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               This week during the NHL season pause, I’ve been watching a lot of vlogs on European Football. The one noticeable thing about them is the incredible fan support each club gets from their faithful. No matter what the score is, fans will sing, chant, etc. and let them know that they are by their team’s side no matter what the circumstance is.

While watching these vlogs this got me thinking about the Rangers and the atmosphere in Madison Square Garden (MSG). I kept running through scenarios through my head on what the atmosphere if a certain circumstance was occurring. During rivalry games against the New York Islanders and the New Jersey Devils, the arena is rocking and it is loud. But, when the Rangers are losing against a team such as the Arizona Coyotes, you can almost hear a pin drop. My dream atmosphere is to improve it where the fans are noticeably still supporting the Blueshirts and it’s not a quiet MSG no matter what the situation is.

I believe that some of the things that European Football fans do could translate very well into Madison Square Garden (yes, I understand it is a different culture and a different sport). I am not suggesting fans hold scarves and sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” or constantly bounce up and down. Something as simple as wearing the team colors goes a long way. At German matches, literally almost every single fan in the entire stadium from young to old is dressed in the team’s colors. An easier example to picture is during a Winnipeg Jets playoff game and the fans create “the whiteout”. This got me thinking how awesome it would be if every New York Ranger game was just a sea of blue shirts. The visual alone would always remind visiting teams they are in hostile territory.

Another thing I would love is if the Rangers had more chants. Besides the goal song, “Let’s Go Rangers,” “Goalie chant (Hen-rik, I-gor, George-ie) and “Potvin Sucks” how many chants do us Rangers fans really have? Adding some more chants would keep the fans engaged and help keep MSG loud. If we had more chants, that would give fans more opportunities to make noise based on what is happening in the game.

What if a section or two in the 400s were dedicated to what European Football fans called “ultras?” The “ultras” are the fans you see always chanting, jumping, singing, etc. I am not suggesting that’s what these sections should turn into but these could be the sections that make noise and remove quiet periods in the game.

The best example is student sections at college hockey games. Often student sections work with a band and students making noise throughout the game and during stoppages of play. There are chants from when players go to the penalty box to victory celebrations. When former Boston University head coach Jack Parker made his retirement speech after spending forty-years as the coach he spoke about how much the fan section made a difference. “The pep band is always good for a goal and a half.” This has me wanting the Blueshirt faithful to always be good for a goal and a half.

While many may think “oh this can’t work, this is just college kids,” my answer to that is to look across the pond to the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). The SHL is a professional hockey league in Sweden and the atmosphere in the league is what I would love the Rangers to have in a dream world. Check out this video of Djurgarden fans.

The biggest problem with the atmosphere is caused by tickets being very expensive. Tickets for the cheapest seats often go for over 100 dollars. Because of ticket prices, a lot of lower-bowl sections are often filled out by richer folks who often aren’t as into the games as other fans. While this will likely never change, if the nosebleed seats were made cheaper, more die-hard fans would get the opportunity to go to the games. And the more die-hard fans at the game, the better the atmosphere will be.

So now imagine this – It’s the middle of the 2020-2021 season and fans are allowed to return at full capacity to MSG for the first time. The crowd is made up of team colors and the 400 sections are constantly making noise. There are more chants for both individual players and the team. Madison Square Garden from then on has a unique atmosphere that can’t be touched by any other team. Visiting teams will know they are at a fortress in hostile territory and that’s what this is about – turning MSG into a fortress. We don’t want there to be silence because when there is silence, it means the visiting team is getting exactly what they want. We want the Rangers to feel that no matter what the situation is, they are in the game and we stand behind them.

To sum up while some of my improvements are very unrealistic, the dream I have of MSG under these conditions will never go away. There will never be an “ultras” section and forming new chants are better when they come naturally. Getting fans to wear the team colors will be tough due to a lot of fans going to the games after a long day of work in New York City.

What changes would you make to improve the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden? What is your dream atmosphere? Do you prefer the current atmosphere or a more European Atmosphere? Tweet us @NYRangerFanClub and @msegs13

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