’t mind, even in my away team kit. If it’s the difference between seeing the Pens or not, I’m going. At worst, I pay unparalleled attention to the game. At best, I make friends with the people around me. (If you haven’t guessed, I’ll talk to anyone. I’d talk to a tree.) Someone being rowdy would have to say it right to my face. It’s easier for a drunk or coward to shout anonymously at a group, which makes it all the worse that individuals within the Caps group were targeted Sunday with specific harassment.
As I said, most of my encounters have been great.In Atlanta, a guy on the upper level concourse and gave us his group’s unused tickets eight rows off the ice. Perhaps this is why ATL didn’t make it, but I got to watch a Malkin hat trick up close. Thank you, anonymous man! When the Pens scored in Anaheim and the crowd sang, “Who cares?”, all the Ducks fans behind us pointed down and yelled, “She does!” At a Caps game, I was one of only a few Pens jerseys in the VIP area when this guy walked by:
There was one WTF moment at a Pens vs. Rangers game at the Garden, circa Thanksgiving 2011. I was with a female friend and male cousin, both NYR fans. Some guy still felt the need to tell me he hopes Crosby gets run over by a car in front of his parents, so they have to watch him die. He actually said that out loud. Before I could even formulate a response, the other Rangers fans around us were telling the guy off. They apologized to me. One of them, some girl I didn’t know, even paid for my beer. Rangers fans! And me! Having a drink together! World peace is possible. (Also, the Penguins won.)
The only place I might not wear my Crosby jersey is Philly. Still, jersey or not, there’s no way I keep my mouth shut for three periods. Maybe it’s better to announce my intentions? I bet @DLF1021 and @sunnyinNJ, in their black and orange, make great bodyguards. This lady did okay.
Have you ever experienced a truly bad fan interaction at a game? I certainly hope not, because we’re all hockey fans. We have a lot in common, and also a lot to lose if/when the teams and League struggle. We should stay “frenemies” whoe love to hate each other until the final buzzer. There are bad people everywhere, but I’d like to think enough of us are cool to drown them out. Hopefully, those are the Isles fans we hear about tonight.
Tags: New York Islanders, philadelphia flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, washington capitals
I don’t have bad experiences to share, but I will give credit to some good ones: I’ve been to the United Center 4 times and I have cheered for Chicago in exactly 0% of these events. Twice I was wearing gear from the opposite team, and one of those games was Game 2 vs. the Bruins in the Finals in 2013. No one has said one hateful word to me during any of these games. During the Bruins game I had people asking me if I was from Boston and telling me how great they thought the city was. I was so impressed, and it reminded me why I’m proud to be from the Midwest. I know that this experience doesn’t extend to all sports (I’ve encountered some really obnoxious people at football games, unfortunately) but at least for hockey the United Center has been a great place to watch games. I hope it always stays that way.
To be fair, I’ve only been an away fan 3 times, and none of them were rivalry games or playoff games, but they’ve all been really positive experiences.
Pens @ Leafs: I was raised in & still live in Toronto, and the Leafs are actually my #3 team, but when the Pens are in town, I cheer for the black & gold, so I’m an away fan in my own city. The only comments that I got were “Crosby?” in an incredulous voice as I walked through the concourse in my Crosby jersey and, similarly, “awww come on, Crosby?” by some guy when I walked past him to my seat. Nothing else all game – granted, I was surrounded by Crosby jerseys (it’s Canada, after all). People sitting around me even praised Crosby every time he touched the puck, and when the Pens won, nobody seemed to mind that I was cheering my ass off, so it was a pretty easy away fan experience.
Hawks @ Leafs: Just like with the Pens, when the Hawks are in town, I rock my Hawks-Toews jersey and cheer for the Hawks as if my life depended on it. When I went to go get some food & a drink, the cashier complimented me on my jersey (followed up with…”but of course the Leafs jersey is also a beautiful jersey”). During intermission, two guys in Leafs jerseys came by and started singing “Chelsea Dagger” to me and high-fived me. When the Leafs beat the Hawks, the guy in front of me turned around and said “You guys win Cups; we just win games. You’ve gotta let us have this.” It couldn’t have been easier (or pleasant) to be an away fan. (I have a theory that Torontonians love the Hawks – I’ve never met anyone in this city that hates them – and there were tons of Chicago jerseys in the arena.)
Hawks @ Sabres: This happened just a few weeks ago, close to the end of the season. First Niagara Center was full of Hawks jerseys, so I just blended into the masses. I sat next to a Sabres fan, who looked at my jersey when he sat down and said “normally I’d hate sitting next to you, but we’re all cheering for the same result right now” and proceeded to high five and fist bump me every time the Hawks scored, and especially when they won. A random Sabres fan said “nice jersey” as he walked by me. I realize that the tanking nature of this season made it different than what it could have been like, but Sabres fans seemed like a nice bunch of people generally, plus they’re 100% used to away fans & out-of-towners (aka the Toronto Effect).
Anyway, I just wanted to share my positive experiences as an away fan. I know that one of these days I may end up having a less than positive experience as an away fan (though at least I will probably never do a trip to Philly to see a Pens game…) but so far so good.
The only two negative experiences I’ve had as an away fan were, coincidentally, with these two teams.
A friend and I went to a game on Long Island and fans a few rows behind us threw trash down at us apparently just for having the nerve to wear Penguins shirts. We had seen on either side of us where fans were arguing or whatever, and then when security came over, the whole section would point to Penguins fans, and they’d be escorted out. So we didn’t turn around or even acknowledge these people behind us out of fear of the same, and luckily when security came over, the nice Islanders fan next to ustold them we hadn’t done anything to instigate. Phew. I still think of that guy fondly, ha. The most annoying part was that by the time security arrived to us, it was overtime, and I wanted to say CAN WE ALL JUST WATCH THE GAME? DON’T YOU KNOW THIS IS SUDDEN DEATH? DON’T YOU CARE WAY MORE ABOUT THIS THAN ABOUT ANTAGONIZING VISITORS??!?
And then after a game in Washington where the Pens lost, I guess it was just general run-of-the-mill taunting from Caps fans to any Pens fans, but notable to me because I am such a 100% non-confrontational person that it was literally the only time in my life I’ve ever had someone yell in my face, close enough to touch. I have never once instigated a situation where someone might want to yell back at me, so it was such a shock!
Boston fans seem to have one of the worst reputations, but I lived there for 12 years and tried to see the Penguins nearly every time they were in town – always in Pens gear – and never had a problem at all. So who knows.
Now I live back in Pittsburgh where I’m a carefree home fan, and I try to be friendly to visiting fans I interact with because I genuinely want them to leave with a good impression.
(And I guess I should say that I have never been to a game in Philly because I just don’t even think it would be fun. Could be wrong, but I don’t know that I want to spend the money to test it.)
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I have almost always been an away fan (Go Blackhawks, obviously) and it has only ever been a problem in Vancouver. Usually the insults were pretty uncreative, usually just a “YOU SUCK!” or “BOOOOOO!” shouted into my face. I used to attempt a clever comeback, but found that something along the lines of “excuse me sir, I am a lady.” works best because then they’re usually like “oh, err…” but also “well you shouldn’t be wearing that jersey then.” 😐
Pants-this is a friendly reminder that you only have about two seasons left to experience the history and awesomeness that is Joe Louis Arena! Please come any time and add that to your list! You will love it even if it smells like stale popcorn and old beer. (You will grow to love that smell, I promise!) Also, Detroiters have been called some of the friendliest and courteous fans around. The most heated the fans in the arena can get, usually happens when Chicago fans full half of the arena during a Wings-Blackhawks game, which isn’t often. Oh and Zetterbeard looks great in person!
P.S. Chuck you are also invited.
Philly hasn’t been too bad for a Caps fan. The first time I went to what was then called the FU center in a Caps jersey, everyone was nice, helped us when we were lost on the way to the arena, pointed us to our section, it was weird. But the Caps were terrible then, so I assume even Flyers fans feel pity.
More recent trips result in some chirping, but nothing I didn’t laugh about until a guy threw popcorn at me some of which ended up in my beer. I whirled around furiously yelling NOT THE BEER! He apologized sincerely and bought me another one. He even picked the popcorn out of my hair.
The abuse Flyers fans heap on their own team is astoundingly NSFW though, even with kids around.
I have experienced only one game away from my home arena (MSG) and it was at Consol in Pittsburgh. Four years ago I was home for the holidays and took my mom to see the Rangers take on the Pens. My mom was wearing her Pens scarf and I was wearing my Rangers jersey and Lundqvist scarf. At first all I got was dirty looks. But once we got to our seats, three rows off the glass behind the goal, things got not so friendly. No one addressed me directly (guess my mom’s Pens scarf and cane helped them keep things in check a little bit), but they made sure to talk very loudly about the Ranger players and not in any positive way. One guy even said that Lundqvist must be a “f*cking homo” due to the way he dresses off the ice. After that comment there was a very vulgar discussion as to whether they thought Avery and Lundqvist were a couple off ice (trust me, you don’t want any more details than that). As I was with my mother I didn’t respond to anyone, I just bit my tongue. As the game went on and more beers were consumed it just got worse. Thankfully the Rangers came alive in the 3rd period and scored 4 unanswered goals and won the game. (I may have screamed so loud on one of those goals that Torts and half the guys on the bench looked over at me, but in my defense, I had been holding back for most of the game.) After the game I helped my mom up the stands and then went to get the car. Walking back to the car on my own in my Rangers gear was not a fun trip. I had several guys get in my face and yell that my team sucked. There were other non drunk fans around but no one stepped in to help me. I don’t think I will be attending another game in Pittsburgh. Sorry Pants, wasn’t a positive experience for me, other than a win for my team.
Yeah, obnoxiously drunk fans are the worst. As a Flyers fan, I try and avoid those groups/individuals when I’m at games in Philly.
This year I added two more away arenas to my list, bringing my total to four. I’ve had varied experiences at each arena (Nashville, Atlanta, Boston, Columbus). The only negative on the list was Nashville and it wasn’t even really that bad.
The incident occurred after the game had ended, this being game 6 of the Hawks/Preds playoff series in 2010 in which my Hawks eliminated Nashville. Now it’s perfectly understandable that the Preds fans were upset, but this one girl was drunk and trying to get in my face. Being that I was wearing my jersey, several other Hawks fans that I encountered as my friend and I were leaving high-fived each other and were quite jubilant to be moving on to the next round. It was after one such occurrence that the girl in front of me swung around and screamed at me that she was on the phone and couldn’t hear. It was beyond loud in the place from the large quantity of people (Hawks and Preds fans alike) exiting the arena, but she blamed it all on me and got in my face.
I don’t even remember people sitting near me in Atlanta, and I definitely saw more red than anything else.
Boston was great, I loved the city and would gladly go back again. I ended up talking a bit with the people behind me who also happened to be visiting (they were from Canada) and my brief encounters with local Bruins fans were also very pleasant.
Columbus was a little different because I went with my brother and his girlfriend as well as her father who is a huge Blue Jackets fan (who knew?). He was antagonizing my brother and I throughout the game, but we were giving it right back and it was all in good fun. After the game I talked with some other Jackets fans, who helped me out in getting an autograph from a traded player (former Hawk). Great overall game experience in Columbus, would definitely recommend it.
Even with the minor incident in Nashville, I would return to any of the cities for another game and hope to add more in the future.
I take a lot of crap being a Blackhawks fan living in St. Louis. My coworkers and I have a lot of fun with this, which is great, but going to games is sometimes another story. There was a game last season in which a Blues fan kept turning around and screaming in my face for no reason other than I was a Blackhawks fan. During the playoffs last season essentially the whole row in front of me made fun of my BFF and me (it didn’t help I was getting sick from a cold and had a low tolerance for ignorance), but I kept my mouth shut. Way back when I was in college my sister, BFF and I went to a Blackhawks-Blues preseason game and we were harassed during the warm up and the first half the the first period (and mind you at this time we were broke college students, so we didn’t have jersey’s on) We noticed all the yelling at us had essentially stopped, and it was about that point I turned around to find Tony Amonte, Jeff Hackett and Jean-Yves Leroux had sat down in the row behind us. That turned out to be one of the best games I had been to because Tony Amonte was poking fun at me for the bandage I had on my arm. The previous day I had slipped on gravel while walking around campus and tore my arm & leg up and he kept joking I did it because I was drunk (I actually fell leaving the library). I’m not saying every game in St Louis is bad because there are a lot of good fans out there, but it’s always the bad experiences that stay in your memory.
You can always come to a Flyers game with me! I’ve never actually been to a Flyers-Pens game because ticket prices increase 2-4x when the Pens are in town. There are of course jerks, as there are in any city, but I’m always nice to visitors and I know I’m not the only one. Oh I may make some remark along the lines of “seriously?” or “I’m so sorry about your poor taste in hockey teams” but I’ll say it with a wink and a smile.
Pretty sure Pens and Rangers gear are the two I would least recommend someone wear in Philly. I’m very often ashamed of my fellow Flyers fans. Things got downright ugly in the Wells Fargo Center during the first round vs the Sabres in 2011. That being said, my ringtone for a brief time was “Chelsea Dagger” and let me tell you, Scott Hartnell was not amused when my phone rang LOUDLY in the middle of an open team practice the year after Chicago took the Cup in game 6.
The first game I ever went to was Caps/Jackets in DC. I proudly, if not a bit nervously, donned my brand spanking new Rick Nash jersey. The response was mostly as expected; a few bros yelled “Jackets suck” at me and I got flipped off once on F Street post-game. I’ve seen worse than that from hockey moms at a Flyers practice. While waiting in line for a drink, a couple of Caps fans took great pleasure in notifying me that Nash was out with an injury that night (my disappointment knew no bounds), then proceeded to ask me if I even knew why they were called the “Blue Jackets”. Seriously? That’s what I need to know in order to prove that I’m a REAL fan? So I schooled him on the Civil War and Ohio’s involvement with the Union Army and he and his friend promptly shut up. During the game, the Jackets scored and the guy next to me demanded I stand and cheer for my team. “Who gives a crap what they think…your team just scored a goal! I’ve got your back.” See- chivalry isn’t dead!
When are you coming to a game in Philly, Pants? I’ve got a Giroux shirsey ready and waiting for you!
I’m a Blackhawks fan who has been married 25+ years to a Blues fan. We’ve been to countless games in each other’s teams arenas & I’ve experienced plenty of good natured ribbing & trash talking & grousing about each other’s team, but never had any ugly altercations with other fans.
The real fan violence comes from arguments over which team’s Christmas ornament gets the place of honor at the top of the tree each year.
I think it was 2 seasons ago, I was at a Rangers/Caps playoff game at MSG (alone). I had just purchased a new jersey to mark the occasion. And I should note that I’m a Ranger fan. A group of guys came and set next to me. A couple of them had their faces painted (as did I) and I thought, “this will be great fun!” It was not.
They had clearly been drinking for hours and for almost the entire first period, one of the group was yelling homophobic crap about Ovi, particularly about how much Ovi enjoyed putting a certain part of male anatomy in his mouth (trying to keep this somewhat clean). There were small kids RIGHT behind him. Now, full disclosure: I’m a loud fan and I curse like a sailor, but I do try to keep it somewhat in check if there are kids around.
When he started in again at the beginning of the second period, I reached my limit and yelled at him, loud enough for the entire section to hear, that it seemed to me that HE was the one who was obsessed with Ovi and fellatio (again, paraphrasing here), but I was REALLY sick of hearing about it, so maybe he could shut his damn mouth? The rest of our section laughed, but in response, he oh so eloquently called me a “fat b—h” and told me to “F off.” If I hadn’t been wearing a brand new jersey, I would’ve gotten in his face, because I’m 100% sure he was the kind of guy who would’ve hit me, and I really wanted him to get thrown out, but I was afraid I’d bleed on my jersey, and I wasn’t willing to take that risk (especially with it being a white away jersey and all). He did shut up, though, so I guess that’s a win?
After the second period when he got up to get yet another beer, his friend apologized and said that his friend was normally a nice guy, he’d just had too much to drink. I looked him in the eye and said, “No, your friend is not a nice guy. He’s an a——e.”
And these were FELLOW RANGER FANS. In general, I love my fellow Blueshirt faithful and I’ve had many, many wonderful experiences, but this was just really sad.
A friend and I drove to Philadelphia to see the Pens last year for my birthday. We wore our gear the entire trip and experienced some playful razzing (e.g. “Charge extra for the Pens fans!”). So, we thought our experience at the arena wouldn’t be so bad. Instead, we were verbally insulted and harassed, had beer sprayed at us, my friend was shoved into a bathroom stall, and I was jerked backwards by the collar of my jersey while walking down the steps. When we complained to an arena staff member, we were asked “who did it – the guy in the Pronger jersey?” Though it doesn’t matter the gender, I feel the need to add that my friend and I are both female, and our attackers were all male. This adds some extra fear when people continue to harass during the drive away from the arena. That day, the Pens lost 4-0. The rest of the city was friendly and playful. I loved my visit. However, I will never attend another game at Wells Fargo. No one should have to experience that treatment, and if I encounter people in Pittsburgh behaving as deplorably, I hope to have the courage to defend them. It is JUST a game. Nothing more.
That’s awful, Kristi. It must have been awful. I don’t understand the ruthless nature of Philly fans, and I am one. Every time I go to a game and see a fan walking alone in the visiting team’s jersey, I want to walk with them to make sure they stay safe. I will never understand why people feel the need to belittle, bully, or abuse other people because of a game.
I’m sorry your experience was a bad one.
Ugh. I am so so sorry that that happened to you. Stuff likes this makes me ashamed of my home and tempted to hide under the covers for a bit. Not cool at all. It’s a tough call for me as a hobbit sized female whether or not I jump in when things like that are happening, but I’d like to think if I saw something like that I’d step up and defend them. Absolutely despicable.
I’ve been an away fan at four arenas–Tampa, San Jose, Toronto, and Pittsburgh. I’ve worn Caps gear every time, and never had a bad experience (granted the Toronto trip was back when the Caps were still terrible, so i think we got more pitying looks than anything else. Understandable, in those dark days). In every arena, the hometown fans around us were nice–sociable, with a good bit of teasing, but nothing over the top or rude. In fact, the Tampa fans were some of the most fun (and most passionate) I’ve had the pleasure of sitting with. Good arena, Tampa (Tesla coils in the ceiling FTW!).
I think your observation about shouting at a group anonymously is spot-on. Every time I’ve witnessed dickish fan behavior–including, shamefully, at Verizon Center–it’s involved a group.
My friend and I got heckled by a restroom attendant at the Spectrum while wearing Sharks gear. The Sharks were pretty bad that season, so we told her we were from the bay area and flew across the country to see our awful team. She said we were hard core but the Sharks were still gonna lose.
Hockey is a sport that as much as it divides us, it also unites us. We must be respectful even if someone is a Pens fans wearing a Crosby jersey in Philly.
My family has season tickets to and are long-time fans of the Pens, but we live right outside of Philly (go figure). When I was about nine or ten, my parents and I went to a Pens @ Flyers game. We got the usual light but borderline rude heckling from the ticket scanners and ushers. The real problem occurred when I, a little blonde ten-year-old girl, carrying an ice cream cone (could I have looked more innocent?), was walking back to our seats and I was spat on by a very big tall adult male Flyers fan. Guessing I shouldn’t have worn my Crosby jersey…
We have grown to not being able to stand the harassment at the Wells Fargo, so we go to Pens @ Devils games instead; the staff members are unbelievably nice, as are some of the fans, and while there’s an intense fan here and there, its nothing compared to the harassment we have experienced from Flyers fans.
Public transportation is when things can get dicey, especially on the way home. Drunk people in close quarters can go dark quickly.
I was sitting with my small at the time 13 year old nephew on the train after a game three years ago. a drunk college student loudly started talking trash while invading my personal space. I responded that I came to the Sabres games to watch good hockey. He backed off the anti-Crosby rant when I began to talk about Malkin because Malkin wasn’t a (bleep). All this, and I was wearing my relatively neutral J. Staal jersey! Anyway, Once this large drunken gentleman passed out, his friend (who was not as drunk) apologized to me. Rather late, but at least there was an apology.
Lesson learned the hard way = do not wear anything that says Crosby on it in Buffalo, NY! Two reasons include Sabres loss in a shootout because of a Crosby OT goal during the first Winter Classic. And more damningly, Crosby scoring the golden goal at the Olympics on Ryan Miller (Sabres goaltender at the time).
For college hockey fans, if you ever get the chance I highly reccomend traveling to Wisconsin for a game. One of the best places I have ever gone for hockey. Everyone was so friendly, one Wisconsin fan went out of his way to ask us if we were enjoying the trip because he had traveled for hockey games and had been treated awfully by fans of the home team.
Another positive experience: after the Blackhaks defeated the Bruins to win the Stanley Cup in 2013, while walking out of the Garden I saw a 20-something year old guy shake hands with and congratulate a small group of Chicago fans.
Apparently there is still some good in the world!
My sister and I have been harassed and threatened in Detroit and in Buffalo. Detroit was the scariest because we were threatened with physical violence but Buffalo was the weirdest because some teenage girl with her mom told me to ‘watch my back’ on the way to my car and the mom said we were classless for cheering for our team (I assume because Buffalo had such a bad season?). Very upsetting both times. I’m afraid to go to Chicago in a Preds jersey
I actually know the Caps fan guy who failed his Isles-loving father! I saw this and laughed out loud. He went to my high school and works for the Nationals!