i am from baltimore.half the people i know like the capitals and half the flyers.i like the capitals in the 80’s when i was a kid but when stevens left and ended up in nj in the early 90’s i switched to the devils cuz to me stevens is the best player ever.when i play hockey its as a dman and i like the style and blue collar work ethic of the devils.no team in the national hockey league uses there entire bench the way the devils do.they are a strong, strong,organization that can take pride in motivating its players to there top level of performance.not to mention there abilty to recruit and train new hockey playersand teach them how to play in the most talented league in the world.they are the class of the NHL.

but Chico was in net so it had to be about 83 or 84.

My father was and is a staunch Rangers fan, but always hated the hassle of going into the city to catch games at the Garden, so when the Devils moved to NJ we’d catch the games the Rags visited the much closer to home Brendan Byrne Arena (which it will always be known as to me).

Being the early days of a not very good team, the Arena was practically empty, so a bunch of us kids in the upper decks would “sneak” down by ourselves into the lower seating areas and hang out around the tunnels hoping for a puck or something (this was the early 80’s, keep in mind… kids could do that kind of stuff back then).

During one particular game, Chico’s goalstick was broken. After play had stopped and the stick had been picked up and taken off by a random groundscrewman, I just happened to put my hand out as he walked by down the tunnel and he shrugged and gave it to me. I was awed and instantly a fan.

We got the stick signed by Chico later, and I was hooked.

Years later I can point to team philosophy, geographical location, particular players and perennial success as reasons I’m a fan, but really, it all comes down to that one random act of generosity by a complete stranger.

I’m from Brooklyn but grew up a Devils fan starting in the mid-80s. Initially it was because I’m Russian and the Devils were one of the first teams to bring in Russian players into the NHL. My Dad was a big fan of Fetisov & Kasatanov from his childhood and started following the team and in-turn I started following the Devils with him.

While i loved the sport and the players as I got older I really just appreciated how the team was run. Especially growing up in Ranger country.

I really just love that the team is more important than any of the individual parts way of thinking. And for the past 15 years that school of thought has had a pretty damn good track record of success.

Plus i kind of enjoy the fact that no matter how successful NJ is they’re always tabbed as an underdog or scapegoat of sorts. That makes each victory, each cup that much more satisfying to me.

There are a few reasons why I am a Devils fan. The first reason is because I followed what one of my brothers teams. I used to be an Islanders fan til ‘99, but because of Mike Milbury and the whole ownership problems, I felt they were a lost cause and the team never had a heart and chemistry. That is why I love the Devils. They have chemistry. They have LOU! They actually believe in the word TEAM. They don’t get the big names and spend a whole bunch of money like the rangers. They get the players they need without killing the payroll. I am also a Mets, Jets and Knicks fan and none of those teams get excited like the New Jersey Devils do. Man, I love being a Devils fan. Also, when going to a Devils game, the fans make the atmosphere better than another team and stadium/arena. LETS GO DEVILS!

I am now 41 years old, and I lived in Albany New York from 1989 to 1997. The River Rats (Devils affiliate) came to town in 1993 I guess it was. I worked literally across the street from the Arena. A bunch of us used to go to games after work. It was pretty inexpensive (you could get a good seat for like 12 bucks), and a fun way to have a beer and just hang out. I knew ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about hocket at that time. I barely knew what icing was.

The team was pretty good from the start so that helped. If they stunk, I probably would have lost interest pretty quick. The Rats won the Calder Cup in 1995, and I remember I was supposed to be headed out of town for the weekend, but they put the game on local TV that ended up being the clincher for them, and I stuck around instead. There was a big celebration downtown, it was all pretty fun.

Of course with the Rats being the Devils affiliate, I got at least a bit interested in their big brothers.

Game 7 in 1994 against the Rangers moved the process along a bit, even though they lost. Then in 95, you HAD to be impressed with an underdog squad that crushed the favored Red Wings for the Cup. So I would definitely have called myself a Devils fan, but not a hardcore fan.

I moved downstate in 1997, my (then) future wife’s family was from the area and her brothers and father were Devils fans. Her dad had bought season tickets when the team first came to Jersey and had their struggles (my wife remembers him having to drag the kids to go to the game)

My first live game was a playoff win against the Canadiens in 1997. We split season tickets the following couple of years. The team was very good in the regular season, and they seemed to win almost every game I went to, even if the playoffs did not go so good. I still have every ticket stub from every game

Coming back from being down 3-1 against the Flyers in 2000 was also a big part of it. To come back in that series after the playoff disappointments the previous two years was big. That was the kind of gutty comeback that you just have to have some loyalty to. So that was probably when I really got hooked.

Bottom line is, I cannot tell a lie. The fact that I went to alot of winning games kept me interested. I stayed interested because it was a good team. Now I am totally hooked because not only is this a good team, it is a great team with a record in the last 15 years that should be the envy of almost any team in any sport. Lou is the freaking best GM in sports. The team is just all about being competitive year in and year out, not about the glamour, and is just so fundamentally sound. The fact that in this day and age, the team has kept several key players for the majority of their careers says alot. Keeping Marty here for his whole career really makes a statement.

I am also a convert to hockey because to me the players are so much more down to earth and real compared to the other big sports. I would say overall, Hocket tries to give back more to the fans.

The reason I am a Devils fan is because I am originally from New York and grew up a Islander fan. Then in 1980 I moved to Colorado and they had a hockey team called the Colorado Rockies. I went to a lot of their games got great seats and saw the Islanders and Rangers when they came to town. Then the Rockies moved to New Jersey so I lost contact with them until Espn started covering hockey. I watched the finals the year the Devils put it to the Red Wings in 4 and Lemaire was the coach. Brodeur was sensational in that series. I remember being really impressed with how sound they were on defense. I have been a fan ever since… I now reside in New Mexico but I still make sure I see the Devils whenever they are in Colorado or Arizona.

I went to my first Devils game in which they lost to NY Rangers 8-5. I was only 14 maybe and had no idea what was going on but I started following the team after that and have ever since. We sat all the way up in the nose bleeder seats that game and I couldn’t see much but I guess I was hooked. I remember when they first made the playoffs, I was on my way to a track meet and we had the game on the radio. A kid who’s last name was Pellegrino (can’t remember his first name at the moment) had a radio and we listened in. We never would get the games on cable so I would listen to them on the radio. That is how I remember John Maclean scoring in that historic game that put them in the playoffs for the first time. I’ll never forget it. AM radio, wow.

Just have lots of good memories.

“It was said that Mother Leeds had 12 children and, after giving birth to her 12th child, stated that if she had another, it would be the devil. In 1735, Mother Leeds was in labor on a stormy night. Gathered around her were her friends. Mother Leeds was supposedly a witch and the child’s father was the devil himself. The child was born normal, but then changed form. It changed from a normal baby to a creature with hooves, a horse’s head, bat wings and a forked tail. It growled and screamed, then killed the midwife before flying up the chimney. It circled the villages and headed toward the pines. In 1740 a clergy exorcised the devil for 100 years and it wasn’t seen again until 1890.”
( I am fairly sure the midwife represented The New York Rangers… and 1890 was a typo and should have read 1982.)
So besides being born and raised in New Jersey and finding admiration for a sports team based on blue collar mentality and work ethic…what other professional hockey team (or any sport for that matter) has it’s name based on home grown folklore involving the supposed son of the satan himself? Nuff said….

when i was a kid, no one in my house really watched sports. i played street hockey from time to time with the neighbor kids and one of them was a devils fan so i’d watch games very sparsely. i don’t know what year, but it was during one game that stevens put a bone-crunching (and subsequently career ending) hit on eric lindross. i’ve been hooked since. maybe it’s bloodlust, maybe its the fact that they’re the only decent thing about nj anymore, or maybe its the simple fact that hockey is plain fun to watch, but i LOVE beings a devs fan

Growing up in Morris County, being a Devils fan was (for me) an easy decision. My brother was a Rangers fan. But to me, that seemed like betrayal. Why would I be a Rangers fan, when I live in NJ? It just didn’t make sense to me.

But, there wasn’t really one moment where I realized i was a fan. It was more a conglomeration of two moments. My first memory of being a hockey fan was being at the house of our family friends an hour away in Westchester county in 1994 and sneaking out of the house to listen to the Devils game on the radio, only to hear the play-by-play where Stephane Mattheaue beat Marty for the win in OT. That play, honestly, still haunts me.

My second vivid memory as a hockey fan, apart from a number of non-descript memories of going to insignificant games where I can’t remember the opponent, the outcome, or any details outside of being there, is the first game of the first round of the 1997 playoffs. I normally find myself up in the nosebleeds, but this particular instance, I found myself in the 3rd row in the right corner. When Marty shot that puck, I was less than 20 feet away from him. That is the moment I remember thinking,

I will always love the New Jersey Devils.

My love for the Devils started because I’ve lived in New Jersey all my life, and with them moving here in 1982 and me being born in 1985 I’ve never known a time when the Devils didn’t exist. I went to my first game at the old Brendan Byrne Arena in 1991 against the Whalers and was hooked ever since.

I think now, what I love most about the Devils is that they are the closest thing in professional sports that I’ve seen to an actual “team.” No one person ever comes before the team, and that starts from Lou Lamoriello all the way down. Even Marty, the greatest goalie in the history of the game, retains that principle. The simple fact that it was so awkward for the Devils and Marty to celebrate his individual accomplishments proves the true dedication to this concept.

So teams like the Rangers can go and load up all they want on high priced, big name free agents. The truth is that hockey players all know that a system like the Devils’ is the one that wins championships. There’s no better proof of this than 1995…talent-wise, Detroit was not the first team the Devils met in the playoffs that year who probably had the edge. But Lou had assembled the right group of players who were able to really come together as a group and out-will everyone they faced. That same principle is at work every year when we defy every so-called “expert” who predicts that this will be the year we finally miss the playoffs. (Notice how several years of proving them wrong have taken effect in this year’s predictions…)

So not only are they from my home state, not only have we boasted one of the league’s best ever GMs, goalies, and defensemen all at the same time, but we’ve had a consistent stream of success and done it the right way, by being an actual team.