Union and Blue
Fansided

Columbus Blue Jackets: How We Became CBJ Fans

By Preston Byers

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 18: Columbus Blue Jackets mascot Stinger cheers with fans during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 18, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus defeated Pittsburgh 5-4. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 18: Columbus Blue Jackets mascot Stinger cheers with fans during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 18, 2017 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Columbus defeated Pittsburgh 5-4. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 7
Next
MONTREAL, QC – FEBRUARY 28: Max Pacioretty
MONTREAL, QC – FEBRUARY 28: Max Pacioretty /

Preston Byers

PB: Out of the five of us, I’m actually the only Columbus native. I was born and raised in Columbus and I hadn’t been away until this past August when I moved to Youngstown for school.

Despite living 15 minutes away from Nationwide Arena for basically my entire life, I’ve never been to a Blue Jackets game (that I can remember) and I didn’t even watch hockey consistently until earlier this year. My family just didn’t care about hockey. It’s pretty much football and some basketball in my house.

This job is actually what got me into hockey. I applied to be a writer for FanSided’s Cleveland Indians site (not a huge baseball fan, to be honest), and they recommended that I help out as a co-expert for Union and Blue instead. I accepted and I started watching pretty much every game (because how was I supposed to write about the team if I didn’t know anything about them). It was a lot more fun than I remembered.

I think what made it better was being around people that loved hockey (like Lansing) and interacting with a large and passionate fanbase like the Fifth Line.

It’s been a blast since joining U&B in late February and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Blue Jackets and our site.

Home/Editorials