The New Jersey Devils are in the Stanley Cup Championship again, and as Wednesday’s Game 1 at the Prudential Center ticks closer, it is only to anyone’s imagination what a die-hard New Jersey Devil fan might be doing prior to the start of the series. Results may be widely diverse and quite intense depending on the ritual practice of any given fan. As devious or as casual as the rituals may be, New Jersey Devils fans have a number of things to be proud of going in to the Finals.
First, there is no need to be redundant, but it is just plain fun to do occasionally. The Devils are in the Stanley Cup Finals! There’s a method to this kind of madness because the feeling tends to re-surge when mentioning some additional reasons to be proud of your Jersey team. This stage for this Stanley Cup championship came with quite a flight of stairs going back to last season.
The Devils, as injury-struck as they were last season, did not break double digits in the wins column until New Year’s Eve against Atlanta. Times were very gloomy for the early part of the 2010-2011 season. The Devils even brought back the legendary Jacques Lemaire to revamp the team in replacing the dismal start of John MacLean. Jacques’ return worked, and the surge he brought along gave the Devils a mild playoff run in finishing with a 38-39-05 record.
As fans know, Jacques’ return and the feeling the Devils were going to make the playoffs were only temporary. Though the team finished strongly after the second half of the year, Jacques once again retired and the nontraditional void of playoff absence sifted in. It wasn’t very long before the Devils had themselves a new leader, and on July 19th, 2011, the team selected the very collected Peter DeBoer to coach the Devils.
Peter DeBoer hasn’t just made it through the halfway point of the regular season; he’s taken the team to a Stanley Cup Championship in just his first year. He managed quite a respectable squad finishing with 48 wins and a team that scored 102 points. He also falls in to place with another proud point to throw in; beating the Rangers. The firmness of his coaching was shown sparring words with Rangers’ coach John Tortorella after Ranger Mike Rupp sucker punched Martin Brodeur.
Hey, beating the Rangers did feel good didn’t it? Their fans are quite intertwined into New Jersey territory, and aside altering the 1994 classic series’ history, going back to work to stick it to the opposing Rangers fan might have been uplifting for those who reside within region. Their territory isn’t far from the Devils’ lair, so it takes defeating them to get some peace and quiet in the area; an area that will see just a single professional team labeled to New Jersey after this year.
Another reason to be proud- You have stuck by the last team labeling themselves a New Jersey team.
The soon-to-be-former New Jersey Nets are moving to Brooklyn, New York where large-sum owner/rap-artist Jay-Z was born and raised. The team had a few good years that included a few trips to the finals. As a conglomerate, however, the Nets did not encompass the playoff success nor produce quite the long-term legend like a Marty Brodeur. In football, the New York Giants and the New York Jets seemingly win for the conglomerate of New York and New Jersey area playing as New York teams in East Rutherford. The recent Superbowl victory by the Giants of football was a nice treat to those perhaps, who share a liking in the New Jersey Devils and the New York Giants. But make no mistake about it; the New York Giants won their third championship just recently. It took them a bit, but they caught up to the hockey team that plays not too far away on the Jersey side of the Hudson.
Newark withholds the only team on this side of the Hudson going for their fourth championship; The New Jersey Devils. Those living out of state, including potential Devils fans residing in New York, are welcome to cheer the Devils on as they host the Kings in Newark at 8 PM, ET Wednesday Night.
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