from Adam Fox at The Players' Tribune,

There’s no place like home.

I’ve played nearly 200 games in my NHL career — not a veteran by any stretch, but not a rookie either — and yet I still have to pinch myself sometimes when I think about it.

I’m playing for the New York Rangers, my hometown team, in Madison Square Garden. I’m living my dream.

Every game day, when I get to pull the sweater over my shoulder pads, I take a moment to remember the excitement — the passion — I felt when I was a kid and my dad and I would drive into the city on our way to a game. He had season tickets for 30-something years, and I was lucky enough to go to quite a few games as a kid. I remember being stuck in traffic on the Long Island Expressway, thinking about what the lines would be like that night, what jerseys the Rangers would be wearing, if we’d make it in time to catch warmup — all that stuff.

And my dad … let’s just say that he’s a passionate fan. I mean ... he’s a New Yorker, you know?? He cares a lot about this team. He used to give a few guys a hard time when things weren’t going our way, just like every fan does.

Those nights at the Garden … I don’t know if in my wildest dreams I ever could have really pictured myself out there. Something about that place, that team, it just felt special. And I was just a kid from Jericho, Long Island, who liked to play hockey. When I was there, on those big nights, there was nothing like it.

Every time I walk into the Garden, there’s just this energy. And for me? Everything always comes back to the Garden.

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