I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance that I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died
So bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
17 years, 17 long and very frustrating years since Mark Messier hoisted the first New York Ranger Stanley Cup in 54 years. And odds are that if you love seeing that moment in time over and over and over then skip the rest of this.
Because in 2011 it is time to put 1994 away already, as it is not any kind sacred day the way some people treat it. If it was 25 years or 50 years then a case can be made to highlight the event but every single year has not just become a sad reminder of how the Dolans have screwed up the Rangers.
Since the Rangers have won the Cup in 1994, the Detroit Red Wings have found ways to win the Cup 4 times, the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche have 3 Cups each. But the Rangers have not even made a return visit to the Stanley Cup finals and for me that is no longer something I am willing to accept on June 14th.
It royally stinks that the Dolans have put a lot of money into their pockets living off a championship that they had nothing to do with. That they have made a fortune off raising the numbers of 4 members of the 1994 team to the Garden rafters.
"Did you write the book of love, and do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so?
Now do you believe in rock and roll, can music save your mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues
I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
It is not their championship but they get to run to the bank every year because they cash in on Ranger fans reliving that "magic moment." Not this fan as now I see it almost like Don McLean in his song "American Pie"
That is how June 14th has become to me but unlike the song, I refuse to accept the "Now I can die in Peace" mindset that some fans have. No I am a greedy fan as I want more, instead of on June 14th that we bring out the 1994 Cup I want to be talking about the Cup we just won.
I want on June 14th that we are all dancing for joy because the Rangers have won another cup and then I want another one the next year and one more. There is no excuse why the Rangers can not make my dream possible.
It is really simple you build a franchise from the NHL down to the ECHL all playing the same system. You find ways to get your prospects NHL ready so they can slide right in and out of the lineup.
"Now for ten years we've been on our own, and moss grows fat on a rollin' stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the jester sang for the king and queen in a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lenin read a book on Marx
A quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
It is the model the Detroit Red Wings put together where you build a core, then use trades and free agents to fill in the final spots to make the cup run. It is taking advantage of New York being in the biggest market you have and using all the advantages to it's fullest.
A pipedream you may say but no it is not as there is no reason why every fall when people are making their predictions about who will win the Cup that year that the Rangers are part of the equation. It is not a dream to ask for a team that instead of wondering if they can hold on to the 8th seed are instead contending.
"Helter skelter in a summer swelter, the birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass, the players tried for a forward pass
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While the sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?
We started singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
I want to see the Rangers play on my birthday (May 1st) no I want one better I want the Rangers to be playing on Ryan McDonagh's birthday (June 13th). I want the day where we can sign Happy Birthday to Ryan at the same time we are singing the "Kiss Them Goodbye" song.
I want to be able to look at another hockey fan and be able to show off my new Championship merchandise. I am tired of looking in my closet and see the stuff from 1994 gathering dust all alone.
"Oh, and there we were all in one place, a generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devil's only friend
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
And as the flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
I started singin' it
singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
Not me what I want is that when the Rangers are at the top of the NHL that when July 1 comes along that Ranger fans hear players willing to take less because "I signed with the Rangers because they offered me the best chance to win a Cup."
Close your eyes and imagine that Brad Richard or any free agent was saying I want to play for the Rangers not for the money but the chance to win. The Yankees when they show up every year have their fans believing that they have a chance to win every year not every 54.
"I met a girl who sang the blues, and I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play
And in the streets, the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' "This'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die"
They were singin' bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry
Them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
And singin' "This'll be the day that I die
Not me I want to be singing every year "We Are The Champions"
(Messier courtesy of NHL Media/New York Rangers, Music and Lyrics by Don McLean/Universal Music)
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