It's been a tough year for Rangers fans. They've watched their team -- Marian Gaborik and Henrik Lundqvist more specifically -- show occasional flashes of ability, but, more often than not, they've watched them lose low-scoring slogs thanks to an undertalented roster. For one Rangers fan, things seemed to get a little tougher on Sunday.
The videoboard proposal has a long, proud history in sports. Usually, the message is met with mocking chants of "Don't do it!" from the crowd before everyone cheers when the woman says yes to the proposal. That's the way it usually goes down. On Valentine's Day, however, a Rangers fan named Nick seemed to have a long season get even worse when he asked Melissa to be his "Blueshirt Bride."
It seems not everyone shares the idea that life doesn't get more romantic than a Sunday afternoon of whistling followed by hearty exhortations about how much Potvin sucks. Based on their jerseys, we should have known they weren't going to last. She's home, he's away and no one is willing to convert.
Don't feel too bad for the guy, though. According to an email sent to Deadspin, the proposal appears to have been a prank. It's a prank we've seen before and one we'll see again, but a highly effective one because of how often couples really do seal their love in front of thousands of sweaty, beer-soused fans. The point of such pranks, since none of the targets actually realize they are getting pranked, are a bit hard to understand but, then, so are most of Glen Sather's personnel decisions.
If the claims of fraud aren't correct, though, at least Nick can console himself with a strong weekend of Rangers hockey. They knocked off the Penguins on Friday night in overtime and scored the final five goals in a 5-2 victory against the Lightning on Sunday. That leaves them a point out of the playoffs as the league shuts down for the Olympics, which isn't fantastic but is probably a good bit better than they'd seem to deserve based on their results for most of the season.
Perhaps Nick's rejection, if real, will inspire the team for the rest of the season so that they can show Melissa what she's missing when the camera shows Nick and his new squeeze at a big playoff game. Just don't propose during that matchup, buddy.
