Namelesz Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 They don't tend to acknowledge much of anything that happened after '94. They can't comprehend that five Cup appearances, three Cup wins, and getting to one of those Finals at the Rangers' expense kind of trumps the Devils coming up short in '94, especially since they had to cash in every last chip they had to win that one Cup. They've been to a whopping two Conference Finals since, and we know what the Devils did in one of those. They actually truly believe that Matteau still haunts the Devils...if the Devils had not come as close as getting to a Cup final as '94 since, I'd agree with them, but the Devils won the Cup the very next season, over a heavily-favored Red Wings team to boot. That pretty much killed any lingering pain Devils fans might have been feeling from the Matteau goal. This. I am saving this post and will copy/paste it to every time I have to respond to my friends and coworkers that are Rags fans, hehehehe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 This. I am saving this post and will copy/paste it to every time I have to respond to my friends and coworkers that are Rags fans, hehehehe. I've gone this route with a bunch of them. On the surface, yep, what I posted makes plenty of indisputable logical sense, but remember who you're dealing with. Nope, in their eyes, '94, Matteau and everything else associated with that Cup are all that matters. On HF, the Ranger fans there all swore that the Devils winning the 2011-12 Eastern Conference Final at the Rangers' expense wouldn't mean anything unless the Devils then went onto win the Cup, otherwise '94 would still haunt Devils fans. I let them know that the rest of the hockey world has actually moved on from '94, and pointed out how the Devil faithful, by virtue of the three Cup wins and a seeingly endless regular-season unbeaten streak against the Rangers, don't even really think about the '94 ECF loss much at all anymore. I also told them I understand why they still hang onto '94...it's pretty much all they've got, so they can't let go. Most of the retorts were what you'd expect from them, and a lot of them do really think the '94 Cup is somehow more important than the ones that were won before or after it...but a few Ranger fans did actually admit that they're sick of the endless '94 celebrations, and really wish the franchise would move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmann422 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 They don't tend to acknowledge much of anything that happened after '94. They can't comprehend that five Cup appearances, three Cup wins, and getting to one of those Finals at the Rangers' expense kind of trumps the Devils coming up short in '94, especially since they had to cash in every last chip they had to win that one Cup. They've been to a whopping two Conference Finals since, and we know what the Devils did in one of those. They actually truly believe that Matteau still haunts the Devils...if the Devils had not come as close as getting to a Cup final as '94 since, I'd agree with them, but the Devils won the Cup the very next season, over a heavily-favored Red Wings team to boot. That pretty much killed any lingering pain Devils fans might have been feeling from the Matteau goal. tbh I sometimes feel devils fans are overly protective of the team, especially when I have nothing better to do and browse hfboards. I can see how other fans may perceive us to be hanging onto those cups or the playoff appearance streak or the fact that through the 90s and 2000s we were only behind the wings in terms of success.There are definitely some concerns moving forward, and I see posters over there brush them off by referencing the past success (Yes I realize the hfboards demographic is a pretty poor representation of the fan base but we even have a few similar posters here). Then of course there are the guys at the other end of the spectrum who are doom and gloom and looking to trade Larsson for any forward available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneax Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 (edited) tbh I sometimes feel devils fans are overly protective of the team, especially when I have nothing better to do and browse hfboards. I can see how other fans may perceive us to be hanging onto those cups or the playoff appearance streak or the fact that through the 90s and 2000s we were only behind the wings in terms of success. There are definitely some concerns moving forward, and I see posters over there brush them off by referencing the past success (Yes I realize the hfboards demographic is a pretty poor representation of the fan base but we even have a few similar posters here). Then of course there are the guys at the other end of the spectrum who are doom and gloom and looking to trade Larsson for any forward available. It's not like we are years away from past success, no one is saying who cares the team is mediocre this year or stunk last year, we have 3 cups. We just aknolwedge and are happy to root/show support for a franchise that has produced numerous play off runs, stanley cup victories and cup finals appearences (the most recent of which was only 2 years ago). That is something to hang your hat on, not alot of teams in sports in general are capable of having the long run of successs that the devils organization has had. We aren't holding on to a singular moment in franchise history (ala rangers) , we are celebrating a near 20 year dynasty. Also while this team has problems right now, in a few years, I think we will be a pernial contendors for another long extender stretch. We have a very solid foundation shaping up, Corey + 4 very good young defensemen. We have a few years to get some foward help, but I think we have the core of our team set up for the future. I'm worried about next year and and the following year, but not soo much after that. Edited December 10, 2013 by Sneax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 (edited) tbh I sometimes feel devils fans are overly protective of the team, especially when I have nothing better to do and browse hfboards. I can see how other fans may perceive us to be hanging onto those cups or the playoff appearance streak or the fact that through the 90s and 2000s we were only behind the wings in terms of success. There are definitely some concerns moving forward, and I see posters over there brush them off by referencing the past success (Yes I realize the hfboards demographic is a pretty poor representation of the fan base but we even have a few similar posters here). Then of course there are the guys at the other end of the spectrum who are doom and gloom and looking to trade Larsson for any forward available. We definitely have a lot of gloom-and-doomers, but let's face it, there's a LOT of Devils fans who've grown up watching their team be considered a legit SC contender for much of their spectating lives (basically from '94 on). Not making the playoffs in two out of three seasons is probably a bit jarring, as it's unfamiliar territory. If you were born in the late 80s, then you didn't see the Devils miss the playoffs until '96 (you'd be too young to remember '89), and then after that, you didn't see that happen again until 2011. The Devils had their fair share of disappointing first-round ousters, but at least there was a chance they could win, and 2000-2003 gave the Devils a lot of currency with their fanbase. The idea of the Devils no longer being a playoff automatic is hard for a lot of Devils fans to take...they've simply never been through a true downturn with the Devils. Technically, Devils fans have NEVER really been through a downturn...not even the original ones...the 80's saw the team being built from the ground up...the team that came to NJ was terrible, had been terrible for years, and it was obvious that it was going to take serious time to put a contending team together. There was no reason to have any expectations (other than very low ones) for the new arrivals from Colorado. That was a build-up, not a valley. I think the point that the "remember the successful past" Devils fans try to get across to this crowd is that even the best-run organizations and the best GMs can't avoid a down period forever, especially since buying your way out of trouble is impossible to do in a capped league, where you're going to have to pay the piper eventually. It's more of a "yeah, the present might not be pretty, but when you have a past that many organizations would kill for, it should at least make a tougher present easier to deal with" kind of thing, as opposed to "let's live on past achievements." Edited December 10, 2013 by Colorado Rockies 1976 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmann422 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Maybe I'm just extra cognizant of boasting of past success since I'm also a met fan and roll my eyes at Yankee fans who are so quick to invoke their 27 championships. It's great to be proud of the past and believe me the 95 cup and subsequent success is probably the biggest reason I became a fan, but I guess I'm just modest by nature. Also every fan base has their share of polarizing fans be it overly optimistic and braggadocious (sp?) or negative and gloomy... I don't want to come across as saying any of these types are less of a fan, I just roll my eyes at their take on the team sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Rattlehead18 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Funny how not one Ranger fan said the Blackhawks won 1/2 a cup last season..... I just say "they still won 16 games" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Rockies 1976 Posted December 10, 2013 Share Posted December 10, 2013 Maybe I'm just extra cognizant of boasting of past success since I'm also a met fan and roll my eyes at Yankee fans who are so quick to invoke their 27 championships. It's great to be proud of the past and believe me the 95 cup and subsequent success is probably the biggest reason I became a fan, but I guess I'm just modest by nature. Also every fan base has their share of polarizing fans be it overly optimistic and braggadocious (sp?) or negative and gloomy... I don't want to come across as saying any of these types are less of a fan, I just roll my eyes at their take on the team sometimes. I'm a Met fan too...hard to believe it's coming up on 28 years since their last World Series win...I was a junior in high school. Just like every cross-section of people, you're going to have your great fans and lousy ones, optimists and pessimists (I call them "Randy Quaids", in honor of Major League 2...my friend Mike is the poster boy for this kind of fan), ones you love to watch games with and those who kill the experience. I find some extremes more annoying than others...mostly the overcritical ones who can't comprehend how hard it is to keep a team in contention for long periods of time, who always think they have all the answers (usually after the fact), and who will always point to the successful franchise of the moment as the measuring stick of how a franchise should be run, while ignoring the details of what helped that franchise ascend (such as accumulating talent through high draft picks accrued though bad seasons, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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