Throughout much of the history of hockey in Columbus, and
professional sports in general, it has been overshadowed by The Ohio State
University and its athletic programs. Because of this, many professional teams
have failed until 1991 when the entertaining and enthusiastic Columbus Chill
came into existence. A large majority of people in Columbus saw another failed
franchise about to begin, but no one knew what would happen next. It was a
success and in 1999 Columbus was rewarded with an NHL team, the Blue Jackets.
Jackets fans will always remember how players felt when they came
to Columbus for the first decade or so of the team’s life. Players such as Adam
Foote, Jeff Carter and even four year captain Rick Nash haunt the memory of
long time Blue Jackets fans. In Foote’s short tenure with Columbus he seemed to
have a selfish take on the team. He did not like that Ken Hitchcock was making
the Avalanche legend take a role of responsibility. That mixed with his wife
apparently not liking Columbus, made the Jackets’ fourth captains stint a
relatively short one. Many people will remember him reportedly threatening to
play bad as well as be a bad captain and teammate if his ridiculous wage
demands were not met. The only other option he gave the Jackets was to trade
him to his former team, Colorado.
Jeff Carter is likely the
most hated out of the three aforementioned players. On June 23, 2011 Jeff
Carter was traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Columbus Blue Jackets in
exchange for Jakub Voracek, a 2011 first round pick which would later become
Sean Couturier and a 2011 third round pick. His 39 game stint with the Jackets
would become one the fans want to forget. He put up 15 goals for 25 total
points over this period of time however fans will always remember his lack of
effort that he made extremely noticeable. His reputation of being a problem in
the locker room in Philadelphia only intensified in Columbus. The fans were
hoping for a bright future led by Carter and captain Rick Nash, however Carter
seemingly gave up on Columbus right when he arrived. Following his trade to Los
Angeles, Carter was asked why things didn’t work out however he refused to give
a straight answer. To add insult to injury, later that season Jeff Carter would
get his name on Lord Stanley’s Cup as the Kings would defeat the New Jersey
Devils to win it all.
The final trade was likely the most heartbreaking for Jackets
fans. Rick Nash was the first overall pick in the 2002 NHL draft. He was the
first, and only first overall pick in Jackets history. Nash was also named the
fifth captain in franchise history in 2008. His loyalty and dedication to
Columbus seemed prevalent in 2009 when he signed a massive eight year contract
extension and he appeared to be a Jacket for life. That was until 2012 when he
demanded GM Scott Howson to trade him. When this was released, the world
seemingly stopped for Jackets fans. The greatest player in franchise history
wanted to leave. Nash insisted that he wanted to leave not only to help further
his career, but also to help rebuild the team that he had spent so much time
with. In the long run, that’s exactly what he did. Columbus would eventually
receive Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a 2013 first round
pick. Nash will always be remembered as a Blue Jacket, however it is not sure
how much longer it will be under a negative connotation.
Since the Nash incident, things have seemingly changed in
Columbus. On July 5, 2013 former Boston Bruin Nathan Horton signed a massive 7
year deal with the Blue Jackets saying “Once I heard it was an option, this is
the place I wanted to be”. Since then Horton suffered a series of unfortunate
injuries that cut his time in Columbus very short. Horton would eventually be
traded to Toronto for David Clarkson. Clarkson, who had to waive his no
movement clause to come to Columbus, has since stated that he loves his new
home and is looking forward to seasons to come in Columbus. Compare that to the
reaction of Jeff Carter when he arrived in Columbus for the first time and you
will see how quickly the city has changed in the eyes of players.
Another player who waived a no movement clause to come to Columbus
is former Flyer Scott Hartnell. Hartnell stated in an interview that Jakub
Voracek and Steve Mason had nothing but good things to say about Columbus when
he approached them. He continued to finish his first interview in Columbus by
saying, “After a couple of days of
mulling this whole thing over, I’ve had a smile ever since saying I was going
to be a Blue Jacket.” By the end of the season, Hartnell appeared to be very
happy in Columbus especially while being a part of the so called ”kid line”
with Alex Wennberg and Marko Dano.
Columbus has not only grown as an ideal destination for many players
around the league, it has also grown in fan support. Kevin Valentin, founder of
the Union Blue Soldiers Facebook group and Twitter, stated that he “saw the fun
everyone was having and how the CBJ Artillery guys were changing Blue Jackets
world for the better. I thought that was great and I wanted to help do that
too. So UBS did our part to help out. We had our first ever March Of The Union
Army. A big amount of Jackets Fans from all over marched to Nationwide Arena.
Then late October a CBJ Group went down. We then created our Facebook Group
Page.” He then continued by saying that UBS is at 400 members and counting (be
sure to check out their Facebook group here.).
Jordan Mills of the
aforementioned CBJ Artillery had a similar story. When asked his motivation for
starting the Artillery he replied, “I wanted to make a fun place for fellow
Blue Jacket fans to interact and also give them a voice”. The Artillery has
seen expansion over the years and is most known for its creation of the phrase
“We Are the 5th Line” which has become the battle cry of Jackets
fans beginning in the playoffs.
Both the Artillery and
Union Blue Soldiers have expanded continuously since their inceptions. Mills
stated “Heading
into the 2014 playoffs is when I noticed a huge spike in interactions. That was
around the time we launched "We Are the 5th Line". When asked how the growth has been since the playoffs he
replied “The
growth has been great, especially since we've joined forces with the Blue
Jackets in an effort to help spread the 5th line on a bigger scale”. Valentin
had a similar experience with the Union Blue Solders, although the Facebook
group has only been in existence since around the start of this season; it has
seen continual growth throughout the season. He declared that UBS gained 200
members within an hour of its creation and since it averages a new member
almost daily.
The
combined effort of the Chill and eventually the Blue Jackets would destroy the
barrier of the Ohio State University that had plagued professional sports teams
repeatedly in Columbus’s history. Columbus now holds various professional teams
besides the Blue Jackets including the Columbus Crew of the MLS and the AAA
baseball affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, the Columbus Clippers. The 5th
line of the Blue Jackets continues to grow and prosper as the Jackets gear up
for a very bright future.
Find UBS on Twitter at
@TheUBSoldiers
@TheUBSoldiers
Find Jordan and the Artillery on Twitter at
@TheCBJArtillery
and @Jordeck
No comments:
Post a Comment