I find this odd. Last year when I was in Anaheim watching the Ducks play the Wings, something made me almost ill. There are too many Redwings fans here. And not the ones that you think would be redwings fans, such as people from or who have family in Detroit, but people who were born in Anaheim. Can somebody explain why people suddenly like the Redwings for no reason?
2 reasons:
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Band wagon fans - Detroit has had a good team for a while now, a couple of Stanley cups, and haven’t missed the playoffs in years. Some people like to cheer for teams that are going to do well, surprise!
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Tradition - Detroit was one of the “original six” (neither term is correct, but that’s a story for another day…) A team that has been around for so long gathers a few fans. You’ll see the same phenomenon with the Leafs, Rangers, Bruins, Blackhawks, and Canadiens
Excessive mental illness?
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I think it is indigineous to all California hockey fans. Whenever I watch Philadelphia Flyers games on TV, and they play the Sharks, Kings, or Ducks, I always see fans in Flyers jerseys cheering whenever the Flyboys score. I got the same question in the back of my mind as you did: HUH?
I think it’s a west-coast thang. (It helps that Detroit and Philly have somewhat successful hockey teams as well. I doubt the Arrowhead Pond goes nutso when the Atlanta Thrashers come to town, for instance.)
I would just like it to be said, as a loyal Patrick Roy fan, and therefor Colorado Av’s fan, I %&!&@%!&@# hate the red wings.
Thankyou
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It’s not just California. As a Michigander who was a die-hard Wings fan before it was cool (I remember the “Dead Things” days, when we didn’t make the playoffs for a decade) you get to see a lot of the games on TV.
When the Wings play in Phoenix, Tampa Bay or Nashville, it sounds like a damn home game. Gotta be disheartening to the home fans.
“We are here for this – to make mistakes and to correct ourselves, to withstand the blows and to hand them out.” Primo Levi
I’d have to say that people are just getting smarter. Go Wings!
Lord Derfel, what do you mean by “original six” not being correct?
Aside from the bandwagon issue I think part of the reason is that many fans are transplanted Detroiters. Detroit is dominated by automotive industry and with those jobs comes the potential to be relocated. Particularly in Arizona which have proving grounds for GM and Ford.
It pains me to say it but the Detroit Red Wings have become the New York Yankees of hockey.
I was around for the “dead things” as well. I thought our window had passed in 1992 after not making the playoffs again.
The Red Wings are in the “Original Six”, but that name is a misnomer.
The first NHL season was 1917-18. There were four teams in the league that year: Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators (not the present ones), and the Montreal Wanderers.
The Wanderers dropped out of the league after six games because their arena burnt down.
There wasn’t a Detroit team in the NHL until 1926-27 and that team was called the Cougars. There were also ten teams in the NHL then.
“The Original Six” configuration of Detroit, Boston, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, and New York didn’t start until 1942-43 and it only lasted until 1967.
Personally, I think the NHL should bring back the Montreal Maroons.
Thanks, BobT. The term “original six” is a big pet peeve of mine that unfortunately has come into common usage.
I should start a “Bring back the Vancouver Millionaires!” campaign. Get Cyclone Taylor to be a player-coach. Gotta be better than these damn Canucks.
‘Original six’ is not intended to convey the impression the teams were the first six in the NHL. It conveys the meaning that they are the six teams that were with the NHL before it began its current expansionary trend.
From WWWebster Dictionary we see that Original can mean: “2 a : that from which a copy, reproduction, or translation is made.” It is in this sense that ‘original’ is used here (expansion teams being copies or reproductions of teams currently participating).
That may be true, but to the casual fan, the phrase “Original Six” does convey the meaning that there were six charter members of the NHL. I hope we don’t end up dropping the gloves and get into a semantic battle here that will result in game misconducts.
The NHL’s history is much briefer than people realize and “The Original Six” era didn’t last long. It’s not as if there is an NHL equivalent to the Chicago Cubs, who have been playing NL ball in the same city continously since 1876 (and prior to that professionally in the National Association since 1871, missing only the 1873 season due to the Chicago Fire.)
Hijack alert!
So where did the name “Red Wings” come from? A reference to the red-winged blackbird, perhaps?
“The dawn of a new era is felt and not measured.” Walter Lord
When Pops Norris bought the Detroit franchise in the 1930s, they were the Falcons. Norris used to play for a team called the Montreal Winged Wheelers. He chose Red Wings to honor that name and give the team more of an automotive sounding name and look.
That’s what the Red Wings say on the website essentially.