To all Canadians

[Esquire 324]

That's the day I became a Red Wing fan for life.

My grandfather was the first person to tell me about Gordie's elbows and meeting Gordie is something I'll never ever forget and always be grateful for. Even back then, just seeing the way grown ups looked at Gordie and the way they talked about him made a lasting impression on me. And if there was any hint of doubt in my loyalty to the Wings, it went right out the door the moment I woke the house up after witnessing Stevie go top shelf in double OT against the Blues.

Growing up in Sudbury gave me the opportunity to actually choose a team to support rather than support one due to proximity alone.

[puffy 97]

I'm actually a suicidal Leafs fan. I joined LGW after my psychiatrist advised me to.

It beats the hell out of anti-depressants and it's much cheaper!

[T-Ruff 47]

Started watching hockey in the mid-90's. Of course the Wings were good and had guys like Yzerman, Lidstrom, Shanahan, Fedorov, Bowman, etc that drew me in.

[Zetts 236]

Steve Yzerman.

Initially I was a fan of him, and just wanted the Wings to succeed because he was on the team. But after cheering so hard for a team for so long, it ended up sticking even after he retired.

[BlakKy 58]

So NHL 95 is the household "board game" of choice (take that monopoly). My Dad being a Blackhawks fan chooses the Hawks. My brother is all about goaltending so he takes Montreal for Roy, my mom thinks penguins are cute so she takes Pitts... this means three of the top 4 rated teams in the game are gone and in order to adequately compete I gotta go DRW. Turns out Fedorov is an untouchable nearly on the same level Roenick is in that game and I quickly learn to love the Red Wings. My dad offers to take me to see a Red Wings game and I get to see them beat Montreal and from then on I pledged my allegiance to the winged wheel.

[xtrememachine1 795]

So NHL 95 is the household "board game" of choice (take that monopoly). My Dad being a Blackhawks fan chooses the Hawks. My brother is all about goaltending so he takes Montreal for Roy, my mom thinks penguins are cute so she takes Pitts... this means three of the top 4 rated teams in the game are gone and in order to adequately compete I gotta go DRW. Turns out Fedorov is an untouchable nearly on the same level Roenick is in that game and I quickly learn to love the Red Wings. My dad offers to take me to see a Red Wings game and I get to see them beat Montreal and from then on I pledged my allegiance to the winged wheel.

NHL 95 might be the greatest hockey video game of all time. I had it for the computer (still have it actually) and I played that thing to DEATH. You're right, Fedorov was great and I stomped all my friends with the Wings everytime we played. Good times

[WingsallTheway 383]

Growing up in Sudbury gave me the opportunity to actually choose a team to support rather than support one due to proximity alone.

I'm from Sudbury too, this place is riddled with leafs fans, I only have 1 friend who is a fellow wingnut

Edited June 28, 2010 by WingsallTheway

[robb himself 143]

My dad grew up on the lake head in Ontario and was originally a Habs fan...in the town he was living in (Red Rock) there was a HUGE feud between Leafs and Habs fans and everywhere he went he was having one or the other shoved down his throat. So once he finally had enough of being told who he should like...he walked away from both of them, became a wings fan (mostly due to Gordie and all the other greats) and has stayed a wings fan since...

My dad moved out west in the 70's (to Kelowna) ended up getting married, and brought me up as a Wings fan and I have been my entire 26 years...its just that simple

:thumbup:

[The Secret 304]

Born and raised in Windsor for 1 and there have been a host of awesome Canadians on the team ... just look up at the rafters next time your there at the Joe to see just the top of the iceberg of great Canadian Red Wings of the past. It really started with Stevie and Probie though for me!

Edited June 28, 2010 by The Secret

[13dangledangle 968]

like a lot of people have said Stevie "Wonder" Yzerman. My dad (leafs fan) took me to a Leafs/Wings game at Maple Leaf Gardens some 20 twenty years or so ago. I received my first Yzerman jersey a few months later . My dad still loves the leafs while I keep laughing...GO WINGS!!

[paulwoodsfan 52]

I grew up in London, Ont. My dad is a big Leafs fan so I liked the Leafs as well, although I wasn't a big sports fan as a kid. But my favourite (note Cdn splg) player was Frank Mahovlich. His trade to Detroit coincided with me meeting a guy who became my best friend through my teenage years. He was a Wings fan (I don't know why) and he persuaded me that the winged wheel was the greatest logo in sports. Between the logo and Mahovlich, I was hooked -- just in time to suffer through missing the playoffs 15 times in 17 seasons or whatever it was. I stuck with it and when Stevie raised the Cup in 1997, like countless other longtime Wing nuts I had tears in my eyes.

[zettie85 106]

My grandpa was a bit of a Wing fan. Which helped influence my dad a bit. Growing up he could only get Leafs games or Wings games on the radio. He said there was no way he was going to be hoping for the Leafs. It seemed to be that simple.

For me it just rubbed off. Third generation Wing fan. It says I'm from Calgary but I grew up in Northern Ontario. There was no way I was hoping for the f***in' Leafs either. My dad showed me Stevie Y and took me to Wings games in Winnipeg until they left for the desert. That's my story.

[Electrophile 3,554]

Because they are the best ******* team in hockey

I think that's pretty much the thread right there, don't you think?

[newfy 695]

I think that's pretty much the thread right there, don't you think?

I think that sounds band wagonish really but if thats how it happened, its gotta happen somehow

[Electrophile 3,554]

I think that sounds band wagonish really but if thats how it happened, its gotta happen somehow

Apparently we took that statement two different ways. You think he meant it because the Wings have been successful and that's why he's a fan.....I took it to mean we're the best team in hockey in toto, taking everything into consideration: success, players, management, fans, history, the whole nine yards. I don't see how that's bandwagonish.

[WingsallTheway 383]

I think that's pretty much the thread right there, don't you think?

Well the real reason I became a wings fan was when i played NHL 98 or something as a kid. My goal was to pick a favorite team and it was SJ at one point because I found they had the best logo. Eventually I choose DET because they had the highest overall, and it started from there. I was about 8 at the time, and was a casual wings fan until 2005.

Out of nowhere I couldn't bear to miss a game. Before I found out about atdhe.net and other sites, I would go to yahoosports and watch the game recap as it went on live. I literally sat there, waiting and waiting for the score to change. Once I found out about the streaming sites, I have probably only missed about 5 games since then. My favorite player was Shanahan, but quickly became Datsyuk once i started watching every game. Now, I can safely say that about 50% of my Red Wings love is thanks to datsyuk.

Edited June 28, 2010 by WingsallTheway

[Yak19 303]

Windsor

Steve Yzerman

[T.OWingsFan 7]

I always had a hate on for the Leafs and the Wings were in the old Norris division with them so we actually saw a whole lot of them on TV here. Well I must have been 8 or 9 years old when I first saw Sergei Fedorov and let me tell you....WOW! Was the most exciting player I had ever seen.

I mean, with his Central Red Army card too, you gotta remember this was the end of the Cold War. Eventhough I was young I still remember seeing the wall fall and Yeltsin take power in Russia etc etc. Up until then the Ruskies had been the evil empire in all the movies etc. It was like suddenly the enemy wasn't so evil.

This Beckett from 1991. I have the fondest memories of all Sergei's cards and especially that magazine.

I feel privileged. I was drawn to the Wings and Feds before they were winners. I can't stand it when people claim I'm a bandwagon fan. Figure that out though. I'm not even from Detroit and liked the Wings while they were still the Dead Things.

[miller76 463]

My dad is from Calgary, my mom from Windsor. My dad is still a huge Flames fan and my mom was brought up with the Wings. She always talked about the Production Line and Terry Sawchuk. I fell in love with the history of the Red Wings at a young age, and when they drafted Stevie, there on out, I was a fan.

Out here in southern California, they like to call us bandwagon Red Wings fans. I tell them, "yeah, I jumped on 27 years ago!"

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

i was born a wings fan. my dad has always been a wings fan and he named me after steve yzerman and mic jagger, so i always liked yzerman (dude's f***in awesome anyways) and probert when i was younger. i like the wings now as much as ever though. i have strong european descent in my family and i listen to ALOT of swedish metal, so having swedes dominate the wings locker room is ok for this canadian guy. the wings have always been the best team to watch for me. i like the style they play, and i guess a treat for me from the wings is drafting darren helm, a good winnipeg boy. and the wings greatness is not gonna stop anytime soon seeing as they have so many great prospects from all over the world, not just canada