Let me start over here

I guess that I should have taken the time to do a little bit of introducing myself before I jumped right into posting. So, if you good folks don’t mind, I’ll say a few things about myself here, and my apologies for not doing this earlier.

For starters, though, let me first thank Gary for inviting me to be able to post here and write my meaningless opinions and observations. I was quite humbled and honored to have been asked, though, in all honesty, I am just an Islanders fan, like so many others, who have suffered and hung in there for years and years supporting and backing our hockey club. Over the time I have read blogs and have commented on Gary’s, I never actually thought I’d be asked to participate in posting on a blog. So, this is something relatively new for me.

Now, as for some background on me, as Gary mentioned in a recent post, my name is John Panarese, and I am a blind New York Islanders and hockey fan. I have been following the Isles for well over 30 years now, which began when my uncle Steve used to slip myself or my brothers dollar bills to change the television station to the Islanders games that, back then, were on our local channel 11. I am and have always been a big baseball and New York Mets fan, but there was something about the game of Hockey that quickly caught my interest and attention. It was the pace and excitement and non-stop action of just about every minute, and I honestly was hooked rather quickly. Also back then, I was taught to hate the New York Rangers and basically live and breathe the blue and orange of the New York Islanders. This was well before the Stanley Cup days when we were the “new kids” on the local hockey block.

Through the years, I have been part owner of Islanders season tickets for a dozen or so year span, as well as having attended countless games since around 1984. I have been a member of the Isles booster club for four years now, though because of my disability and inability to drive, I an unable to make the club functions. Still, I am always with them in spirit, and I applaud the efforts and dedication of the members.

I would not make any claims at all to be an “expert” in the game of hockey nor would I say that I am “qualified” to offer anything all that insightful beyond basic opinion. However, I also have a big interest in the NHL overall, following games on XM Satellite Radio and the NHL Game Center online package (yeah, I have no life). I am also a fantasy hockey owner, and if one wishes to kill time or has nothing else in the world to do, one can check out my very novice and low-quality blog about the fantasy hockey league I am in on, http://www.jpanarese23.wordpress.com though I warn you that I am still learning this whole blogging deal.

In any event, again, my thanks to G for inviting me along for the ride, and I hope I can offer something interesting and entertaining for you good folks out there.