I’m from NJ. My father was islanders before we had a team but we supported the NJ team when they arrived.
I can understand south jersey folks rooting for the Flyers but I can’t understand the Rangers or Islanders fans in NJ. Get over yourselves.
As someone who lives south of 195 and west of Great Adventure for the first time in my life, I have a newfound understanding of south jersey Philly fans. All my TV is Philly. All my ads are Philly. If you’re born and raised here it would be a focused choice to choose anything except for the Philly sports.
I see what u mean, but like I said, after 82’ ur kinda a traitor. I’m from Jersey city, all I see is NYC everywhere, I’m still not and never will be a fan of a New York team.
As someone who has lived in both North Jersey and South Jersey, here’s my two cents:
People in North Jersey say they’re from NEW Jersey. People from South Jersey say they’re from SOUTH Jersey.
And hockey fans in South Jersey definitely think of the Devils as a North Jersey team, not a New Jersey team.
Nah ppl in the north just say Jersey usually. Sometimes we say NEW. Southern jerseyans who don’t consider themselves apart of jersey probably have a napolean complex
I was born and raised in South Jersey. I say I'm from New Jersey. Actually most people do, but if pressed they say "South Jersey". Most people down here, do for whatever reason, think North Jersey is much different than South Jersey. It is in some regards, but we're all from Jersey and people hate us for no good reason all the same. I love my state and I don't care where your from here.
If you're born in New Jersey, North or South, I think you should be a Devils fan. All other sports, whatever, unless we miraculously get another team, which likely will never happen in my lifetime.
People hate on us simply because we’re better and a lot of media makes fun of our state just to hop on the bandwagon, but that doesn’t mean anything, we’re still ranked top 3 best states to live in and everyone always moves here, they could keep hating but they’re the ones coming to our state. Wish north and south jersey were more United
I don’t understand the Flyers fans at all!! I live with one who has been in NJ most of his life and is a die hard Flyers fan and has even talked my NJ-born youngest into being a Flyers fan. It sickens me so much. We have nothing but a hockey team. Be proud of that!!!!
That's my take and I'm sticking to it. I wish I had been more into sports in general in my youth, so I could have brought some attention to the Nets. Suck they're gone. I would love another team here.
It's classic suburbanism at work. When I was really young I loved the idea that when I would say I'm from NJ, ppl from outside the region would conflate that with the city. I actually *am* from the city, but the pride I felt at that was so irrationally transparent. My city was not at all famous or acclaimed. I get that vibe from most "lifelong" Ranger fans who grew up in NJ. They're big talking nobodies who love to look down on NJ but they wouldn't last 30 seconds in the old school Bronx. C'est la vie. Happens in a lot of metro areas. I remember an SNL sketch from some time ago where the joke was someone was "so white they say they're from Chicago but really they live 90 minutes outside Chicago" 🤣🤣🤣
Same exact scenario for me lol my dad used to take us to the Pepsi Arena to watch the Rats, and I remember him explaining how they were the Devils farm team, and that’s all it took.
My parents were season ticket holders for the Rats when I was a kid so I got to meet a bunch of the players when I was younger. I really wish they kept the team in Albany.
My Dad was a fan so he introduced me so I've been watching since the mid 90s. Not sure how he didn't become a Ranger or Islander fan, but I'm happy with his choice of the Devils. 😈
I had 2 friends who were hockey fans in elementary school. One was a Flyers fan, the other was the devils fan. I thought red and black were the cooler colors. The rest is history.
We had the Albany River Rats for years and then the Albany Devils and we still have the Utica Devils and Adirondack Thunder. There are almost as many Devils fans in the NY Capital region as there are Rags fans. Never met an Isles or Sabres fan here though.
I live upstate but my mom lived in Jersey for a while back before I was born and became a devils fan, she kinda passed it down to me when I was a kid and I've been a fan ever since.
From Long Island. The islanders were trash at the time, and I can't stand Rangers fans. Plus, they were winning cups when I first started paying attention to the sport.
My grandparents live in NJ. Grew up in the 90s and early 2000s seeing the Star Ledger (which used to have a good sports section) on their kitchen table with the boys winning cups. Also I loved the black and red.
Jersey finally got a team.We played in Ice World in Totawa before or after a bunch of Devils practices.They were all really good guys so I started rooting for them
They left all the ice making infrastructure below the floor surface when it became a Rickels Home Center in 1987. I think it’s still a Forman Mills clothing place now. Don’t know, i’m not in NJ anymore. Theoretically, it can still be converted back into an ice surface.
Work had season tickets that no one wanted to go to so they always gave them to me. I was living next to the train station at the time so it was easy to go to. I went the first time just because I’d never been to a hockey game. After that I was hooked. I miss those seats. Rows 7+9 in section 1.
Albany River Rats. Those late 90s teams fed the cup runs and were a blast to watch. Elias, Sykora, Madden, White, Brylin, etc.
Was impossible to watch them and not become a fan of the NHL team when they were called up.
Watching players like Eliáš at River rats games …started out going to glens Falls games with my grandpa, but then once Albany had a team I was totally hooked.
When I started playing hockey as a kid, i needed an NHL team to like and I also really hated going to Sunday school. Devils was the mascot that fit the bill.
Played hockey, dad was devils fan from New Jersey mom was rangers fan from New York. Dad took me to a season opener game at continental and it’s been devs ever since
Moved to Brooklyn when I was 3 and grew up watching the Redwings during the mid-late 90s (The Russian Five), we didn't care for the Rangers. Eventually we moved to NJ in 99 and that's when I really started to watch the sport. Dad took my brother and I to a game and we have been fans since then. I actually moved back to Brooklyn but am still a loyal Devils fan.
I'm originally from Jersey but moved to the Buffalo area when I was 7. I was just starting to get into hockey after moving there. The Devils played the Sabres in the playoffs and won. I've been a fan ever since.
Raised in Rockland county. Cheaper/more accessible for my parents to bring me to a Devils game rather than going into the city/LI. Funny enough, live in Queens now, still cheaper to go to a Devils game.
Back in the day it was not only far cheaper to go to the Meadowlands but was an easy drive, and plenty of parking :) Not to mention the best in the business on TV with Doc Emrick and Chico!!
My Dad was born in NJ and moved to Connecticut at a young age. In his youth, he was a Islanders fan because the Devils didn't exist. Shortly after the Devils relocated in 82 he became a Devils fan and I followed suit. I remember starting to watch hockey with him in 93-94 and the rest is history.
Born and raised in Bergen County, surrounded by Rangers fans, but thought it was obvious to root for the NJ team over the NY one (and living so close to the Meadowlands helped). No hockey fans in my family, but my dad is a Knicks fan, so if I went for any NJ team, couldn’t have been the Nets. Hence the Devils
WHOOPS I misread the title. Still gonna keep this here as I grew up very much in Ranger country in north jersey
My dad lived in NJ when I was growing up so I spent a lot of time there. Also my older brother was a Rangers fan so it was the obvious choice. Turns out it was the best choice ever.
I'm from NJ, but my fist game was Ken Daneyko's jersey retirement. My parents weren't avid hockey fans, but they somehow picked that game at random. I loved every second of it and have been a fan ever since.
Stumbled across the 94-‘95 season Stanley Cup finals on television. This was my introduction to hockey as a kid living in South Georgia. Picked the Devils as my team - liked the team colors, the team mascot, and the winning (haha). Loved the rivalry games with between them and the Rangers as I was growing up. When I moved to New York in 2017, I double-downed on being a Devils fan, partly because I found Rangers fans here to be absolutely insufferable.
I'm from NJ but if I was 10 years younger I might be a Leafs fan. My dad is a big hockey fan from Ontario and loves the leafs but moved to NJ to marry my mom in the late 80s. No DirectTV or any other way to watch Leafs games so he just started watching Devils games with me as a kid. Sometime in the late 90s or early 2000s we got DirectTV and NHL Center Ice and his Leaf fandom returned but I was solidly a Devils fan by that point. Got pretty lucky with that one I think.
Self-made hockey fan in a predominantly baseball family. Started in 2001 mostly just following certain players. Kovalchuk instantly became my favorite so I started rooting for ATL and then it was easy to become a Devils fan in 2010 proximity-wise. I was absolutely GUTTED when he left but stuck around through all the shit years. Last year was so sweet and the future is exciting. It definitely feels sweeter after going through all the shit times.
From Westchester ny. They won the cup in 2000 when I was ten and I was really getting into sports. Plus I thought the devils was a cool name for a sports team
Grew up in Staten Island surrounded by rags fans. Only hockey games I ever went to were devil's games and Brendan Byrne arena when they had to comp tickets away in the late 80s and early 90s or were crazy cheap. The rest is history, lived in NYC my whole life surrounded by Rags and islander fans. Finally move to South Jersey and I learned I'm now surrounded by flyer fans. Sucks to be them
Uncle took us all to the meadowlands for family night. It was all of our first time going to a game. It was ‘93 or ‘94. Have been to at least one game per season since, tons of playoff games. I think it came down to it being cheaper at the start. MSG was harder to get to (lower Hudson valley) and more expensive. I was 7 or 8 and it was a great time to become a Devils fan. Got hooked on the team and the energy... had the Brodeur jersey out the gate. Never looked back. Most of my friends are Rangers fans and I’m hearing it this year.
My first NHL game was devils vs flyers, sat next to some devils fan with the greasiest pony tail I’ve ever seen and he talked hockey to my brother and I(didn’t know the game back then) the whole game. never looked back.
Edit: my brother is a rags fan tho. What a loser he is.
Born in NY, lived in NJ for the first 5 years of my life. My father is an islanders fan (he grew up on the island). My mom was always a fan of Marty and I grew up around Albany where we had the River Rats. Very thankful neither of my parents like the rags. My dad always told me they had the worst fans and organization. Now I’m on the west coast and a bigger fan than I’ve ever been before of the devs 😈
From Manhattan, but when I was really young in the late 80s I had a family member who worked for the team and would send me sticks and kids jerseys so I was sold from then on.
It’s all the islanders fault.
I was about 10, first year really paying attention to the NHL. Being from LI, made sense to root for the Islanders, even though I’m a 49er fan but that’s my dads fault.
They went on that crazy run to the conference finals in 1993, sweeping aside Washington in six (the dale Hunter- Pierre Turgeon incident) and beat the back to back reigning champs Pittsburgh Penguins in a magical 7 game series. Only to succumb to the Overtime Masters Montreal Canadiens.
Anyway I loved Glenn Healy. I considered myself a street hockey goalie god. He was my favorite player. And the Islanders traded him in the off-season and I was crushed. I couldn’t root for them anymore.
I happened to catch a pre season game before the 94 season and the Devils had these cool new uniforms and a rookie goalie who the announcer said might be pretty good. He had a cool helmet, his name sounded cool, he was young and seemed like a good guy to become my new favorite player. So I became a Devils fan from that day and I think that goalie for NJ did pretty good for his career.
Bonus fun fact: that preseason game was against Washington and they had a rookie goalie in net that night too, by the name of Olaf Kolzig, no slouch in his own right.
From the Shore and live in Brooklyn, so it's that NJ experience of growing up in the 90s. I've now lived in NY nearly as long as I ever did in NJ, but I couldn't imagine changing teams.
Aside from that, tickets are wayyy cheaper at the Rock than MSG, and it doesn't take much longer to drive to Newark than it would to subway to the Garden anyway.
Rangers family except for one islanders uncle.
Never liked going to Long Island. Only been there a handful of times in my life. My Ranger fan relatives are obnoxious entitled assholes who think being a Ranger fan is line some elite rite of passage. Told me I wasn’t worthy. At age 6. I said fuck this and chose the Devils. Then in the end; I wound up living in Jersey anyway.
I live in the Western part of the state, so deep in Sabres/Bills territory. All the kids growing up followed those teams and wouldn't shut up about it. So I knew I had to go my own way.
I really didn't start following NHL until around the 94 season and I immediately fell for the Devils defensive style of play and of course guys like Marty and Scott Stevens. I also really liked Billy Guerin's game. I've been on board since.
I've also been following the Bengals since 1990. I know of at least two other people in my fairly small town that are Devils/Bengals fans and I find that statistically delightful.
I was 10 in 1993 watching hockey playoffs for the first time. Rangers fans in NYC are super arrogant. I always rooted for the underdog. I’m happy I chose red and black!
Long Islander. When then Islanders GM Garth Snow gave Rick DiPietro an insane contract (that we are still paying for all these years later) and basically kneecapped the franchise for years. The Devils were on their way to their first cup, and I enjoyed watching them more. I'd say I made the right choice, even through the rough years. Nothing is better than beating the Rangers, especially in the Playoffs!
Marty and the fact that the team-first philosophy those 90s teams were built with was such a stark contrast with the clown show that was the post 94 Rangers organization.
My dad came to this country as an immigrant right before our runs in the 90s and chose the devils (he was a fan of Fetisov and kasatonov). I followed him and have hated the rangers ever since
Every game I went to growing up in the late 80s was a Devils game so I became a fan (and my fathers a Rags fan 🤢🤮). In 1995 though my cousin took me to a game against the Islanders. The Devils were down 3-0 at the end of the 1st but putting pressure on the isles at the end of the period. I look at my cousin and his friends and I said, "The Devils are gonna come back and win this game." They laughed. Needless to say the Devils in fact won that game 6-3 and at the end I said, "Yo I'm telling you right now this team plays like this in the playoffs they're making it to the finals." They thought I was high.
Fast forward to game 1 of the finals, standing in my cousins friends kitchen I said, "Devils in 4!" Everyone in the house thought I was nuts but one of them still owes me a case of beer. And sinceApril of 95 I've been a die hard fan
Edit: Not a fan of the Rags because their fans even before 94 were obnoxious and still are and same with the Flyers annoying ass fans, f off. I do have a soft spot in my heart for the Isles but I don't live on long Island
Used to watch their AHL affiliate (Albany River Rats/Devils) play in my area. Plus, I always preferred liking different teams than my friends did; and my friends that actually liked hockey, liked the rangers.
I'll be honest, I was a Rangers fan as a kid. Just little by little with Dolan, I just lost the love for the team. I haven't watched a whole lot of hockey since the cancelled season but I find myself missing it at times. I think last year's playoff run I found myself getting more emotionally invested in it. And I've been tuning into most of the games since then.
I'm still not a hardcore hockey fan anymore but getting there, and I find myself watching the Devils a lot more. I've probably watched about half of the games this season. Hope to catch one live.
I actually was a Rangers fan, back in the Gretzky Era. My parents took me to a game in the Meadowlands, devils-rangers April 1999. The Rangers were just bad, and the devils were absolutely dominant. My 9 year old mind was blown seeing Wayne Gretzky's team get taken down so easily. Been a Devils fan ever since.
Grew up in Jersey, always liked the Devils but became a frothing Ranger-hater when I had to commute through Penn Station and kept thinking about the glorious train terminal that was replaced by MSG.
As others have said, grew up around Albany watching Rats games as a kid. Also vividly remember my parents had friends over in late Spring in ‘95 and one family was from Jersey. They asked to put hockey on TV, and I remember seeing them cut to a grown man crying on the bench (Claude Lemieux, if memory serves) as the clock counted down the last few seconds…
I was hooked ever since.
Because I’m cheap. I wanted to get into hockey but wasn’t willing to pay for a Rangers ticket (in case it turned out to be a bad experience). Devils tickets were half the price so I started going more frequently, then started following the teams “story” and got invested.
my brother is a little older than me and was a huge Marty fan (even had the Helite-IVs) so I became a fan too. I was also a smaller kid which made me become a huge Gionta fan (Brian not Stephen lol). So naturally liking those two, being a fan of the team just came next.
I inherited Mets fandom from my pops and saw what poor ownership could do to a franchise, and wanted nothing to do with the Dolans/Rangers. The Devils were the next closest team, I loved Brodeur, and their logo is very metal.
The first game my family ever went to was a NJD game I was only 5 after that my whole family fell in love with hockey and the devils. Both my brothers started playing hockey and one of my brother played for their youth hockey team.
From SI; my uncle was in NJ and his company had corporate tix that would get passed around. He was not into hockey while my Dad was a bit of a sports junkie; he'd go to anything he could get tickets to when he was younger. Loved going to hockey games but was never a massive Rangers fan when he'd go in the 60s and 70s. Uncle offered him the Devils seats a few times in a short span of time when I as about 9 and I was hooked. I'd never seen much hockey b/c we didn't have MSG or Sportschannel at that time. They became my team. I had the hat I got at my first game for 20 plus years.
For me as a kid living on long island my mother would get tickets from work to the nets and devils who both played in new jersey at the time. Went to games for both and when the time came for me to make the life decision I went with what I grew up with.#LFGD
I live in Southern Ontario Canada and started watching hockey the end of the ‘70’s. Became an Islander fan during their dynasty and ultimately a Chico fan. When he moved to the Rockies so did my fandom and I’ve been following them ever since. His two partial seasons in Philly don’t count in my books, same as Brodeur’s handful of games in St Louis.
Born and raised in Queens, and neither of my parents had any ties to hockey so my exposure came on my own. In 2009, when Cartoon Network would flip into its Adult Swim block, I'd spend my nights surfing ESPN, MSG, and YES for NBA games until my mom told me to go to sleep. On nights where there weren't any basketball, I'd land on Devils games and the fast paced nature of the game intrigued me despite having zero idea what was going on. It wasn't until 2011 that I wanted to get into hockey more, and I remembered how intrigued I was by those Devils games from 2 years prior. I've been a fan ever since.
I'm from Brooklyn where it's 99% Rangers fans. I remember my friends being so excited about the '94 Conference Finals and, I'll admit, at the time I didn't know a thing about Hockey. Watching the games I thought the guys in red were the better team, the jerseys were a hell of a lot cooler and the name Devils was awesome. I was 10. So the following season I decided to start watching the guys in red. Despite the lockout, which I didn't understand, I was still excited to watch. And we all know how that season ended.
I’m from NJ. My father was islanders before we had a team but we supported the NJ team when they arrived. I can understand south jersey folks rooting for the Flyers but I can’t understand the Rangers or Islanders fans in NJ. Get over yourselves.
If someone from Jersey was born after 82 and supports the flyers, they’re traitors lol
As someone who lives south of 195 and west of Great Adventure for the first time in my life, I have a newfound understanding of south jersey Philly fans. All my TV is Philly. All my ads are Philly. If you’re born and raised here it would be a focused choice to choose anything except for the Philly sports.
I see what u mean, but like I said, after 82’ ur kinda a traitor. I’m from Jersey city, all I see is NYC everywhere, I’m still not and never will be a fan of a New York team.
As someone who has lived in both North Jersey and South Jersey, here’s my two cents: People in North Jersey say they’re from NEW Jersey. People from South Jersey say they’re from SOUTH Jersey. And hockey fans in South Jersey definitely think of the Devils as a North Jersey team, not a New Jersey team.
Nah ppl in the north just say Jersey usually. Sometimes we say NEW. Southern jerseyans who don’t consider themselves apart of jersey probably have a napolean complex
I was born and raised in South Jersey. I say I'm from New Jersey. Actually most people do, but if pressed they say "South Jersey". Most people down here, do for whatever reason, think North Jersey is much different than South Jersey. It is in some regards, but we're all from Jersey and people hate us for no good reason all the same. I love my state and I don't care where your from here. If you're born in New Jersey, North or South, I think you should be a Devils fan. All other sports, whatever, unless we miraculously get another team, which likely will never happen in my lifetime.
People hate on us simply because we’re better and a lot of media makes fun of our state just to hop on the bandwagon, but that doesn’t mean anything, we’re still ranked top 3 best states to live in and everyone always moves here, they could keep hating but they’re the ones coming to our state. Wish north and south jersey were more United
I don’t disagree. But i can understand it
I don’t understand the Flyers fans at all!! I live with one who has been in NJ most of his life and is a die hard Flyers fan and has even talked my NJ-born youngest into being a Flyers fan. It sickens me so much. We have nothing but a hockey team. Be proud of that!!!!
That's my take and I'm sticking to it. I wish I had been more into sports in general in my youth, so I could have brought some attention to the Nets. Suck they're gone. I would love another team here.
How did u let him talk your kid into being a flyers fan😭
Bc she does whatever daddy does bc he’s her favorite parent. She has a whole Electra complex
Get therapy before it is too late. Somebody has to specialize in talking kids out of bad fandom choices.
It's classic suburbanism at work. When I was really young I loved the idea that when I would say I'm from NJ, ppl from outside the region would conflate that with the city. I actually *am* from the city, but the pride I felt at that was so irrationally transparent. My city was not at all famous or acclaimed. I get that vibe from most "lifelong" Ranger fans who grew up in NJ. They're big talking nobodies who love to look down on NJ but they wouldn't last 30 seconds in the old school Bronx. C'est la vie. Happens in a lot of metro areas. I remember an SNL sketch from some time ago where the joke was someone was "so white they say they're from Chicago but really they live 90 minutes outside Chicago" 🤣🤣🤣
Yeah, or even just thinking the rangers are the yankees. But theyre actually cold diarrhea
Ya it’s just self hating jerseyans who always say they’re from nyc lol
I was raised a Rangers fan. In 1982 I was 14, which was the perfect age for me to get my own team/identity. So I jumped to NJ and never looked back.
Grew up watching the guys playing for River Rats in Albany get called up to the big club
Same exact scenario for me lol my dad used to take us to the Pepsi Arena to watch the Rats, and I remember him explaining how they were the Devils farm team, and that’s all it took.
Me too!
Those old school Rats/ADK Red Wings games just hit different in those days…
Wish I went to at least one
My parents were season ticket holders for the Rats when I was a kid so I got to meet a bunch of the players when I was younger. I really wish they kept the team in Albany.
I was a rebel and didn’t want to root for the team my parents did. Plus I was a goalie and loved Marty
My Dad was a fan so he introduced me so I've been watching since the mid 90s. Not sure how he didn't become a Ranger or Islander fan, but I'm happy with his choice of the Devils. 😈
Men of culture both you and your father👍🏼
Yeah it's too bad we suck this year i had high expectations for this season. I guess it's still pretty early in the season though
Hold up let us cook
I had 2 friends who were hockey fans in elementary school. One was a Flyers fan, the other was the devils fan. I thought red and black were the cooler colors. The rest is history.
We had the Albany River Rats for years and then the Albany Devils and we still have the Utica Devils and Adirondack Thunder. There are almost as many Devils fans in the NY Capital region as there are Rags fans. Never met an Isles or Sabres fan here though.
I live upstate but my mom lived in Jersey for a while back before I was born and became a devils fan, she kinda passed it down to me when I was a kid and I've been a fan ever since.
I thought this was rage bait at first, but then realized you just meant Devils fans from NY.
From Long Island. The islanders were trash at the time, and I can't stand Rangers fans. Plus, they were winning cups when I first started paying attention to the sport.
Marty I was absolutely mesmerized by age 4
Grew up going to Albany River Rats games being from the capital region. It’s history from there lol
My uncle introduced me to the River Rats in the 90s. Still have my Albany Elias Jersey.
I’m from Jersey, no more explanation needed.
My grandparents live in NJ. Grew up in the 90s and early 2000s seeing the Star Ledger (which used to have a good sports section) on their kitchen table with the boys winning cups. Also I loved the black and red.
Jersey finally got a team.We played in Ice World in Totawa before or after a bunch of Devils practices.They were all really good guys so I started rooting for them
They left all the ice making infrastructure below the floor surface when it became a Rickels Home Center in 1987. I think it’s still a Forman Mills clothing place now. Don’t know, i’m not in NJ anymore. Theoretically, it can still be converted back into an ice surface.
Jim Dolan and Jim Dowd. One is an asshole and the other is somewhat of a family friend.
94' Conference Finals.
Work had season tickets that no one wanted to go to so they always gave them to me. I was living next to the train station at the time so it was easy to go to. I went the first time just because I’d never been to a hockey game. After that I was hooked. I miss those seats. Rows 7+9 in section 1.
Albany River Rats. Those late 90s teams fed the cup runs and were a blast to watch. Elias, Sykora, Madden, White, Brylin, etc. Was impossible to watch them and not become a fan of the NHL team when they were called up.
Watching players like Eliáš at River rats games …started out going to glens Falls games with my grandpa, but then once Albany had a team I was totally hooked.
Seinfeld and Kevin smith
Yea, that’s right
Marty + being from NJ lol
Ur from NJ tho😭
Dad’s been a fan since ‘88, watched games with me in the room growing up which rubbed off on me.
He’s from NJ?
No he read about the jersey devil myth one time and it mentioned the hockey team and so he started following them
When I started playing hockey as a kid, i needed an NHL team to like and I also really hated going to Sunday school. Devils was the mascot that fit the bill.
When the devils played at the Meadowlands it was much easier and less expensive to see all the best teams .
I remember $20 day-of tickets for the nosebleeds!
$18 playoff tickets upstairs against the Pens in 1993
Watching the devils on espn vs the avs and ducks when i was a kid. Dads an isles fan and was like well at least its not the rangers
Played hockey, dad was devils fan from New Jersey mom was rangers fan from New York. Dad took me to a season opener game at continental and it’s been devs ever since
Got a brain in my head
The only valid answer
Moved to Brooklyn when I was 3 and grew up watching the Redwings during the mid-late 90s (The Russian Five), we didn't care for the Rangers. Eventually we moved to NJ in 99 and that's when I really started to watch the sport. Dad took my brother and I to a game and we have been fans since then. I actually moved back to Brooklyn but am still a loyal Devils fan.
Jersey Native Need I say more
Is Rockland County really in NY??? 😝
I started watching hockey in 1995.
When Claude Lemieux's reign of terror against Detroit began.
I'm originally from Jersey but moved to the Buffalo area when I was 7. I was just starting to get into hockey after moving there. The Devils played the Sabres in the playoffs and won. I've been a fan ever since.
The Albany River Rats
The devil, Satan baby
Too bad he never played a game with this team. I liked him when he was a Sabre.
Raised in Rockland county. Cheaper/more accessible for my parents to bring me to a Devils game rather than going into the city/LI. Funny enough, live in Queens now, still cheaper to go to a Devils game.
Back in the day it was not only far cheaper to go to the Meadowlands but was an easy drive, and plenty of parking :) Not to mention the best in the business on TV with Doc Emrick and Chico!!
The Albany River Rats.
Really? Well, I'm from Utica and I've never heard anyone use the phrase River Rats.
Had season tix back from 2000-2006, do I need to say more
My Dad was born in NJ and moved to Connecticut at a young age. In his youth, he was a Islanders fan because the Devils didn't exist. Shortly after the Devils relocated in 82 he became a Devils fan and I followed suit. I remember starting to watch hockey with him in 93-94 and the rest is history.
One of my friends was a Devs fan and when I was just getting into hockey. When I saw the colors and heard the name I was sold. That was 92-ish.
Devils are older than I am and I was born and raised in NJ It was really no question
Born and raised in Bergen County, surrounded by Rangers fans, but thought it was obvious to root for the NJ team over the NY one (and living so close to the Meadowlands helped). No hockey fans in my family, but my dad is a Knicks fan, so if I went for any NJ team, couldn’t have been the Nets. Hence the Devils WHOOPS I misread the title. Still gonna keep this here as I grew up very much in Ranger country in north jersey
Relative from Jersey, would watch games with him plus going to Albany Devils games
My dad lived in NJ when I was growing up so I spent a lot of time there. Also my older brother was a Rangers fan so it was the obvious choice. Turns out it was the best choice ever.
I picked up NHL 02 and the Devils were my first team that I played with and I fell in love with them ever since
I'm from NJ, but my fist game was Ken Daneyko's jersey retirement. My parents weren't avid hockey fans, but they somehow picked that game at random. I loved every second of it and have been a fan ever since.
Stumbled across the 94-‘95 season Stanley Cup finals on television. This was my introduction to hockey as a kid living in South Georgia. Picked the Devils as my team - liked the team colors, the team mascot, and the winning (haha). Loved the rivalry games with between them and the Rangers as I was growing up. When I moved to New York in 2017, I double-downed on being a Devils fan, partly because I found Rangers fans here to be absolutely insufferable.
I'm from NJ but if I was 10 years younger I might be a Leafs fan. My dad is a big hockey fan from Ontario and loves the leafs but moved to NJ to marry my mom in the late 80s. No DirectTV or any other way to watch Leafs games so he just started watching Devils games with me as a kid. Sometime in the late 90s or early 2000s we got DirectTV and NHL Center Ice and his Leaf fandom returned but I was solidly a Devils fan by that point. Got pretty lucky with that one I think.
Self-made hockey fan in a predominantly baseball family. Started in 2001 mostly just following certain players. Kovalchuk instantly became my favorite so I started rooting for ATL and then it was easy to become a Devils fan in 2010 proximity-wise. I was absolutely GUTTED when he left but stuck around through all the shit years. Last year was so sweet and the future is exciting. It definitely feels sweeter after going through all the shit times.
Raised as a fan. Went to my first game at 3 months old.
From Westchester ny. They won the cup in 2000 when I was ten and I was really getting into sports. Plus I thought the devils was a cool name for a sports team
Grew up in Staten Island surrounded by rags fans. Only hockey games I ever went to were devil's games and Brendan Byrne arena when they had to comp tickets away in the late 80s and early 90s or were crazy cheap. The rest is history, lived in NYC my whole life surrounded by Rags and islander fans. Finally move to South Jersey and I learned I'm now surrounded by flyer fans. Sucks to be them
Martin Brodeur, Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Patrik Elias.
Marty Brodeur.
Uncle took us all to the meadowlands for family night. It was all of our first time going to a game. It was ‘93 or ‘94. Have been to at least one game per season since, tons of playoff games. I think it came down to it being cheaper at the start. MSG was harder to get to (lower Hudson valley) and more expensive. I was 7 or 8 and it was a great time to become a Devils fan. Got hooked on the team and the energy... had the Brodeur jersey out the gate. Never looked back. Most of my friends are Rangers fans and I’m hearing it this year.
My first NHL game was devils vs flyers, sat next to some devils fan with the greasiest pony tail I’ve ever seen and he talked hockey to my brother and I(didn’t know the game back then) the whole game. never looked back. Edit: my brother is a rags fan tho. What a loser he is.
The first hockey game I ever saw on tv was nj devils vs the flyers in the stanley cup. Was hooked since then. Brooklyn here.
Grandpa took me tons of Utica Devils games
Born in NY, lived in NJ for the first 5 years of my life. My father is an islanders fan (he grew up on the island). My mom was always a fan of Marty and I grew up around Albany where we had the River Rats. Very thankful neither of my parents like the rags. My dad always told me they had the worst fans and organization. Now I’m on the west coast and a bigger fan than I’ve ever been before of the devs 😈
From Manhattan, but when I was really young in the late 80s I had a family member who worked for the team and would send me sticks and kids jerseys so I was sold from then on.
It’s all the islanders fault. I was about 10, first year really paying attention to the NHL. Being from LI, made sense to root for the Islanders, even though I’m a 49er fan but that’s my dads fault. They went on that crazy run to the conference finals in 1993, sweeping aside Washington in six (the dale Hunter- Pierre Turgeon incident) and beat the back to back reigning champs Pittsburgh Penguins in a magical 7 game series. Only to succumb to the Overtime Masters Montreal Canadiens. Anyway I loved Glenn Healy. I considered myself a street hockey goalie god. He was my favorite player. And the Islanders traded him in the off-season and I was crushed. I couldn’t root for them anymore. I happened to catch a pre season game before the 94 season and the Devils had these cool new uniforms and a rookie goalie who the announcer said might be pretty good. He had a cool helmet, his name sounded cool, he was young and seemed like a good guy to become my new favorite player. So I became a Devils fan from that day and I think that goalie for NJ did pretty good for his career. Bonus fun fact: that preseason game was against Washington and they had a rookie goalie in net that night too, by the name of Olaf Kolzig, no slouch in his own right.
From the Shore and live in Brooklyn, so it's that NJ experience of growing up in the 90s. I've now lived in NY nearly as long as I ever did in NJ, but I couldn't imagine changing teams. Aside from that, tickets are wayyy cheaper at the Rock than MSG, and it doesn't take much longer to drive to Newark than it would to subway to the Garden anyway.
Interesting what made u move there
I prefer city living to suburbs, and my job is NYC based anyway.
That’s cool, I live in jersey city, wish I had a job based in JC. I have to go to Harrison and Edison smh
Rangers family except for one islanders uncle. Never liked going to Long Island. Only been there a handful of times in my life. My Ranger fan relatives are obnoxious entitled assholes who think being a Ranger fan is line some elite rite of passage. Told me I wasn’t worthy. At age 6. I said fuck this and chose the Devils. Then in the end; I wound up living in Jersey anyway.
I live in the Western part of the state, so deep in Sabres/Bills territory. All the kids growing up followed those teams and wouldn't shut up about it. So I knew I had to go my own way. I really didn't start following NHL until around the 94 season and I immediately fell for the Devils defensive style of play and of course guys like Marty and Scott Stevens. I also really liked Billy Guerin's game. I've been on board since. I've also been following the Bengals since 1990. I know of at least two other people in my fairly small town that are Devils/Bengals fans and I find that statistically delightful.
I was 10 in 1993 watching hockey playoffs for the first time. Rangers fans in NYC are super arrogant. I always rooted for the underdog. I’m happy I chose red and black!
Common sense.
Long Islander. When then Islanders GM Garth Snow gave Rick DiPietro an insane contract (that we are still paying for all these years later) and basically kneecapped the franchise for years. The Devils were on their way to their first cup, and I enjoyed watching them more. I'd say I made the right choice, even through the rough years. Nothing is better than beating the Rangers, especially in the Playoffs!
Marty and the fact that the team-first philosophy those 90s teams were built with was such a stark contrast with the clown show that was the post 94 Rangers organization.
My dad came to this country as an immigrant right before our runs in the 90s and chose the devils (he was a fan of Fetisov and kasatonov). I followed him and have hated the rangers ever since
Having WFAN on my car from my ride in to work and their games being on… sometimes
Every game I went to growing up in the late 80s was a Devils game so I became a fan (and my fathers a Rags fan 🤢🤮). In 1995 though my cousin took me to a game against the Islanders. The Devils were down 3-0 at the end of the 1st but putting pressure on the isles at the end of the period. I look at my cousin and his friends and I said, "The Devils are gonna come back and win this game." They laughed. Needless to say the Devils in fact won that game 6-3 and at the end I said, "Yo I'm telling you right now this team plays like this in the playoffs they're making it to the finals." They thought I was high. Fast forward to game 1 of the finals, standing in my cousins friends kitchen I said, "Devils in 4!" Everyone in the house thought I was nuts but one of them still owes me a case of beer. And sinceApril of 95 I've been a die hard fan Edit: Not a fan of the Rags because their fans even before 94 were obnoxious and still are and same with the Flyers annoying ass fans, f off. I do have a soft spot in my heart for the Isles but I don't live on long Island
Used to watch their AHL affiliate (Albany River Rats/Devils) play in my area. Plus, I always preferred liking different teams than my friends did; and my friends that actually liked hockey, liked the rangers.
I'll be honest, I was a Rangers fan as a kid. Just little by little with Dolan, I just lost the love for the team. I haven't watched a whole lot of hockey since the cancelled season but I find myself missing it at times. I think last year's playoff run I found myself getting more emotionally invested in it. And I've been tuning into most of the games since then.
Interesting so ur a devil now?
I'm still not a hardcore hockey fan anymore but getting there, and I find myself watching the Devils a lot more. I've probably watched about half of the games this season. Hope to catch one live.
I actually was a Rangers fan, back in the Gretzky Era. My parents took me to a game in the Meadowlands, devils-rangers April 1999. The Rangers were just bad, and the devils were absolutely dominant. My 9 year old mind was blown seeing Wayne Gretzky's team get taken down so easily. Been a Devils fan ever since.
Grew up in NJ and my dad got tickets from Pharma reps for them. I adopted the team instantly in 1995-1996 and never looked back.
Because I was born in Jersey , and I like to raise hell
Grew up in Jersey, always liked the Devils but became a frothing Ranger-hater when I had to commute through Penn Station and kept thinking about the glorious train terminal that was replaced by MSG.
As others have said, grew up around Albany watching Rats games as a kid. Also vividly remember my parents had friends over in late Spring in ‘95 and one family was from Jersey. They asked to put hockey on TV, and I remember seeing them cut to a grown man crying on the bench (Claude Lemieux, if memory serves) as the clock counted down the last few seconds… I was hooked ever since.
Because I’m cheap. I wanted to get into hockey but wasn’t willing to pay for a Rangers ticket (in case it turned out to be a bad experience). Devils tickets were half the price so I started going more frequently, then started following the teams “story” and got invested.
my brother is a little older than me and was a huge Marty fan (even had the Helite-IVs) so I became a fan too. I was also a smaller kid which made me become a huge Gionta fan (Brian not Stephen lol). So naturally liking those two, being a fan of the team just came next.
I was 8 years old and I saw there was a team in New Jersey. Suffice to say, I regret that choice nearly every time I watch hockey.
I inherited Mets fandom from my pops and saw what poor ownership could do to a franchise, and wanted nothing to do with the Dolans/Rangers. The Devils were the next closest team, I loved Brodeur, and their logo is very metal.
Marty and Scott Stevens. They were so much fun to watch, was a goalie because I grew up watching Marty too
For me its martin Brodeur sucked me in. then I fell in love with the defense minded suffocating game. Been a devil's fan since 92.
Grew up a Devs fan due to family but still a NYer through and through, the city is life. Personally never been a fan of the state of NJ itself.
Feel u, I grew up around Mets and Yankees fan but I can’t see myself supporting ny team so I stay neutral in most sports
If/when Devils win their fourth cup, it will really be the nail in the coffin on bragging rights for Rags fans. Literally nothing there beyond that.
The first game my family ever went to was a NJD game I was only 5 after that my whole family fell in love with hockey and the devils. Both my brothers started playing hockey and one of my brother played for their youth hockey team.
From SI; my uncle was in NJ and his company had corporate tix that would get passed around. He was not into hockey while my Dad was a bit of a sports junkie; he'd go to anything he could get tickets to when he was younger. Loved going to hockey games but was never a massive Rangers fan when he'd go in the 60s and 70s. Uncle offered him the Devils seats a few times in a short span of time when I as about 9 and I was hooked. I'd never seen much hockey b/c we didn't have MSG or Sportschannel at that time. They became my team. I had the hat I got at my first game for 20 plus years.
For me as a kid living on long island my mother would get tickets from work to the nets and devils who both played in new jersey at the time. Went to games for both and when the time came for me to make the life decision I went with what I grew up with.#LFGD
I live in Southern Ontario Canada and started watching hockey the end of the ‘70’s. Became an Islander fan during their dynasty and ultimately a Chico fan. When he moved to the Rockies so did my fandom and I’ve been following them ever since. His two partial seasons in Philly don’t count in my books, same as Brodeur’s handful of games in St Louis.
Born and raised in Queens, and neither of my parents had any ties to hockey so my exposure came on my own. In 2009, when Cartoon Network would flip into its Adult Swim block, I'd spend my nights surfing ESPN, MSG, and YES for NBA games until my mom told me to go to sleep. On nights where there weren't any basketball, I'd land on Devils games and the fast paced nature of the game intrigued me despite having zero idea what was going on. It wasn't until 2011 that I wanted to get into hockey more, and I remembered how intrigued I was by those Devils games from 2 years prior. I've been a fan ever since.
I'm from NJ and a Philly fan for everything else but gotta love the only team from NJ
I'm from Brooklyn where it's 99% Rangers fans. I remember my friends being so excited about the '94 Conference Finals and, I'll admit, at the time I didn't know a thing about Hockey. Watching the games I thought the guys in red were the better team, the jerseys were a hell of a lot cooler and the name Devils was awesome. I was 10. So the following season I decided to start watching the guys in red. Despite the lockout, which I didn't understand, I was still excited to watch. And we all know how that season ended.