"Our Nation Turns Its Lonely Eyes to You": The Rangers Are New York's Only Hope

After a sports revival in 2022, the New York market has suffered in 2023. From a Game 7 loss to New Jersey for the Rangers to no playoff baseball, to Aaron Rodgers taking four snaps, to the Giants completely falling apart, New York turns back to its winter sport for a championship.

2022 saw a conference finals run from the Rangers, a wild card appearance by the Mets, an AL championship series for the Yankees, a playoff victory for the Giants, and a surprise season for the Jets. 

It was a revival for the city which has hardly seen its teams succeed simultaneously since the 1990's.

Instead, it all collapsed. That domino effect started when the Rangers lost to the Devils in 7 games. The Knicks lost in the second round of the playoffs, baseball in New York took 10 steps backward, and to cap it all off, Aaron Rodgers took 4 snaps before his season ended and the Giants are 1-3.

The single team performing for the city right now is the New York Liberty who are competing against the Aces in the WNBA Finals.

From the cusp of championship city to embarrassment all in one fell swoop. The Rangers have a chance to end a 30-year championship drought amidst this spell. 

The club has not shied away from talking about the way last season ended and how they have turned the page. 

Trocheck was not bashful, stating, " It's the disappointment, last season. It's a long offseason. You sit with that and let it eat you up… [This year] It's not a 'get to the playoffs' mentality..."

The team captain Jacob Trouba did not waiver and spoke confidently when addressing the clubs' desire to win, "For the core, we've been here for a while now and you don't have unlimited chances. It's the reality of sports and this is our time, we have a lot to prove and I think this is the team here to do it."

He didn't hold back how the loss affected him and what his mentality is this season, "Obviously that was a tough pill to swallow. I think everyone else stung for a while over the summer more than in past years. That one really stung and left a pit in my stomach for a long time." He continued, "I think you have to turn the page, it's a new season...We know how to play in the playoffs we know how to play in game sevens, we lost, move on. That's the message, new team, new group, new season, move on."

The teams bargain bin addition and potential x-factor in Blake Wheeler spoke about the atmosphere in the locker room when he arrived, "Certainly things didn't end the way the guys wanted it to last year.. so a lot of guys were determined this summer to come in great shape and [are] ready to hit the ground running."

With the Liberty on the verge of success, New York turns its lonely eyes to the Rangers continuing the city campaign in 2024.