Maven's Memories Presents Stan's Fans: Pam Bialkin

There are no official records for "Youngest Islanders Fan Ever," but if such a title existed, Pam Bialkin, a tax accountant from Wantagh, would be a likely contender.
"When I was just a toddler," Pam remembers, "I became my dad's hockey buddy. Whether it was sitting at home watching together with him or going with him to games, that was the start of my love and passion for this team."

A season UBS ticket-holder in Section 102, Bialkin broke in at Nassau Veterans' Memorial Coliseum with her family in Sections 328, 327 and 120. The Bialkins were original subscribers in 1972.
Pam: "Being a toddler, I didn't know much about the team at the time, so I'd sit on the couch at home with my dad and he would explain the game to me. Frankly, I learned all about the Islanders through him.
"Since, at first I was too young to attend games, my parents worked it out that Saturday night was, for them, 'Date Night' at the Coliseum.' For my mom and dad, Saturday night meant dinner and the game."
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Once Pam, 53, was old enough to understand hockey's nuances, her parents allowed her to go to an afternoon or weekend game. Between her family and the folks around them it was like a weekly stickhandling schmooze.
"It was the same season ticket-holders with us for years and that made for a lot of fun. We would talk to each other during the games and after the season we'd stay in touch. We'd go to other events, meet up and have a good time.
"But apart from the games, the real fun took place in the plaza in front of the arena. It was especially great for us kids because we had the opportunity to spend more time outside and take in the scene around us."
Pam's love for the hockey club was sustained beyond high school and into her collegiate years. But how she defines her amour for the hockey club is fascinating.
"They mean more to me than I can ever express," she insists. "But, for me, personally, it has been the family bond that was created through our love and what, in turn, the team has meant for the fans and the community.
"Through high school, college and my entire adult life, everywhere and anywhere I go, people know me for my love of the team. The Islanders come up in pretty much every conversation I have with a person I meet. Whether I wear an Islanders hat or carry a club phone case, I have been defined in life through the Islanders."
As in anyone's life some rain must fall and in Pam's case obstacles arose when she entered college in Atlanta. This thrusted an insurmountable distance between the student and her passion, the hockey club. How to connect with her favorite team in those pre-internet days was the challenge.
It was too late to call home so she partially solved her dilemma by phoning the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper and connecting with the sports desk night clerk.
Bialkin: "He knew why I was calling because I always --needed to know who won the Islanders game. That's how I got the score after every game. The guy had all the scores in front of him. It went like this:
"'Hi, Pam. Good evening. Yes, they won 6-3." And the interesting thing is that not long ago I actually reached out to him -- just to reminisce -- and he knew exactly who I was."
As you might expect, she owns a bank full of fond memories about the team. One of her favorites relates to the contest in which Mike Bossy scored his 50th goal in his 50th game in January 1981.
Another was Game Five against the Penguins in1982 when John Tonelli, Bob Nystrom, Mike McEwen and Bill Smith combined to extract victory from what appeared to be an almost certain defeat.
Her all-time favorites -- by position -- are Bob Bourne and Patrick Flatley among the forwards; Stefan Persson and Travis Hamonic on the blue line and Battlin' Bill Smith in goal.
"I also was supposed to be at the Game Four Cup-clincher against Edmonton in 1983,' she laments, "with my parents. But there was a very important school event that night. Both my mom and dad insisted that I attend the school event.
"Quite honestly, the fact that I missed that game has scarred me for life; it really haunted me."
She almost was haunted again when she met her future husband, Jeff, 53, and learned that he was a Rangers fan. "He proposed to me at the Coliseum in 1999," she chuckles. "He's now an Islanders fan."

Although the Bialkin Family has owned season tickets for half a century, there was one scary occasion when those tickets almost disappeared.
At home alone, Pam -- 17 at the time -- was startled when a fire broke out in the house. No less than six fire trucks were required to douse the blaze.
Knowing that her parents had just jetted to Israel and there were valuables to be saved, Pam was stirred into action. The teenager put her priorities in order with the cooperation of her rescuers.
"The firemen cleared a safe path for me to enter the house with them," she remembers, "and all the time I'm thinking, 'What would my father want me to pull out of that house that's important to him?'
"I dashed to my dad's night table drawer and pulled out the stack of Islanders tickets and saved them until my parents returned home. They flew back the next day in a state of shock over what had happened to their house.
"I looked at my dad and said, 'I have something for you.' Then, I pulled out all the Islanders tickets. He started laughing and crying at the same time. Then he said, 'Only you would pull those tickets out of my night table drawer.'"
Her passion never has wavered and remains just as intense as it was during the 1980's Dynasty years. Mother of a daughter Sydney, 20, and son, Jaret, 17, Pam passed her Islanders passion on to them when they were just youngsters -- and the ardor still remains.
"One of my more recent favorite memories was taking both of my kids to that very first playoff game against the Penguins in 2019," Pam says. "It was something special because they got to witness the Islanders open a playoff series at home -- and at the Coliseum. It was the first time that both my son and daughter were at a playoff game.
"It was the first season back from Barclays and it was a true homecoming to be at the Old Barn again. It was such a beautiful evening and so thrilling to be back in Uniondale.
"Then again, clinching on home ice in 2021 against Pittsburgh and Boston was just unreal. On the other hand there was sadness for me and my family when my father passed away four years ago. I honestly thought I'd never be able to see another game after he died."
Instead, coming to the games proved a form of therapy and comfort for her and her children since Pam's affection for the team has been transmitted to the latest generation of Bialkins.
"My kids share great moments together with me and that means a lot," Pam admits. "It's just like it was for me and my dad. It's all about family, memories, and our favorite hockey team."
In 2008 Bill Torrey, Al Arbour and Bob Nystrom escorted Pam to center ice where she was honored to drop the ceremonial puck before the game.
"It was," concluded Bow Tie Bill, "for this family's commitment, dedication and loyalty to the team."
For Pam Bialkin it was her "most thrilling moment as a fan" and it helped define what the Nassaumen mean to The Faithful and what fans mean to the team.
"It's communal, authentic and symbiotic," she says. "The relationship between the fan base and the team is like none other in sports. For me, personally, the Isles have given me 50 years of memories for which I'm beyond grateful!"
(Editor's Note: Zachary Weinstock, co-author -- with Yours Truly and David Kolb -- of the Islanders 50th Anniversary book -- originally interviewed Pam Bialkin for insights into what makes Isles fans tick. The above story was gleaned from Weinstock's copious notes.)