Union and Blue
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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 *** /
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2 Mar 2002: Goaltender Ron Tugnutt
2 Mar 2002: Goaltender Ron Tugnutt /

Lansing Murphy

LM: I always loved the cold. I grew up in the cold. I skied, I ice fished, I snowshoed, I skated on ponds with friends. But hockey is an expensive sport so I never played organized hockey. I didn’t watch the NHL growing up and only really followed a local college hockey team.

I came to Columbus for school and fell in love with the city. I loved the Buckeyes and loved how the city was all in for Ohio State Athletics. I missed the cold though. Columbus has a warm winter from what I was used to so I looked to find some manufactured cold.

I was a college hockey guy so I went to as many games as possible my freshman year at the Schott. The hockey Bucks weren’t great but it reignited my hockey spark. I wanted more. I needed more. So I went to my first CBJ game buying $15 student rush tickets. That was all I needed.

Nationwide Arena is an incredible venue and the speed of the NHL blew me away. I loved everything about it. I was lucky enough to go to a Pittsburgh game with three friends, all from Ohio. They hated Pittsburgh and that made the game I attended fantastic. The raw passion, emotion, speed and skill all mixed together to create an addiction that still afflicts me to this day.

Go Jackets.

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