In our continuing look at how we became fans (Part 1, Part 2) this week I go over my eventual conversion to hockey and Islander fan greatness. It's been fun reading the other two stories so far. My own dad was the furthest thing from a sports fan growing up. One of my favorite memories was when my Little League coach showed up too hungover to coach practice. Me and my dad happened to be at the park early and he gave us all the gear and let us run practice. In a brilliant move my dad quickly handed off responsibility to the next parent that showed up.

My dad knew nothing of sports and didn't want to know anything more then what he knew. No matter how many times we drove to Shea Stadium, he always got lost and cursed out the street signs. He also despised traffic, and the one time he took me to a football game (NY/NJ Knights) the traffic was so bad he refused to ever take me to another game at Giants Stadium. So you can guess how often I convinced him to make the drive from Staten Island to Long Island via the BQE and LIE.

All through my life my mom always showed up to any sporting events I was a part of, from little league baseball to high school football she was there. My dad showed up sometimes too, just he had an odd schedule. Either that or he had a schedule so that he never had to deal with my brother and me on the weekend. Family was still important though in me becoming a fan of sports and eventually of hockey.

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