Documentary on 1994 seeking fans

I will have to tell my brothers about this, hopefully they can contribute! What a cool idea.

i was 19 and i have a pretty clear memory of every game from round one onward, that was my last year as a really psychotically obsessed fan

First off, absolutely fabulous idea doing a retrospective NYR ‘94 Cup show from the fans’ perspective. While I love ABC-TV’s DVD and MSG’s “Oh Baby”/“Spring of ’94” recounts, this one sounds like the quintessential way to convey what millions of Ranger fans like me categorically consider a life-altering experience.

I have been an NYR fan from the tender age of 4 – before I understood the actual game itself, in fact – when I used to read NYR yearbooks with my Giacomin-loving older brother in his room. It innocently started with jokes about players’ names like Kannegiesser, Aitkenhead, Topazzini, etc., but years later, after my uncle took me to my first game at MSG against the KC Scouts – remember them?? – in ’75 when I was only 9, my allegiance skyrocketed.

Like most die-hards, ‘94 was the culmination of decades upon decades filled with jinxes and curses and ankle injuries and blown 5-goal leads and gut-wrenching LI Cups and fighting off “1940” chants that, by then, had permeated league-wide. When Mess arrived, all appeared ready to change, but didn’t at first, of course, as we still got bounced by the Pens in ’92 and missed the playoffs altogether in ’93 even with Mark wearing a red, white and blueshirt.

But right from the start of the following season, during that French’s Mustard Cup exhibition series in London and much like our recent European tour that included Brad Richard’s clever, team-bonding, “Broadway Hat” idea, you could see that the ‘93-’94 team was already coming together and could produce something special. Plus, I loved that Keenan hung the Cup photo in the locker room right from the get-go as definitive inspiration, and even had Colin Campbell put together a simulated Canyon of Heroes parade video. Brilliant! Don’t sweat the 54 years. Embrace and conquer it! Masterful psychological way to spin such long-standing futility.

As the year progressed and we remained firmly entrenched in 1st place, like everyone else, I was flabbergasted when Smith/Keenan STILL played “Ranger Roulette” at the deadline. I especially hated to see Garts go – and still question to this day what Anderson really contributed vs. what Mike could’ve done in what was, sadly, his career’s only real Cup run. But even more broadly, the idea that a team smack dab in the middle of NYC and playing dominating hockey would change so many moving parts so late in the season seemed completely absurd and reeked of the typical panic.

Come April, things remained very promising, so I made a point to not only watch every playoff game but also to record every single, solitary minute and even jot notes during the games, too, indicating the VCR’s counter when an incredible save/goal/hit happened. I figured I’d go back later and make my very own personal highlight montage after they won it all. Silly me, right? In fact, when ABC’s TV feed during Game 4 against the Isles temporarily went black, I reflexively threw an audio cassette tape into my stereo’s deck to record Howie Rose’s radio play-by-play call so I could overdub his voice on the subsequent replays.

Scarily, I was already as confident and motivated as Mess would be on the eve of Game 6!

After SWEEPING the Isles – a relished feat I savored and one that felt “Cup-like” unto itself – and blowing past the Caps, the Devils series was, of course, one for the ages. Mark’s guarantee and Howie’s or Al Michael’s calls notwithstanding, the chill-causing moment for me in this series was and still is Gary Thorne’s “Do you believe it? Do you believe it? He said ‘We Will Win!’ Game Six. He has just picked up the hat trick!” as The Messiah hits that bulls-eye dead center into the empty net.

Of course that was just a prelude to even bigger excitement two nights later. A Hall-of-Fame worthy spin-a-rama…7.7 seconds of head-shaking disbelief…but all blessedly punctuated by Howie’s immortal:

"Fetisov, for the Devils, plays it cross ice…into the far corner…Matteau swoops into intercept…Matteau behind the net…swings it in front…He SCORES!!

MATTEAU! MATTEAU! MATTEAU!

Stephane Matteau! And the Rangers…have one more hill to climb, baby…But it’s Mount Vancouver!…The Rangers…are headed to the Finals!!!"

Fully entrenched and recitable… sans Wiki! And after touching the precious Cup later that summer at the HHOF in Toronto, I even recorded myself doing Howie’s call over Bobby Orr’s OT winner in the Hall’s fan video room. Still sounded magnificent despite the alternate images.

As for those “Finals”, Bure’s Game 3 ejection followed by Richter mentally rollodexing Bure in Game 4 made it all seem so VERY doable at that point. But still, Game 5 went as I and many others predicted after all of that premature parade hoopla – much like when those ridiculous Red Sox champagne bottles were stupidly shown on TV back in ’86 mere moments before Mookie, et al took over.

Fortunately, images of an eternally gaping net for Leetch, a patented wrister from Gravy and an iconic “GWG” from Mess – Noonan should still be upset BTW, LOL! – would follow, but not before not one but TWO unfathomable icings were called in the waning seconds. Good thing Sam had a back-up call in his repertoire all set to go:

“The New York Rangers are the Stanley Cup Champions!!….and the one will last a lifetime!” :)

At that very moment – 10:58 PM, Tuesday, June 14th, 1994 to be exact – there I sat, by myself, inches in front of my TV set, just like I had done so often as a kid, except tears of JOY were streaming down my face instead of ones of frustration. And this time was also very different because I was sitting amidst every piece of Ranger paraphernalia that I owned strewn about our living room. Turns out my wife, Dina – a life-long Bruins fan?? – had secretly created a personal “shrine” for me while I was at work that day, so when I later walked in the house, I would brim with confidence at the sight of all that is Rangers prior to Game 7. I was overwhelmed, for sure, but even more so completely petrified that she had just jinxed the whole thing. She disagreed, fully convinced that this was just the kind of “Mess-like” aura that could help kick those “Ghosts of 1940” right through MSG’s rafters.

And boy, oh big boy, was she ever right!

Just like Mess said to his Dad up in the Garden crowd, I kept on thinking “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it!” as my beloved Rangers skated around with THE Cup at Madison Square Garden. Did it really happen? Seriously, did they actually do it this time? Isn’t there still one more face-off left or more time on the clock? It truly seemed that all of those blow-out losses we re—watched on “Rewind” growing up, all of those prayers we said, all of the heartache we suffered had finally – FINALLY! – paid off and come to fruition. Sometimes, though, I still have to re-watch that highlight tape I happily did get to create the summer of ’94 to convince myself it really did happen.

Ironically, Dina was also the one who persuaded me to go to the parade. For whatever reason, it never occurred me to take off from work on Friday, June 17th, but it sure as heck occurred to her. We took the train in from CT, and I still vividly recall coming up the subway escalators inside the World Trade Center – sadly, the last time I was inside the Twin Towers pre-9/11 – as chants of “Let’s Go Rangers!” reverberated like it was “MSG South.”

The parade itself was monumentally joyous, with the weather forecast that day “chance of ticker tape snowing in Downtown Manhattan.” I still have some pieces of that same ticker tape on my Ranger bookshelf, again thanks to Dina’s forethought.

Fast forward to last Fall when I had the honor and pleasure to personally meet the Big Four + One i.e. Mess, Leetch, Gravy, Richter and Keenan at an autograph signing in New Rochelle. Just when I thought ‘94 couldn’t get any better, it did, and once again, even 16 years later, I was brought to tears after shaking hands and chatting with each of these incredible men who had brought such happiness and a collective sigh of relief to so many.

When asked exactly what that glorious year of 1994 meant to me then and since, it was best summed up by a proud and fittingly clairvoyant Ranger fan at MSG that fateful night in June:

“Now I Can Die In Peace!” :)