You could be a fan of 32 NHL teams. Here's what is special about being a fan of the New York Rangers.
Back at the start of the 1950-51 season, Fred Meier and The Maven were among the founding fathers of the Rangers Fan Club.
From that moment on, I always felt there was something special about followers of the Blueshirts.
One thing I learned was that there's something genetic about it. In other words, my pal, Fred Meier, passed his love of the Rangers on to his son, Andrew.
Just before the start of the second playoff round -- Rangers vs. Canes -- I asked Andy what's special about this breed of devotees called Rangers fans.
"Rangers fans will LOVE you to death one second when a Ranger is a hero,"
Meier explained, "But if he happened to be a goat the next game, he'll hear it too.
Not so much the love."
Andy says it's like being part of a family where certain strange things happen.
Rangers fans loved Hall of Fame goalie Ed Giacomin. But when he got traded to Detroit, they never stopped loving him.
"When he came back to The Old Garden as a Red Wing, we rooted for Giacomin and booed the Rangers," Andy chuckled.
The loyalty is forever, even during interminable droughts.
Meier: "There were no Cups from 1940 to 1994 but the fans' love of the team never went away. We never forget landmark events. Like 'Matteau-Matteau.' Or, Mike Richter stopped Pavel Bure on the penalty shot.
"My wife and I were at Patrick Kane's first game as a Ranger, and the place went
crazy for him as the overhead screen showed his achievements. Same when Wayne Gretzky played his last game as a Ranger. We showed our classic respect."
Andy stopped and reflected on tough times and smiled as he contemplated the current series with Carolina and the club's climb toward the Cup.
"Over the years," he recalled, "we had a lot of frustration, but we never stopped bleeding New York Rangers Blue!"