Written by Michele D’Altorio
On Sunday, October 3, 2010, Adventureland Amusement Park in Farmingdale, New York, was submerged in a sea of orange, white, and blue.
That’s because the second annual Islanders Children’s Foundation Day was taking place, where Islanders fans were invited to the amusement park to meet the team and help raise money for the Islanders Children’s Foundation, whose mission is to support Long Island-based non-profit organizations that provide children with a variety of opportunities in the areas of health, education, and youth hockey development.
According to Ann Rina, Community Relations Manager for the Islanders, fans started lining up at 8 AM, an hour prior to when the park’s gates opened to season ticket holders. At 11 AM, the park opened to the general public. “We actually had quite the lineup of general public people waiting to get into the park at 11, which was very nice,” Rina says. “It definitely was a success. It was a nice day, we had the entire team out there, and basically I could tell just by walking through the park that we had at least double the amount of people from last year.”
“It gives it a little more personal touch,” Islanders Head Coach Scott Gordon says of the annual event. “It’s a great thing for the players to get out and thank the fans for cheering us on and coming to the games.”
Fans couldn’t agree more. Chris Neun, 13, attended the event with a prized possession in tow—a glove he received from his favorite player, Dwayne Roloson, at the Islander’s last draft party.
“I got him involved in hockey because I was a big fan of the Islanders back in the early 80s,” Robert Neun, Chris’s father, explains. Like his son, Robert also favors Roloson. “[Chris] plays goalie, and so [Roloson] is his idol.”
“They’ve always been my favorite team,” Chris says.
Parents influencing their kids’ team preference is a common occurrence, as is evidenced by Lauren and Jackie Farnham, 18 and 11 years old, respectively. “I’ve been an Islander fan since they first came into existence,” Mark Farnham, the girls’ father, says. “I’m passing it on to my kids. They’re hockey fans, I’m a hockey fan, so it works out well.”
According to Lauren, she has been an Islander fan her entire life. Lauren and Jackie (who carried a hockey stick she hoped to fill with autographs before the end of the event) were excited to meet “everyone,” Lauren says—but specifically, they hoped to meet their favorite players, Josh Bailey and John Tavares.
The excitement that results when fans and players meet isn’t one-sided—fans may be starstruck when they are able to meet their favorite players and idols, but the players are just as eager to meet the fans.
“We have great fans on the island,” team Captain Doug Weight, said. “It feels pretty good to give back to the community … it’s a proud thing to be a part of this team, and certainly the fans on the island are great.”
John Tavares echoes the sentiment. “I remember being young and looking up to the guys that I idolized in the NHL, so to be looked up to and to be a role model, it’s great … you really feel appreciated and I think you realize you have to appreciate what you have.”
“They’re passionate and they do a lot of things for their fans,” Cari Costa, 16, an aspiring sports journalist and Islander fan, says. “They’re all cool guys and it’s fun to meet them and watch them play.” Cari attended the event with her sister Brittany, 12, and their parents. The family planned to meet every player at the event—especially Rick DiPietro and Josh Bailey, Cari’s and Brittany’s favorites.
Based on the success of this year’s event, fans can definitely start looking forward to the third annual meet and greet next year. “Absolutely,” Rina replied when asked if the event would happen again in 2011. “I can’t speak enough of when our guys are out there in the public. They create a fan-friendly, kid-friendly event where it’s just overall fun for the kids and for the adults. It’s just a nice thing.”
The second annual event raised over $10,000, 100% of which was donated to the Islanders Children’s Foundation.
