Buckle Up

[Devils Pride 26]

11 years ago I joined these boards to procrastinate getting homework done. The Devils have had ups and downs since then, and I think it's safe to assume you all have a very good grasp of them if you're crazy enough to post on a message board; not wasting your time going through them. For the last five years or so, by this point in the season the game is on as a background distraction, something to look up at from grading papers, etc. In fact, I forgot what it was like to feel invested in a game as I was tonight. Sitting here and armchair coaching. Going in agony every little mistake that gets made. Letting out a solid yell after each goal for, and a shriek for each against. Part of me assumed that it was just maturation and that passion was gone. Heh, good joke.Holy sh!t, how I've missed this feeling.

 

To be honest, some of you most days I can't stand. No question I rub some people the wrong way as well. Some of you I have a lot of respect for. Regardless, I'm thankful for this place and the group we have here to discuss the Devils. I'm thankful for the opportunity for the Devils to no longer be background noise but having a reason to be all in again. Christ, I feel like I just played in the damn game and I'm sure I'm not the only one. While I'm not satisfied just to "be in the race", I'm thrilled the Devils are now making me procrastinate getting work done again. 

Finish the job now. Let's Go Devils.

[Daniel]

[Steven M.]

Joined these boards in 2005 under a slightly different name... a super original one at that: DevilsFanSteve30. Almost as original as my name now. Have spent plenty of time coming and going from here, sometimes twitter is where I'm posting most, sometimes reddit, but I've grown pretty tired of reddit and rarely post now. Come here most often and am grateful this place is still going. The real reason I am excited for what's going on is the fact that I came home from Florida in 2013 and promptly found myself in a position where I could finally buy season tickets. After all the years of wanting to do something like that, I decided to take the plunge. Through the sh!tty years, I've stuck with it, enjoying being able to go to the games with my friends even if the expectation is that we're going to lose 4-1 and the only goal will be scored by Bobby Butler or some sh!t. Not only that, but the last playoff games I attended were in 2012... in Florida. I went to games 1, 2, and 5. Couldn't go to game 7. So the last game I got to go to was a 3-0 loss where I left the building feeling like we were on the brink of elimination. The last playoff HOME game I got to go to was in 2009. The series we do not speak of... at least it was a win though, a 1-0 Marty shutout. When we lost to the Flyers in 2010, I was in Coast Guard boot camp so... point being it's been a long fvcking time and I'm ready for that streak to fvcking end. I am desperate to be at the Rock in April for some playoff hockey. Not only this year but in the years to come. So grateful for what Shero has accomplished here but they're not done yet.

[NJDfan1711]

16 hours ago, Steven M. said:

Joined these boards in 2005 under a slightly different name... a super original one at that: DevilsFanSteve30. Almost as original as my name now. Have spent plenty of time coming and going from here, sometimes twitter is where I'm posting most, sometimes reddit, but I've grown pretty tired of reddit and rarely post now. Come here most often and am grateful this place is still going. The real reason I am excited for what's going on is the fact that I came home from Florida in 2013 and promptly found myself in a position where I could finally buy season tickets. After all the years of wanting to do something like that, I decided to take the plunge. Through the sh!tty years, I've stuck with it, enjoying being able to go to the games with my friends even if the expectation is that we're going to lose 4-1 and the only goal will be scored by Bobby Butler or some sh!t. Not only that, but the last playoff games I attended were in 2012... in Florida. I went to games 1, 2, and 5. Couldn't go to game 7. So the last game I got to go to was a 3-0 loss where I left the building feeling like we were on the brink of elimination. The last playoff HOME game I got to go to was in 2009. The series we do not speak of... at least it was a win though, a 1-0 Marty shutout. When we lost to the Flyers in 2010, I was in Coast Guard boot camp so... point being it's been a long fvcking time and I'm ready for that streak to fvcking end. I am desperate to be at the Rock in April for some playoff hockey. Not only this year but in the years to come. So grateful for what Shero has accomplished here but they're not done yet.

I went to one game in 2012 against the Panthers.  It was a 3-0 loss.  I thought it was Game 2, but maybe it was Game 5 like you mentioned.  Either way, pretty damn funny and cool that we were at the same game 6 years ago lol.  I wasn't even registered at this site back then.  

But yeah, glad this place is here, it's my daily fix for Devils talk.  I can honestly say I like everyone here.  Every now and then I'll see someone's comment and think it's pretty stupid, well, not even that, more or less than I just disagree with it, but even then, it doesn't make me dislike the person.  I basically just skip on by it and continue chatting about whatever was the topic at hand.  Probably has a lot to do what things that have happened in my life over the last few years and I generally try to just live stress free and not worry about things, but I digress.  Glad this place is here, and this is indeed an exciting time to be a Devils fan.  Should be a wild ride the next month or so (or hopefully longer).

[Steven M.]

1 minute ago, NJDfan1711 said:

I went to one game in 2012 against the Panthers.  It was a 3-0 loss.  I thought it was Game 2, but maybe it was Game 5 like you mentioned.  Either way, pretty damn funny and cool that we were at the same game 6 years ago lol.  I wasn't even registered at this site back then.  

But yeah, glad this place is here, it's my daily fix for Devils talk.  I can honestly say I like everyone here.  Every now and then I'll see someone's comment and think it's pretty stupid, well, not even that, more or less than I just disagree with it, but even then, it doesn't make me dislike the person.  I basically just skip on by it and continue chatting about whatever was the topic at hand.  Probably has a lot to do what things that have happened in my life over the last few years and I generally try to just live stress free and not worry about things, but I digress.  Glad this place is here, and this is indeed an exciting time to be a Devils fan.  Should be a wild ride the next month or so (or hopefully longer).

It was game five. Game two we went down 3-0 and then I think some combination of Zajac / Kovalchuk / and/or Rico scored to make it 3-2 but it wasn't enough to come back. Game five we were down 2-0 majority of the game and they got an ENG to seal it. Drove all the way back to Key West contemplating driving off the seven Mile bridge.

[NJDfan1711]

Just now, Steven M. said:

It was game five. Game two we went down 3-0 and then I think some combination of Zajac / Kovalchuk / and/or Rico scored to make it 3-2 but it wasn't enough to come back. Game five we were down 2-0 majority of the game and they got an ENG to seal it. Drove all the way back to Key West contemplating driving off the seven Mile bridge.

That sounds more familiar after you just described it - I didn't really have the money to go to more than one game, plus it's a good 3 1/2 - 4 hour drive from me, so pretty sure I picked Game 5 because I wanted the possibility of seeing us win the series.  Obviously as the series went on that wasn't possible because we were tied going into that game, but I had purchased the tickets in advance.

I've been telling myself that if the Devils make it to either the Confrence Finals this year or the Cup finals, that I'll drive up for a game and see one at the Rock, because it's been 5 years since we've been in the playoffs and if we got that far it would truly be something to celebrate and worth the money and the trip, but I my house just sold and I am looking for a place to live at the moment and money may become very tight if I end up buying something that I really can't afford, so I'm not so sure I'll be able to do that now...but damn do I want to.  There's nothing quite like planning a trip around playoff hockey when your favorite team is in it.  

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

17 hours ago, Devils Pride 26 said:

11 years ago I joined these boards to procrastinate getting homework done. The Devils have had ups and downs since then, and I think it's safe to assume you all have a very good grasp of them if you're crazy enough to post on a message board; not wasting your time going through them. For the last five years or so, by this point in the season the game is on as a background distraction, something to look up at from grading papers, etc. In fact, I forgot what it was like to feel invested in a game as I was tonight. Sitting here and armchair coaching. Going in agony every little mistake that gets made. Letting out a solid yell after each goal for, and a shriek for each against. Part of me assumed that it was just maturation and that passion was gone. Heh, good joke.Holy sh!t, how I've missed this feeling.

 

To be honest, some of you most days I can't stand. No question I rub some people the wrong way as well. Some of you I have a lot of respect for. Regardless, I'm thankful for this place and the group we have here to discuss the Devils. I'm thankful for the opportunity for the Devils to no longer be background noise but having a reason to be all in again. Christ, I feel like I just played in the damn game and I'm sure I'm not the only one. While I'm not satisfied just to "be in the race", I'm thrilled the Devils are now making me procrastinate getting work done again. 

Finish the job now. Let's Go Devils.

Yeah, nice to be ultra-riveted again...of course, quite a few of us remained all-in during this time, but it's a different kind of all-in for sure.  It's so much more fun to be in what appears to be the beautiful beginning of a competitive window, instead of wondering aloud on these boards exactly how long it's going to take to get there.

The way I can best describe my "home" experience is that for the past 3-4 years, the Devils were on TV while I kinda watched without trying to get too frustrated.  Now I'm WATCHING, and really WATCHING...nerves, white knuckles, and all. 

I remember just last year, almost wistfully saying to my daughter "Wait 'till the Devils make the playoffs...it's so much fun to go to playoff games."  She asked when that would be.  After editing myself mentally ("Who the fvck knows?!" was what I wanted to say), I replied "I don't really know...hopefully soon."  Feels very much in reach, which is all I could've asked for this season.

As for this board...I've gotten into it with some people, and there's a limited few that I truly don't like, but in general I love being here and I love talking hockey with 95% of the members here, truly.  The few other message boards that I've been on I've tended to move on from pretty quickly.  Not here. 

 

[Devilsfan118]

Between Rutgers football and Devils hockey - I'd gotten pretty used to watching a sub-par product over the past few years.  It's so damn refreshing to actually.. how to put it.. actually expect a positive result again.  I was more nervous during that Penguins game than I've been in ages for a Devils game.

This board's great.  The best place to discuss Devils hockey AINEC.  HFboards, /r/Devils, twitter, etc. are just filled with.. so much garbage.  It gets boring sifting through it for actual discussion.

I don't think I have much of a beef with anyone currently here, which is nice.  There were a couple fvcktards over the years that almost turned me away from this place though, but if I'm being honest I can't remember most of their screen names at this point.  @LucifersDog was definitely one.  And then his alternate account.. and the next alternate account.  I think early on I got into it quite a bit with @DevsMan84 too but I think we've settled down over the years (years?  Christ).

[NewarkDevil5]

Time for my not so regular popping in. Been on here since it was Network54 with redruM as the main man before DM was gracious enough to grant us this beautiful space.

Definitely is nice to watch hockey games where the team you're rooting for can actually complete a pass and can skate faster than a sloth on quaaludes. This is a team that really in many ways is so unlike any that we've seen wearing the red and black and for all the tropes I've learned to repeat that defense wins championship, offense is really fun to watch.

[Satans Hockey]

Ridiculous to me how long I've been on here and how many years have gone by. This is still my favorite place to talk Devils hockey though I do browse on HF boards more so than I did back then but that's mainly because they talk about more off ice and season ticket holder stuff as well. 

I've always been all in though but that's just because win or lose the Devils are still one of my favorite things in life and why I'll never drop my season tickets. It is very nice to be screaming and excited about winning games that matter though instead of cheering for guys I didn't care much for like Tootoo and Jagr and celebrating pointless goals and wins this time of the year. 

I just can't wait to be a part of a playoff atmosphere again. 

Edited March 1, 2018 by Satans Hockey

[Steven M.]

3 minutes ago, Satans Hockey said:

Ridiculous to me how long I've been on here and how many years have gone by. I've always been all in though but that's just because win or lose the Devils are still one of my favorite things in life. It is very nice to be screaming and excited about winning games that matter though instead of cheering for guys I didn't care much for like Tootoo and Jagr and celebrating pointless goals and wins this time of the year. 

I just can't wait to be a part of a playoff atmosphere again. 

Last year was seriously rough, I remember last year specifically during the Caps game on NYE, down 456-1 and nearly 45 hours after Tom Wilson killed John Moore, Luke "why the fvck am I on this team" Gazdic decides to get his ass beat by Tom Wilson. I don't walk out early on games basically ever but during that game I decided fvck this sh!t. Sadly it wouldn't be the last time I felt compelled to do that last year, stupid as I was to keep going back knowing damn well the same sh!t was going to happen. 

Man this year has been so fvcking fun. It's about to be midnight and I'm already so fvcking hyped for this game tonight and to see what Maroon adds to our squad. Not to mention we might finally get Cory back in net.

[DevsMan84]

13 hours ago, Devilsfan118 said:

Between Rutgers football and Devils hockey - I'd gotten pretty used to watching a sub-par product over the past few years.  It's so damn refreshing to actually.. how to put it.. actually expect a positive result again.  I was more nervous during that Penguins game than I've been in ages for a Devils game.

This board's great.  The best place to discuss Devils hockey AINEC.  HFboards, /r/Devils, twitter, etc. are just filled with.. so much garbage.  It gets boring sifting through it for actual discussion.

I don't think I have much of a beef with anyone currently here, which is nice.  There were a couple fvcktards over the years that almost turned me away from this place though, but if I'm being honest I can't remember most of their screen names at this point.  @LucifersDog was definitely one.  And then his alternate account.. and the next alternate account.  I think early on I got into it quite a bit with @DevsMan84 too but I think we've settled down over the years (years?  Christ).

I honestly cannot remember the last time you and I got into it on here.  It must be years ago.  I think we met face to face once at that meetup at that bar up in Newton and since then we have been good.  That was back in December 2011 btw lol.

[bostondevil11]

I have been on this board probably since 2001ish?  It moved a few times.  I started at the ESPN boards and NJonline in 2000 and followed other posters here.  I don't talk much but read a lot.  I hate talking heads sports talk but I love reading other fans prospective of the team.  AS other have said the last few season I kind of watched but not really I still paid for the hockey package because I love hockey and would still get my moneys worth watching other teams.  This year though am all in.  Getting really into games and it is fun.  Kind of a good year to be single I don't have to have someone else planning stuff during Devils hockey time!