Is Strong Island For Real? Not So Much.

I have been to a lot of New York sporting events in my life. As a rough estimate, I’d say probably 116 Mets games, 34 Knicks games, 15 Yankees games, eight Rangers games, six Jets games, three Cyclones game, two Giants games, the ECAC Holiday festival, the Jimmy V Classic, the Preseason NIT, Coaches V. Cancer Classic, and a Staten Island Yankees game. I may be missing a few here or there, but I think that pretty much covers it.

Anyone, one thing I had never done . . . oh wait, I went to the Army-Navy game at the Meadowlands once, and I used to go to a lot of Columbia football games when I was about nine years old because I was oddly obsessed with their record losing streak.

Anyway, despite all of these New York sporting events I’ve been to, I’d never been to a New York Islanders game until last night. For reasons I probably shouldn’t divulge because of my job (don’t worry, it’s not that exciting), I had the opportunity to attend the Islanders-Capitals game on Tuesday. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t make the trek out to what the legendary Steve Somers of WFAN refers to as the Mausoleum, but the tickets were free, and they were amazing seats. So hey, why not?

I’d actually been to the Nassau Coliseum once before for Hot 97 Summer Jam 2000, but I had no real recollection of the venue. For rap aficionados, Summer Jam 2000 was when the whole Nas-Jay-Z beef started. Jay-Z performed “The Takeover” for the first time, and put photos of Mobb Deep’s Prodigy in ballet clothes up on the JumboTron. Rap history, and I was there. Yeah, that’s right.

What I had forgotten about the Nassau Coliseum is that it’s a complete dump, and it’s hard to understate that. You walk in, and it’s kind of hard to believe that a pro team from a “major” sport plays there. It looks worn down from the outside, and the inside is just as dingy. The fabric on the seats looks like it might split any minute, and everywhere you look the paint is either cracked or peeling. I relayed my feeling about the venue to a colleague of mine who used to cover the NHL for Sports Illustrated. He said, “What’s funny is that I once referred to the Coliseum as ‘grimey’ in SI about 15 years ago, and I thought the Islanders PR people would be mad, but in fact they took it as a compliment. It was a point of pride for them.” After hearing that, the whole place made a lot more sense.

During the height of my sports fanaticism (circa 1991-1997), I used to be a die-hard Rangers fan. Part of that had to do with the fact that they were really good during that era, and part of it was because I was even more obsessed with sports than I am now. Seriously. At that point in my life, I hated the Islanders as much as any team in professional sports. No team of mine had a rival as intense as the Islanders, and I couldn’t stand the sight of them or the fans. As I realized last night, I no longer give crap about the Islanders. I still hate them more than a team like the Minnesota Vikings, but probably not as much as the Florida Marlins. I’m still a Rangers fan, but I certainly follow them a lot less closely than I used to, and since the Islanders have been irrelevant for at least a decade, I just can’t muster any hatred for them. In fact, when they fell behind 4-2 against the Caps, I actually found myself rooting for them to tie up the game. And even though it was mostly because I just wanted to see shootout, I’m pretty sure my 14-year-old self would never forgive me.

It ended up being a pretty exciting game as the Isles tied it up at four with a couple of minutes left. I was feeling pretty good about seeing a shootout until Alex Ovechkin scored with 10 seconds left to give the Caps a 5-4 victory. Even though I was disappointed about not getting to see a shootout, at least I can I tell my grandkids I saw Ovechkin score two goals in a game. OK, maybe that won’t happen, but he is really impressive. I’m no hockey expert, but what I find so amazing about Ovechkin is that he is clearly the best player whenever he is on the ice. It’s kind of like watching a youth soccer game, and there is always that one kid who is visibly better than anyone else. It’s rare to see someone that stands out that much in pro sports. College, yes, but not pros.

My Jerry Springer final thought on the experience is that there is always a time-warp element to any hockey game, particularly on Long Island. You rarely see dudes with mullets and moustaches on the street, but you go to a hockey game and they're everywhere. I felt like I was an extra in Clerks. Snoochie boochies.