Islanders (ice-hockey): American Standards

A world-sports journalist named Satan travels to Elmont (NY) to do an 'identity-feature' of the value of ice-hockey in American diet.

A sports-fable nod to the special 'place' in American daydreams held by sports-fans, referencing the fun NHL ice-hockey team the NY Islanders (but without any official/formal design!). Enjoy, 

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My name's Amlan Satan. I'm a reporter for the Sports Globe, an independent newspaper in modern times exploring the sociocultural impact of competitive athletics on identity and society. I'm currently in Amsterdam (Netherlands) doing a feature on the value of Dutch national soccer in Amsterdam street-culture.

SPORTS GLOBE: Satan (Amlan) is arguably our most reliable and incisive sports-culture journalist/photographer!

It's true, the Dutch national soccer team, especially in its golden era during the 1970s, highlighted a sociocultural focus on the value and weight of soccer as a 'national-identity' sport for the good people of the Netherlands. The Cruyff-led Dutch side boasted an incredible squad that reached consecutive World Cup finals games in the '70s. This altered the way the street people of Amsterdam raved about the symbolism behind competitive athletics in Europe.

I then travel to JFK Airport (NY/USA) to do a second feature on the comparable appeal of ice-hockey in America and the value/weight of NHL (National Hockey League) among the good people of New York (USA). I'm doing a feature on the iconic NHL men's ice-hockey team, the NY Islanders, who won 4 consecutive Stanley Cup trophies in the late 1970s. The JFK Airport is busy when I arrive in the USA and I notice the immediate American national amenities, marking why the USA is the world's official 'Big Brother' in commerce/government.

I take up residence at a NHL-associate in Elmont, New York, a very symbolic if quaint NY residential area near the UBS Arena, where the NY Islanders (NHL) play/compete. Elmont is 'typically-American' and instantly offers me ideas on why ice-hockey is so canonical and popular among the good people living here.

UBS ARENA: The New York Islanders must return to Stanley Cup glory, and this new stadium will encourage good spirits.

It's true, the fabled NY Islanders won the Stanley Cup title in four consecutive years (1979-1980, 1980-1981, 1981-1982, 1982-1983)! Since then, however the people of Elmont mostly remember those TV 'glory-days' when their local ice-hockey team was crowned superior.

Unlike European soccer, American ice-hockey is much more gritty and dangerous and teamwork-reliant and coach-sensitive. The teams are offered endorsements by major American companies, and media/TV-broadcast games bring the Elmont community/communities together as they cheer on the Islanders, hoping they'll snatch another Cup.

ISLANDERS COACH: In the late '70s, the Islanders were kings, and we have to find ways to return to that state.

The new NY Islanders coach is none other than Stanley Miles, who once coached the national college champions in ice-hockey, the Princeton Tigers. Now, Miles is hoping to bring the new era Islanders back to Cup-glory, and he's recruited and trained a very hard-working and gifted ice-hockey star in John Tavares who's hailed as the potential 'Savior' of Elmont ice-hockey. Coach Miles believes in his new-gen ice-hockey team in Elmont.

COACH MILES: We want to see our team/stars get back on the covers of these New York hockey papers/magazines!

I'm doing a special feature now on the NY Islanders in this new era competing with their ugly rivals the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Unfortunately, the Lighting lead the Tavares-Islanders 3-2, but Coach Miles believes the fans of Elmont will inject this new-gen series with a certain 'diary' flair.

ISLANDERS FAN: We're proud of Tavares and our ice-hockey team year-after-year, regardless of heartbreaks!

Sure, sure, but these good people of Elmont will not admit they'd love to see the new-gen Islanders return Elmont to Stanley Cup glory and New York to a state of Stanley Cup honors. The Islanders are long-overdue for a national title, and the NHL wants them to win! You can see therefore how the competitive imagination behind broadcast ice-hockey in the USA gives way to a special 'folk' sociocultural/national identity regarding 'shared' diamonds.

“What I want to do is put the puck in the net and make sure I'm contributing all over the ice” (Tavares!). 

As I cover this touted Lightning-Islanders series and personally enjoy the Elmont games in the UBS Arena, I wonder if this new-gen Islanders squad, under Coach Miles, will offer the good people of New York a renewed sense of 'jeweled' dollars.

HERALD: We care about community spirit in our area, and the Islanders successes contributes to that storytelling.

So, you can see why we people on Earth appreciate sports-spirited films like Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise), Slap Shot (Paul Newman), and Any Given Sunday (Al Pacino); since they cater to our human sociocultural 'sense' of...dreams! Thanks for following.

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"Money is everything" (Ecclesiastes)