NY Islanders fans sound off; the pre-game siren won't be coming back

Isles Nation spoke and the New York Islanders organization listened.

NY Islanders fans sound off; the pre-game siren won't be coming back

Before puck drop at the season-opener on Thursday night, the organization introduced what they had hoped would be the start of a new pre-game tradition - the cranking of an air raid siren to pay homage to the goal siren that played throughout the 1980's and early '90s at the Nassau Coliseum.

But minutes before face-off on Saturday night's game against the Anaheim Ducks, the team announced on Twitter that following the response from fans, it will be one and done for the siren in 2022-23. The video posted shows the team's mascot, Sparky, enthusiastically disposing of the siren in the garbage.

The stage was set before the game. Islanders legend John Tonelli with an assist from actor Ralph Macchio would crank the new shiny siren sitting on a blue and orange stand to get the crowd into a frenzy right before puck drop. But the fans turned on what sounded like a good idea when the sound didn't conjure up memories of the 1980s but rather generated perplexed faces.

It didn't sound the way it was supposed to sound. "Experts" on social media point to the fact that Tonelli didn't have to crank the siren over and over again, just once or twice would've done the trick. But instead, JT kept doing it over and over again and the sound got progressively worse.

It wasn't just the sound that irked some fans, but also that the gimmick didn't feel authentic after the Carolina Hurricanes introduced a "Siren Sounder" before their games recently.

The idea wasn't bad and it was well-intentioned. In the team's 50th anniversary season, a way to bridge the old with the new and have an interactive way for loyal fans, celebrities and Isles alumni to make an appearance before the game. But the execution on night one prevented there being a night two and beyond for the siren.

It's great that the organization is so cognizant of how the fanbase feels and were willing to act swiftly and not double down on a doomed idea. The spirit of what they were trying to do was in the right place, and hopefully an alternative can one day successfully be implemented to achieve the same goal of furthering the in-game experience for the Islanders fans.