NHL Rivalries: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Pittsburgh Penguins

In the past I looked on other NHL rivalries with envy. As a Columbus Blue Jackets fan we seemed to be missing out on the excitement that NHL rivalries brought to franchises. For the Blue Jackets that seemed to change last year when the Columbus Blue Jackets played the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They were exciting games in which no lead was safe. There were fights and overtime winners. The crowd at Nationwide Arena seemed to come alive with passion that was normally reserved in Columbus for Ohio State football Saturdays. The Jackets lost the series 4-2, but as that series ended there was a sense that it was just a beginning in Columbus.

Then the 2014-2015 season started with a litany of injuries. The Blue Jackets played a lot of up and down hockey. It was apparent by the All-Star break that they would not make the playoffs. It was disappointing that after seeing the potential of what a playoff run would look like in Columbus that it would be at least another year before we could see it again. But there were four games this season where we could see the passion again.

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No matter if they were on a high or on a low this season the Columbus Blue Jackets played the Pittsburgh Penguins as if it were a game in the Eastern Conference Finals. In their third meeting this year, a 2-1 Blue Jackets win, Brandon Dubinksy and Sidney Crosby fought. This team get’s under Sidney’s skin.

But I wasn’t ready for yesterday.

I went to the game at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets had been officially eliminated from the playoffs. The Penguins were still fighting for positioning, and trying to avoid the possibility of not making the playoffs themselves.

The building seemed to be a third Penguins fans. All game long there were rival chants of “Lets Go Jack-ets!” that were met with “Let’s Go Pens!”. The Penguins took a 2-0 lead. It was odd seeing the majority of the arena silent while a vocal group cheered as the Blue Jackets went down on their home ice.

As the second period drew to a close the desperation of the home crowd was almost tangible as we chanted “C-B-J! C-B-J!” Imagine yelling into space where there is no sound. A useless feeling, a feeling of the desperate who know that while this team wouldn’t be playing in the playoffs at least we could beat the Penguins. The hated Penguins. A hate against anyone who says Columbus isn’t a “big league” town, against those who laugh when we languished in last place and against those who derided us as if we didn’t belong in their league.

The Penguins embody these feelings for Blue Jacket fans. Sidney Crosby is the star while the Jackets feel like the comparative no name blue collar workers. The Pittsburgh Penguins have a history of Mario Lemuix and Stanley Cup victories while the Columbus Blue Jackets are just finding out and establishing what their identity is. Columbus is infested with either displaced or bandwagon jumping Penguin fans while the Blue Jackets are fighting to make this not just “a” hockey town but a Blue Jackets town.

Then as the final few minutes of the second period passed the Blue Jackets came to life and scored two goals. The mood in the arena changed. The chants of “C-B-J!” started to drown out those wearing black and gold.

Nick Foligno scored an empty net goal in the third to finish the game and his hat trick. The building erupted. Fans took joy waving good-bye to the Penguins fans who didn’t want to stay for the final horn. As Foligno mentioned the “5th line” in his post game comments the crowd roared. As the fans filed out of the arena there was some yelling back and forth between the Blue Jackets and Penguins fans. This normally ended with Blue Jacket fans laughing. It was a day for them to enjoy.

Do Penguin fans hate the Blue Jackets with the same vigor that Jackets fans hate the Penguins? I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter as far as I am concerned, because it isn’t about logic or having someone to yell at, or being able to check the box for “Yes we have a rival now”.

It’s about that mix of passion and emotion. It’s about that shared identity that a fan base creates. It’s about a Blue Jacket’s fan spotting another fan someday, someone they have never met and only identify because they see the shield on a hat or shirt, and being able to reminisce about Calvert’s overtime goal, or Folignio’s hat trick against the Penguins. The rivalry with the Pittsburgh Penguins is about galvanizing and making a fanbase strong.

As soon as the schedule comes out next year there are at least four games you know we the fans will circle. If yesterday was any indication the Blue Jackets will have all five lines ready.

We Are The 5th Line

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