If Sean Avery was to give an Oscar-like speech, it might go something like, “You guys like me. You really, really like me!”
There was an immense show of support some Rangers fans showed for him during last night’s home opener in the form of a massive banner as Mike Mazzeo of ESPN shared.
As a fan named Don shared in the story, he feels that the Rangers need a spark plug-like guy like Avery in their lineup to keep the team going. Don isn’t the only one feeling that way either as Henrik Lundqvist more or less said the same thing.
Seeing fans respond that way for any player they feel the team needs is nothing new. But supporting Sean Avery? That’s a new one. Avery upsetting opposing fans is nothing new, but getting even the home fans to rally around him that way is stunning.
Do the Rangers need him though? Given that there’s a rotation of guys no contributing a whole lot to the team in Kris Newbury, Erik Christensen, and occasionally Wojtek Wolski... Maybe there’s a place in New York for Sean Avery after all. After what coach John Tortorella has said about Avery this year, however, there might be more appearances by banners in Madison Square Garden this season than there will be from Avery.