FanPost

The Case for Canes Fandom

First, as few words of introduction. My name is Andy House, and I am fairly new around here. As someone who is just beginning my second year in "The Triangle" I recognize that many people would still view me as an outsider. I didn't grow up in North Carolina (I am originally from Georgia), and I had spent the previous 7 years in Washington, D.C. before my wife and I decided Raleigh would be our home.

But moving here provided me with one great opportunity as a sports fan. It gave me the opportunity to become a Caniac.

Upon arriving, one of my first orders of business was to secure season tickets to my new hometown team. Last season was my first as a Season Ticket Holder (now we are Season Ticket Members, but whatever). I grew up in a town that, not unlike Raleigh 20 years ago, had very little hockey culture. Southern born hockey fans are sometimes hard to come by, but I would say that watching the sport with a curiosity and, at times, lack of first hand knowledge is what made the game so intriguing. It was, and still is frankly, exciting to explore something foreign to you in an in depth manner. For years, I enjoyed hockey as an outsider. Without a team that I called my own, I followed the SPORT.

However, by moving to Raleigh at the age of 30 last year, with all of my other sports allegiances firmly entrenched, I was given the wonderful gift of arriving upon a new team to grow close to. While knowing the team fairly well from more of a distance, it became much more about community and a mutual experience as I began to root for my new home.

Some will say that not going through the playoff drought as a devout fan for the past 7 years might cheapen may credentials as a Canes fan, but I would like to think that the optimism that my perspective breeds is something that can only help as this team continues to build what we all hope is a championship-caliber team on the ice.

For many of us who didn't grow up playing hockey, this sport still has a wonderment to it that is as appealing as it is mysterious. I feel like I know the game, and I know the strategy, but I am not nearly as quick to criticize the players or coaches on the ice, because I truly have never been there before.

As a fan first, I appreciate the beauty and, at times, brutality of the game. But for the first time, I actually have more than just curiosity to drive me to the game, I have a Hometown Team, and I am loving it.

Let's Go Canes!