Thursday, May 29, 2008

Rick Reilly on Islanders fan Miriam from Forest Hills

islesblogger was kind enough to ask:

In a career that has taken you through extraordinary highs and even shown you the lowest of lows, how could you even begin to narrow down your experiences and pick a single favorite?

You're right, islesblogger. I cannot. Before I close shop in July, I'll list of some of my favorite moments. For now, I'll start with one - the night Miriam Stone came to her first Islanders game.

Rick Reilly wrote a column about it for the 2002 year-end issue of Sports Illustrated. I was in Baltimore yesterday for Yankees-Orioles and ran into a friend who said the Miriam column made Reilly's anthology, "Hate Mail From Cheerleaders," out in bookstores now. (As if Rick needed the plug). I have several copies of the magazine, but had to run to the Barnes & Noble to pick up the book. At the end of the story, Reilly has a nice postscript about how blunt Miriam is.

This is a good opportunity to mention that none of this would have happened if not for the participation of WFAN host Joe Benigno (a Rangers fan!) and his producer at the time, Ray Martel. Appropriately, Martel later on married an Islanders fan.

Read Rick Reilly's column on Islanders fan Miriam from Forest Hills here.

1 comment:

Scotty Hockey said...

I hate the Islanders, always have - growing up on Long Island in the shadow of the dynasty as a Ranger fan will do that to you. I remember reading Reilly's piece back then and rereading it now I had the same reaction: I got all choked up. While Reilly deserves some credit for articulately relating the tale, it is the story and the people in it that make it so touching. It is a wonderful reminder that no matter the colours, the people in our sport exude a level of class that is truly remarkable. From us fans that give our love (and money) so unconditionally to the players and managers who acknowledge and respect that (such as yourself Chris), hockey rules.