Maven's Memories Presents Stan's Fans: Vinny Catania

Editor's Note: This will be the first of a series about Islanders fans and their memories. The opener is New York Police Officer Vinnie Catania of Deer Park. Here's what he told The Maven.
Take it away, Vinny:
HOW HE BECAME AN ISLANDERS FAN:
"My first memories of hockey were watching the Islanders on television. My older brother was an Isles fan and it was fun for me to watch the games with him. Not all of it was fun at first. I wasn't happy after the Rangers beat us in 1979, but it made me love the Islanders even more. My first favorite player was Mike Bossy. He was my idol as a kid and, even now, nothing has changed; still my all-time favorite."

WHAT THE TEAM MEANT TO HIM AS A YOUNG FAN:
"The Islanders were the best part of my childhood. During the early 1980's a lot of kids in my neighborhood played hockey in the street. I remember putting on my #22 Bossy jersey and my Mylec shin guards. No matter what team I played on, I demanded that the street hockey team had to be called 'The Islanders.'"
PLAYERS HE CHOSE AS ROLE MODELS:
"From time to time I'd put on my brown, plastic goalie pads and pretended that I was Battlin' Billy Smith. I had other favorites but I never would pretend to be anyone who wasn't an Islander. And when there was a game on tv I'd make sure never to miss it. Three months before I turned 10 years old, the Islanders won their first Stanley Cup."

HIS FIRST GAME IN PERSON:
"I didn't see any games at the Coliseum during the 1979-80 season but I finally got to a game during the 1981 playoffs; and what a thrill that as. It was the first game of the 1981 Quarter Final Round against Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers. And that was one game that had everything I could ask for. Clark Gillies had two goals and so did Denis Potvin. John Tonelli, Bobby Nystrom, Butch Goring and Hector Marini also had goals. Gretzky did score once but I couldn't care less."
COMING IN AT THE RIGHT TIME:
"We knocked off Edmonton in that series and then went on to win the Second Cup. How special was that? From age nine, 10, 11 and 12, I had the pleasure of rooting for a team that won four straight Stanley Cups. But you have to remember that I still was a kid and I really didn't comprehend how hard it was to win that trophy. The Islanders had conditioned me to believe that it was all very easy."
HOW HE REACTED TO THE 1984 FINAL:
"I was all of 13 when my favorites lost in the Final round to Edmonton and I have to say, that after the fifth game, with the team eliminated, it was one of the worst nights of my life. Frankly, I was depressed for weeks and was certain that we would soon win again."
STILL ROOTING HARD THROUGH NON-CUP RUNS:
"History proved different in terms of the team being invincible again. In fact, the failures of the team in the subsequent years only made me love them even more. By that time I was old enough to go to the games by myself and, as I got older, I supported them as my favorites by always going to the games. As a matter of fact, I have had season tickets for many years and I always buy jerseys, wear Islanders hats and will talk Islanders to anyone willing to listen to me."

HOW IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY:
"To me, the best way to express my being an Islanders fan is by teaching my six-year-old son and his friends about the Islanders.
But this is the strange part; my wife is a Rangers fan. Then again, everyone has his or her faults -- and I decided to marry her anyway!"
WHY HE VIEWS THE ISLANDERS AS 'THE PEOPLES' TEAM':
"This one is easy. The Islanders have always played on The Island. And, remember, Brooklyn still is part of Long Island. The Isles are and always will be Long Island's team. Many of the alumni have remained here and have become integral parts of the community. A number of players have started charities and started businesses right here on the Island."
MAVEN'S MEMORIES
WRITTEN COVERAGE
Remembering Jean Potvin
The Unheralded Lorne Henning
Wayne Merrick Makes Mark on Cups
Don't Forget Tomas Jonsson
The Underrated Stefan Persson
Stan's Favorite Clark Gillies Memories
From Doghouse to Penthouse in 1975
Al Arbour's Trifecta
Maven's Haven
HOW HE SEES THE PLAYERS AS NEIGHBORS:
"Many times I'd be out and about and run into some of my heroes. It was Nystrom, Gillies, Benny Hogue. As a matter of fact, Hogue became a popular coach of kids hockey here. Over the years I'd go to charitable events hosted by the Islanders and enjoy mingling with my heroes because -- to a man -- they always were friendly like my next door neighbor. Through the years, these players -- win or lose -- would be accessible to the fans. For someone like me, I couldn't ask for anything more."
DESCRIBING THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN FANS AND THE TEAM:
"As a fan of all sports -- I root for the Yankees in baseball -- I've seen how players in basketball, football and other pro sports react to their followers. In my opinion there's no closer bond between a team and its fans that the Islanders and their rooters. You don't have to look farther back than the 2021 playoff run. The Islanders fans were all the rave on every pre and post-game show. We even have a chant for a big save. What once was BIL-LIE became VAR-LY. And when Sorokin was in goal, we have an ILYA SOROKIN chant from his days in the KHL. The Blue and Orange Army always has a chant for every occasion. Like that Army, we march to the beat of our own drum."
HOW HIS SON IS GROWING INTO A FAN:
"I teach son all about the team. He's learned that players such as Bossy, Trottier, Gillies, Potvin and Smith are as important as Barzal, Pageau, Pelech and Pulock. He goes to almost every game that he can with me when it's not a school night. And when he plays ice hockey that Islanders fans get a kick out of him rocking the old school jerseys instead of the current day stars. He lives and breathes Islanders even though he's only six years old. Although he's a 'Mama's Boy,' not even she can get him to go to the dark side of the Rangers. He's a faithful Islanders fan through and through. I couldn't be more proud."
FINAL THOUGHTS ON ROOTING FOR THE NASSAUMEN:
"I thank God every day that I'm an Islanders fan. Frankly, I didn't have the greatest childhood, but every memory that I do have has something to do with the Islanders. I could go on forever talking about heroes such as Trottier, Bossy, Gillies, and Potvin. To this day I'd take Smitty over anyone with money on the line. Goring, Anders Kallur, Ken Morrow, Gord Lane, Wayne Merrick and the Sutter Brothers; I could go on forever. The 1993 team was another of the teams I really liked and I'll never forget Patty LaFontaine; one of the greatest American-born players to lace on a pair of skates. And, finally, I'm thankful to owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky who wisely brought many of the alumni back to Nassau. They built a beautiful arena to cap it all and make me more than ever so proud to be an Islanders fan!"