Is it possible for a team to be in first place, yet nobody in their home city seems to notice? Apparently, the answer is "Yes." Because in the aftermath of the Giants' Super Bowl title and in the midst of Linsanity, the Rangers have become New York's forgotten team. Oh by the way, the Rangers just happen to be the best team in the Eastern Conference.
First, let's talk about the ridiculousness that is Linsanity. I don't want to say anything bad about Jeremy Lin. I think his story is great. It was great when he was at Harvard, and it's great now. But he's a media creation. Isn't it ironic how Linsanity only started when Tebow Mania ended? Once Tim Tebow was eliminated from the playoffs, the media needed a new guy to obsess over and ram down our throats, like it or not. Enter Jeremy Lin. The fact that he plays in New York doesn't help, since the New York media immediately jumped all over it.
Some people are using the argument that Jeremy Lin is on the back page of the paper everyday because "New York's a Basketball Town." That's not even close to true. New York is first and foremost a baseball town. Always has been. Always will be. After the Yankees, the Giants are next in the pecking order, although Rex Ryan and his Island of Misfit Toys have done a nice job of stealing some of the football-based headlines. That means the Knicks are at best No. 3 in the hierarchy of New York sports. Regardless of the Knicks' status, it's pretty clear where the three hockey teams rank. I haven't seen the Rangers on the back page of the paper once this season. Not even during the NBA lockout. Not even when they were in the Winter Classic.
This isn't just the papers' fault, either. Knicks, Rangers, Devils and Islanders games are all broadcast on the MSG Networks. The Knicks and Rangers are primarily on MSG, while the Devils and Islanders are primarily on MSG+. When more than one team is playing at the same time, one of the games gets shifted to the other network. For example, if the Devils and Islanders are both playing, but the Knicks and Rangers aren't, one of the games moves from MSG+ to MSG. Ditto if the Knicks and Rangers are playing, but the Devils and Islanders aren't. When three of them are playing (or all four), one of the preview channels becomes MSG2. Whenever this happens, the Rangers are the one that gets the boot. Tomorrow night, the Rangers are playing the defending Stanley Cup Champion Bruins on MSG2 so that the Knicks-Raptors game can be shown on MSG. How about taking into account who each team is playing and put the more significant game on MSG? Or, at the very least, have them alternate.
Thankfully, Filip Bondy of the Daily News has noticed that the Rangers are pretty much completely ignored. He did an article in today's paper making that exact point. The Rangers beat the Flyers and Capitals over the weekend. Do they even get a mention on the local news? No. Even ESPN, which is more obsessed with the NBA than anyone, has begun to notice. On SportsCenter the other day they pretty much said that the Rangers are the best kept secret in New York.
The Rangers were so bad for so long that a lot of their fans lost interest. (Of course, the Knicks were even worse at the same time, but they at least had Isiah Thomas making headlines as he ran the franchise into the ground.) They won the Cup in 1994, so the "curse" is over. And every time they've been good in recent years, they ended up having a bad stretch that left them fighting for the final playoff spot. When they did actually make the playoffs, they were lucky to get out of the first round. All of these things might be reasons why the Rangers aren't as beloved as they once were. And who knows? Maybe fans are waiting for the other shoe to drop, so they find it harder to embrace the Rangers' success.
But, I've got news for you. This Rangers team is different. This is the best team they've had since 1994, and they look poised to make a deep playoff run. They've got legitimate stars. Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi might not be Mark Messier, Adam Graves and Brian Leetch (who are three of the greatest Rangers ever, by the way), but that's the point. Instead of overpaying a superstar (see: Jagr, Jaromir) and having little else, this year's team has all the right pieces, and they fit together perfectly. And lest we forget that absolute stud in goal: Henrik Lundqvist. These Rangers aren't just good, they're fun to watch. And they win in so many different ways. Push the pace and win 5-3? Sure. Grind one out and rely on Hank to win 1-0? No problem. Shooutout? We can do that too. Want to mix it up? Bring it!
New York, take notice. 'Cause if they're raising a banner to the Garden rafters at the beginning of next season, it ain't gonna be for the Knicks. And if there's another championship parade down the Canyon of Heroes in June, it'll be for a certain hockey team that wears blue jerseys. (Although, it wouldn't surprise me at all if a Stanley Cup run brings all of these "fans" and media attention out of the woodwork, as if everybody cared all along.)
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