Damien Woody takes in Islanders game, embraces the (good) crazy

Lots of folks were keen to watch the Islanders 5-4 win over the Maple Leafs last night. But no one commanded more attention than two-time Super Bowl champion and current football analyst Damien Woody.

The journey of the former Jet (and Patriot and Lion, but we don’t need to mention them) to his first Nassau Coliseum experience started out inauspiciously. A few weeks ago, after the Yankees elimination from the playoffs, Woody tweeted about the sad state of New York sports teams (which - in fairness - can seem pretty dire when you spend so much time focused on the Jets and Giants). That sent a wave of Islanders fans into his mentions, notifying him of the team’s early season unbeaten streak and calling his attention to the one New York team that does not, in fact, suck.

“They were like ‘D Wood, you gotta check out the Islanders’ cause at the time they were on a nine-game winning streak. Then the team chimed in and said ‘don’t forget about us, we’re doing pretty good over here.’”

To his credit, the big man jumped in with both feet, correcting his mistake and partnering with the team to get to the game and take it in with some fans in a luxury box.

By all accounts, it looks like the Islanders have a new fan.

During the second intermission, Woody sat down with MSG Networks’ Shannon Hogan and said what many before him have come to realize: these people are crazy (but good crazy).

There was even some bonus excitement thrown in, as Woody got to hang with gold medalist hockey players Meghan Duggan and Gillian Apps, and even got to fire the damn t-shirt cannon, which is the highest honor anyone can achieve at any sporting event.

From the man’s own Instagram:

So like Daniel Bryan, Noah Syndergaard and many others before him, Damien Woody has discovered the signature insanity of Islanders games that were previously unspoken about in his corner of the sports world. Here’s to some more catching on in the future (Adam Gase need not apply).