First: Fuck the pens.
I’m from switzerland and I’m a Flyers fan since I was 9 and played NHL 2000 (which still has the best [intro](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9R-MsWsaCY) ever). There I always chose the Flyers to play because my favourite color was and still is orange. Yes, because of the color orange I became a Flyers fan\^\^. Loved playing with Gagne, Recchi and LeClair. Since then my heart beats for the Orange and Black.
by Papa-Brickolini
41 Comments
I had no hockey allegiance and the girl I was interested in is a die-hard Flyers fan. I became one so we could bond over something early on 😅
10 years later we’re married and have been to dozens of games. It’s one of our favorite things to do!
I would be suicidal if I was from another city let alone country and decided to pick the flyers of all teams
Sorry that happened to you.
I was born in 1980 and lived in NJ, an hour east of the spectrum. Been a fan for as long as I can remember. I remember my dad used to split the weekend plan with his friend at work and I’d get to go see about 4-5 games a year. Guess that was late 80s early 90s. I remember those tickets were $16 for nosebleeds. Live in MD now and took my 10 year old to his first game last year and paid $100/ticket for almost identical seats 😬 2 hour drive away and who knows what I paid in tolls but well worth it!
Grew up walking distance from the Spectrum. Dad was at Stanley Cup 1. I was at both parades, but too young to remember.
I’m from Brantford, Ontario Canada, I became a Flyer Fan the moment the Edmonton Oiler fans booed Ron Hextal winning the Con Smythe Trophy, Ronnie played his heart out and he deserved that trophy…..GO FLYERS!!
I’m originally from (and am currently back in) just south of Seattle, and had little hockey to view growing up, and no team to call my own. never really watched the sport.
moved to Detroit one year in my 20s, for no good reason, and found that if you wanted to talk to cool people, you should probably like hockey a little, preferably the Wings. after a bunch of nights in dive bars cheering on a sport I barely understood, and a team I was unfamiliar with, I kinda stumbled into loving the sport.
after actually following it for a couple years, and reading about the sports and teams histories, I found that I really gravitated to the Flyers. that was the team for me. and frankly, it’s also my favorite city.
2 decades later, I’m still a die hard Flyers fan first and foremost, forever. but it’s nice to be able to root for a team of my own now. and so far they don’t suck, so that’s nice too.
Birthplace: Delco
Start of Fandom: NHL ’94 for the Genesis
Reason for Fandom: Indoctrination
I couldn’t care less about the Pens. I understand why others think that, but I just don’t care.
Flyers: in the 90s I went to grad school in the area and all my roommates were Flyers fans, and then I married into a Flyers family. Otherwise I like the Sharks and Coyotes.
So, all I know is pain.
Ne Philly born and raised, live in nw Philly now. The 1987 paninni hockey sticker book (Fuhr mask on cover) was the thing at school and I joined in. Started watching emerich and clement on Philly 57 soon after and became hooked.
Sheffield, South Yorkshire. I’ve loved hockey for a long time (let’s go Steelers) and needed an nhl team with grit and chaos, that and I hate myself so who else but the Flyers? That and Gritty, got to love Gritty.
Montreal.
Dad was and is a Flyers fan. He always had a picture with Clarke at the old Spectrum framed in our house. I ended up going to Philly every year for that past 13-14 years and became a diehard fan of the Sixers, Eagles, Phillies and Union too. Got a couple Flyers and Philly related tattoos, an Eagles mancave and Flyers home office in the new house.
Its been painful the last couple years, but I wouldnt have it any other way. LGF !
Eastern shore MD. Been a flyers fan my whole life. More flyers than caps games were aired in my neck of the woods.
Philadelphia 27 Ron Hextall when he clobbered Chris Chelios.
Names Michael, not Mike, used to be Mikey, from K&A, work as a butcher in Camden, learned how to be a man on front and Ontaria, went to North cuz my dads not a bum and has a good job, don’t get me mixed for them rich kids from Frankford, Ron Jaworski is a real quarterback even tho he’s a P******. Vince Papale tried to date my sister Cathleen. Or maybe that was Colleen, can’t rememba, either way she don’t date Italians, she keeps it in the Parish.
Anyways I bleed orange and black. Brothers Danny, Franny and I grew up sneaking into the spectrum to watch the broad street bullies play. Once bummed a cigarette from Hammer Schultz. Players today aren’t the same, they were men back then. Lindros was the last real hockey player. Kids these days don’t play right.
My family is from Atlanta and when my dad was a kid the first live game he saw was the Flames vs. the Flyers. When the Flames left Atlanta he began following the Flyers. Growing up my teams were the Flyers and the Avalanche, eventually just the Flyers because they were east coast and I was able to watch more games. Now my wife and me make at least one trip a year to Philly for a game.
I watched two games of the ’97 finals. It was at the shore with my friends family. I can remember a lot of that trip, but that is the most vivid. I just asked his dad tons of questions as I knew nothing.
It’s a core memory, and from that moment on it’s been all Flyers.
From Philly. My father played hockey, was a goalie, and grew up on the Bullies. I grew up on Hextall, the Legion of Doom, Rod the Bod, etc. And kept up the tradition.
Born and raised in Delco. Live in Moncto now. Got in to hockey at age like 5 or so? The mid/late 90s teams will always be my favorite since those are the ones I idolized as a kid.
England since 1997. We used to get occasional live NHL games shown on Channel 5 here, usually 2/3am starts. As a youngster I didn’t sleep a lot, and at that time there wasn’t much on TV so I would always watch whatever hockey game they were showing that night. I wasn’t a massive fan until I saw my first Flyers game and watched the Legion absolutely smash everything in sight.
I followed that cup run with passion, and even though we were swept by the Red Wings in the finals, I have been hooked ever since.
From Helsinki, Finland. Was absolutely enamored with the playstyle of Ville Leino in the 2010 playoffs. Quickly became a big fan of the Hartnell-Briere-Leino line and the whole Flyers team. I was absolutely heartbroken by the infamous game7 of that very run. But in the same twist, I became a big rooter of the Flyers and Philly sports in general and am still on the same path since then.
Born in Elkins Park PA. Lived in Olney as a child. Now live in chester County.
Fan from birth, I was 1 year and 12 days old when they beat Boston for their first cup
From South Dakota, grew up a North Stars fan. In ’93 had to shop for a new team because I wasn’t going to cheer for a hockey team in Texas. Been a Flyers fan since.
Back in 2020 I’d been following ice hockey for about a year in the UK with the Cardiff Devils. As lockdowns came in I was put on furlough and the UK hockey league came to a stop.
Then the delayed NHL playoffs came about, and I decided as I didn’t need to go in to work early I could stay up and watch the midnight-3am east coast games and had to pick a team to follow.
As it happens, I live in North Wales near Bala, which isn’t far from a small village called Cynwyd, which as you can guess were where a lot of the original Quakers who helped found Philly and Pennsylvania came from, so it made roundabout sense for me to support the Flyers. Add in the great history of the team (first expansion team to win the Cup) and it felt right to stick around!
The fact the team has gone downhill since I started supporting them is of course entirely co-incidental….
I’m from Anchorage, AK. In Alaska you learn to skate about the same time you learn how to walk and played hockey for several hours a day on the ponds. My father was a winger for the Alaska Aces (at that time they were called the Anchorage Aces) and I used to spend a lot of time at The Sullivan Arena in the locker rooms and on the ice before the game started. We would also catch several UAA Seawolves games. So hockey was in my blood from birth.
My father was born in south Philly so anytime the Flyers were on we would watch. The first clothes I ever wore was a Flyers onesie. I had no choice, I was born into the pain.
I‘m from Germany and my Story is kinda like yours. But for me, I was eight and it was NHL 2004. I liked the Logo and the colours. 🙂
Then I lost it over the years, didn‘t had the game for my PS2 and kind of forgot about it. Couldn‘t watch the games and had nobody around who liked Hockey – only Football.
Must have been around January or February this year when I watched Bones and saw Booth with a Flyers Shirt. Then I thought: wait a minute – and started to remember everything from back then. I’ve bought a CCM Jersey from the 90’s and now I’am sitting around waiting till the games start and watch Highlight-Videos on Youtube. Atleast I‘ve found friends in University who like Hockey and Sports in the US (NHL, NFL, …) too, whom I can talk to. 🙂
Born in 98 in Delco (Upper Darby). Parents are Philadelphia lifers so I was born into this and the other fandoms. Wouldn’t have it any other way
Washington DC. I was born in Philly but moved to Japan at age 2 and lived there until 1980 when I came back to the US for first grade. My grandparents in Delco bought me a flyers shirt, a Mylec stick and orange plastic puck and I was hooked. Back then, I could only watch a few Flyers games on TV a year when Caps played away at the Flyers or when I was visiting my grandparents. But then ESPN came along in time for the ’87 cup run.
Ottawa, Canada. Dad took me to a sens flyers game. My first NHL game !!! Lindros dominated for 60 minutes. The rest is history, sorry dad I like the orange team.
Western Canada…I blame Ron Hextall hahah. He was my hockey hero til he turned out to be a total chode.
Live in Pens territory, always hated the Steelers and transferred it to the Pens. School colors were orange and black, and had an uncle who was a fan. Got hooked in middle school from the 2K games and the 09-10 cup run.
Grew up 100% in NY. Brainwashed by dad during the Lindros era. Learned how to read by finding his name in the newspaper. I never stood a chance. Will always be lifelong Flyers no matter what.
Maryland, so not too far. Grew up in the Legion of Doom era and my dad brought me back a Lindross starter jersey from a business trip once. Been a fan ever since.
Raised in Delco during a period of the time when the Flyers were a successful, well run, well regarded franchise. Everyone wanted to be Bobby Clarke or Reggie Leach or Tim Kerr or Brian Propp while playing street hockey with Mylec gear.
My mom was a Flyers fan growing up in the 70s. She got back into hockey in 2003 when Robert Esche was our goalie. Me and Rob are from the same city in upstate New York amd went to the same high school. I was hooked immediately.
I got cut from the high school team the fall after the Flyers lost in the finals and pretty much gave up on hockey. Stopped watching completely.
Esche later brought hockey back to Utica in 2013 and I got to work for the Comets for the first 10 years which was a nice full circle thing for me. 42 got me into hockey twice
From Ohio and I learned the game from playing NHL 94. I played with a bunch of other teams but I loved playing with the Flyers because they checked hard and had great slap shots. Then I got cable and was able to see the 97 SCF vs Detroit and even though we got swept I was hooked. I’m looking to go to a game in Philly soon (probably when we don’t suck).
From New York, moved to Philly and wanted to root for a local team, pretty die hard into the other sports so that left the Flyers, at least the games are cheap and fun!
Currently from Chicago where I gave out of town Blackhawks fans bad directions to the 2010 cup parade as therapy. Miracle on Ice made me a hockey but I had to wait a few years before I was in a hockey market. Eventually ended up in Philly where I immediately became Flyers fanatic.
Alaska. Had two close friends with parents from Philly and they were fans and playing hockey I loved Lindros and the whole broad street bullies and legion of doom style
Live and grew up in CA, my dad grew up in Connecticut watching Hextall and that’s how he found em. I was raised watching their highlights and I remember following the 2010 playoff run as a little kid. I don’t think I’ll ever let them go
I’m from Berks county Pa and from a young age it was you are a flyers fan or nothing. I have soft spots for the caps though because of all of the players I saw in Reading when they were affiliates and Hershey which has always been my families go to for live hockey. I have drifted away from watching because I would get so worked up with how hapless the flyers are but they are still and always will be my favorite NHL team.
Born and raised in Philly. Grew up watching Flyer in mid-late 1980’s.
Earliest Flyers memories was the playoffs (JJ Daigneault goal!) that led to 1987 Stanley Cup final versus Edmonton Oilers.
The Flyers, Gene Hart, the Spectrum — that’s what gave this franchise such lore and magic.