The uptown 1 train station was one block and one avenue away from my apartment growing up. That route to the subway was my favorite — it usually meant I was on my way to Madison Square Garden.
I wonder how many times my dad and I have done that walk, descended to the undergrounds of New York City, squeezed our way onto a dimly lit subway car and gotten thrown out at Penn Station amongst a sea of Rangers fans. Maybe 800 times? More?
My journey to becoming The Salt Lake Tribune’s Utah Hockey Club beat reporter started there.
The opening years of my fandom saw me swallowed in a far-too-large Jaromir Jagr jersey adorned with ketchup stains and lost drops of chocolate ice cream. I was surprised with a Brandon Dubinsky jersey for my 10th birthday and later graduated to my lucky Rangers leather jacket that brought the team a handful of Game 7 victories.
I think, at first, I liked hockey because it was a three-hour bubble of time I got to spend with my dad. He grew up playing and loving the sport and was my first teacher of the game. I’d memorize the Rangers’ roster, the players’ hometowns, positions and stats to impress him.
His in-game quizzes were my favorite. “OK Belle, he’s a defenseman with a left shot and from Minnesota,” my dad would say. “Ryan McDonagh,” I’d eagerly respond. He could rarely stump me.
My dad, little sister and I at Madison Square Garden for a Rangers game.
Hockey and the Rangers came to feel like something I belonged to. New York City can be daunting for a young kid; playgrounds were crowded and street noises were loud. I wasn’t quite sure where I fit in.
Madison Square Garden felt like home. It made me feel a part of something greater than myself and connected me on a deeper level to my fellow New Yorkers. There was nothing more exhilarating than receiving high fives from strangers, having beer fly all over you and singing the goal song at the top of your lungs at 9:30 pm on a school night.
My enthusiasm, curiosity and drive all originated in section 109, row 10, seat 16 as I learned about the game in front of me and what it took to succeed at the NHL level.
In the mornings after games, I’d run to the neighborhood bodega with my crumpled cash and purchase the New York Post and the New York Daily News. I loved reading the journalists’ reactions and always saved the cover if the Rangers graced it.
Me, at 9 years old, standing outside Madison Square Garden.
Now, being in the position to tell those same stories, is nothing short of a dream come true. Hockey has given me so much; for better or for worse, it occupies a significant part of my identity. To be able to share the sport with a new audience is something I’m tremendously grateful for and a responsibility I don’t take lightly.
I felt like a kid again sitting at Utah Hockey Club’s opening night at the Delta Center. Seeing fans leap from their seats as Dylan Guenther scored the franchise’s first goal and hug the person next to them when Lawson Crouse potted one late in the third to secure the 5-2 win is what this sport is all about.
Yes, the score matters, the fights are fun and there’s dazzling talent out there on the ice. But beyond that, hockey creates a sense of community unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. It’s been a privilege watching Utahns embrace that side of the NHL.
The week I moved to Salt Lake City is one I’ll never forget. My parents dropped everything to help me start this next chapter of my life and I’m forever indebted to them for it. From the Target runs, building furniture, mapping out the area and an excessive Trader Joe’s haul, we got a lot done in a few days. My mom and dad have collectively read every word I’ve written, and this journey is as special as it is because I get to share it with them.
On Saturday, I took the same route to the uptown 1 train. I crossed to 14th Street, headed up Seventh Avenue to the subway station and got spat out at Penn Station. Utah Hockey Club was facing the New York Rangers for their opening night at Madison Square Garden, and I was there covering it for The Tribune.
It’s funny how full-circle life can be. I’m not the same person I was as a kid going to Rangers games. For one — and it’s a shock to all those close to me — I hike now. But New York hockey raised me and allowed me to find a new home, Utah.
I remember my dad once asked me, “How many hours of our lives do you think we’ve spent watching hockey?” Little did we both know what my profession would be. I couldn’t be happier to be logging those hours at the Delta Center this season with all of you.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake Tribune reporter Belle Fraser reports on Utah Hockey Club's first game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
