sarah

From Tampere, Finland

Whether you’re old or new— years long, started this season, came back this season, or just came in for the playoffs; a leaving bandwagon fan, or sticking around for next season, thank you for being here.

Thank you for supporting this team this playoffs season, especially after this rough Western Conference Final. Thank you for learning their names. Thank you for celebrating their wins. Thank you for experiencing this with me.

Thank you to the fans that didn’t stop believing after February. Thank you to the fans who stayed until the end of this series’s game six.

This game didn’t properly show off what the Stars are capable of. They are so much more than series. They have a lot of young star players; this is only the beginning.

To the new fans, I truly hope you stick around. I hope you get to feel the joy of watching a Stars broadcast and listen to Josh Bogorad and Razor crack jokes. I hope you see Roope get even more hat tricks. I hope you see how fun this team can be.

This team is underrated. I bet most of you hadn’t even heard of many of our star players, no matter how high their goals, assists, and points were compared to the rest of the league. Most of the broadcasts didn’t think the Stars could even make it this far.

This team can thrive in planned and prepared chaos. This team can rally together for one of their teammates. This team can be a total disaster, or the biggest heroes, and there is hardly any in between. But nevertheless, this team is a family.

To the old fans, it thrills me how much you support this team. They deserve every ounce of it. This team can be frustrating, but what family isn’t?

To the new fans, welcome home. I hope you stay, but if you don’t, thank you for renting us.

One state, one team, one dream, one family.