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Columbus Blue Jackets talk.

Telling people that you're a Jackets fan

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Smartone29's picture
April 4, 2017 at 11:46am
9 Comments

I love supporting the local team. And finally, the Jackets are no longer the "best kept secret" in Columbus (or central Ohio for that matter). However, after living in central Ohio for the first 22 years of my life, it became quite different trying to talk about my favorite local team outside of the direct area of their influence (side note: which is why I'm grateful for sites like 1OB and 11W).

Here in the Region (the greater Chicago area, for those of you unaware, as I was when I moved here; they're very proud of themselves lol), I get jeered more than anything about being a Buckeyes fan, but I can hold a conversation about them with the average sports fan up here. However, when I mention the Jackets, it's generally silence. Now understand, I get why that happens. Ohio State has an alumni/fan base established on a global scale that the Jackets don't (and probably will never) have. The Buckeye brand has been established by that and by the fact that football has a much larger footprint than hockey does (at least in the States).

But I just find it funny how I can have a conversation with a Blackhawks fan up here, and when I mention the Jackets, they have no idea who I'm talking about. For instance, I was talking hockey with a guy at my church who has been a Hawks season ticket holder for years. But when I brought up the Jackets, he has no idea. He asked me if they were an AHL team. My reaction wanted to be, "Seriously?! You realize that we played in the same division in the Western Conference for 13 years, right??" But instead, I calmly explained to him that the Jackets were an NHL team that played in the Central with the Blackhawks for 13 years before moving to the Metro in the East. After that, he seemed to kind of remember.

So what about you guys? Have you had any experiences like that trying to talk about the Jackets or any other professional sports teams?

This is a forum post from a site member. It does not represent the views of 1st Ohio Battery unless otherwise noted.

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