How long have you been an Islanders Fan?
I've been an Islanders fan all my life. I really started getting
into it in 1979, 1980. I come from a family of Islanders
fans. They're the pride and joy of Long Island.
What do you remember about your first game?
My first game was against the Detroit Red Wings and the
Isles blew them out. The Islanders won by a score of
something like 7-1. It was a regular season game and I
remember sitting in the 300's behind the net, way, way,
way up top. In the last row of the Coliseum you can't really
see the top of the scoreboard, so I remember scooting down
the aisle to see how much time was left in the game. It was
probably 1980 or 1981.
What are your feelings about growing
up in the Town of Brookhaven?
It was really a great place to grow up. I went to Patchogue
High School and I wouldn't change a thing. Growing up
there as an Islanders fan was great. Those were the glory
years. I remember playing hockey in the street as a kid and
everybody would be wearing a different Islanders jersey.
My brother is actually a Suffolk County Detective in the 5th
Precinct in Brookhaven. My sister-in-law is a cop there, too.
How often do you come back to Long Island?
I don't get to come back as often as I'd like to, but I come
back for a week or so here and there. I came back for
Opening Night and I flew in special for the Arbour game.
Hopefully, I'll get to go to a few games over the Christmas
holiday.
What made you decide to wear the
Islanders hat on Entourage?
It was just my shout out to the Islanders and Long Island.
My boss, Doug Ellin, the executive producer of the show is
also a die-hard Islanders fan. He's from Merrick and he had
season tickets growing up. He was actually at the Bossy 50
in 50 game when he was a little kid. Anyway, in the episode
they wanted me to wear a hat so I just pulled out my
Islanders hat and put it on my head. The guys from the
show are from Queens so it's not a stretch that one of them
could be an Islanders fan. I'm going to try to do an Islanders
shout out every season. I think I'm going to wear an
Islanders t-shirt next year.
Who is your favorite current Islanders player?
I have two. Obviously DP. He's the superstar of the team.
I'm a big Mike Comrie fan, too. I know him and he's a
scrapper. He's definitely my favorite new acquisition and I
hope he stays around for a while.
Who is your favorite player of all-time?
It has to be Mike Bossy.
What was it like for you to meet him?
It was strange because he actually called me. I was sitting
on the couch watching the Yankees game and I went to
check my messages and all of a sudden I hear 'Hi Kevin,
this is Mike Bossy.' I thought it was a joke. I thought it was
either him or someone who did a great Mike Bossy
imitation. But when Mike Bossy calls you and invites you
to an event, it's pretty amazing. It's like being a kid from
Chicago having Michael Jordan give you a call. It was
incredible. I showed the clip of the shootout I did with him
to Doug Ellin and he was pretty jealous.
Living on the West Coast, have you
been able to follow the team?
Oh yeah. I watch about 50 or 60 games in full every year.
Yesterday, for the Islanders/Rangers game, I was on a
plane, so I missed it. When the plane landed, as soon as I
could, I tried to go to ESPN.com on my Blackberry to get
the score.
What's your favorite Islanders
moment of all time?
When the Islanders were going for the record of most
consecutive wins against the Colorado Rockies, for some
reason I had to listen to the game on the radio. I remember
sitting there with my ear pressed against the speaker. In
those days when a game ended in a tie - it was just a tie.
There was no shootout or anything. It was late in the game
and it was tied up 2-2. John Tonelli scored with about: 47
seconds left in the game against Chico Resch to give them
the record of 15 consecutive regular season wins. It's the
only time in my life I've every really been jumping up and
down in front of a radio.