SWEATER NITE 26 Official Letter

Welcome to the Blog, 

I guess you all know why you're here.

My name is Tommy and i like to drink cold beer.

well, that's an obvious typo (one of many) we all know by now that this blog is the creation of a talented typing Dog in Monmouth County, named after the Ranger great Stephan Matteau Matteau Matteau. That Tommy fellow will have to remain behind the curtain until he retires.

I assume if you are reading this that you are either part of the greater Sweater Nite Community OR a Russian-Chinese hacker from the Wuhan Lab trying to spy on Bayridge. If the former, then pull up a chair, pour a beer and enjoy the letter.........if however, the latter defines you, then you better try another weather ballon because we ain't spillin secrets.

Allow me to bring first time visitors up to speed...this Blog was started in 2006 and has been a running commentary on all things that matter in a polite society....Beeer, Hockey, Politics and Beeeer. I have sprinkled in some classic tales from the 11209 and the occasional memory from childhood, the Navy or a prior life....I'm sure you will recognize some of the Characters of the Night, the gin mills of yesteryear and the ancient empty streets to dead for dreaming. Feel free to spend the next rainy Saturday going back through the archives at the bottom and reading year by year by 17 or 18 years. In a recent Gallup poll of my loyal readers, the Derby Rant was voted favorite annual post....on the first Saturday each May we combine the names of every horse entered in the Derby into one long run-on thought/story that culminates with my prognostication for the big Race. if grammar and spelling are your kryptonite's...turn around now Miss Forbes ( or Prof O'Mara) because this blog is typed in the spirit of Jack Kerouac and the Original Scroll......just get the thought out and down on paper and let the editors worry about corrections......giddy up.

Last year We celebrated the Silver Jubilee, the 25th recurrence of Sweater Nite. I must admit that by 3:00 i was already satisfied with the day's events. Attendance was great, they came from far and wide....PC's was festive and welcoming as always, Steve Mac and JC executed a flawless and well thought out Setlist, food was served, drink was flowing and i managed to deliver my incantation before losing my grip on sobriety. ....and then 

I was shocked and a wee bit confused when i spied Ranger Great Nicky Fotiu coming round the corner of 72nd Street. Never in a million years could i have imagined something like this. The annual beeer drinking and Sweater wearing bash that started in my basement on 73rd street being graced, and i do mean graced, by the presence of true NY success story. I believe even the Islanders fans were impressed by his graciousness. He signed autographs, shook hands, told stories and insisted on doing an open microphone Q&A. This Favored Son from the Isle of Staten seemed right at home in Bayridge. In the days that followed multiple people phoned to share their interactions with Nicky, he seemed to have a story or connection with half the room. He definitely appreciated my Hartford Whaler Gordie Howe Sweater, he signed the whale tail and then posed for pictures by the car as he was leaving to drive back to Cape Cod. He went into the trunk and gave me an autographed photo of Him, Mark and Gordie Howe when they played together in Hartford. a true gentleman. He knew my Great Nephew Matthews hockey coach in Massachusetts and chatted with the 10-year-old about his current hockey team and coach.

I dug a little further on Nicky to refresh my memory and came across some astonishing facts....if ever there was a life story ready for the big screen....this was it.

While growing up on Staten Island he was a fan of the Rangers....at the age of 15 (1967) he finally was going to see them play at the Garden.....he took the Ferry to Manhattan, visited his Grandmother in Little Italy for Sunday dinner and then went into MSG to see the Rangers vs the expansion Flyers. He says he heard the voice of God as he entered the arena, and God told him he was going to play for the Rangers......Keep in mind he was 15 and had never played hockey before.....but he believed it....he bought a pair of second hand skates and the following week he got up at 3:00 a.m........he rode a bus to the ferry....he took the ferry to Manhattan....and then doubled back on the subway to Coney Island and the Abe Stark arena for open skate ( he would skate for 90 minutes and then do the commute in reverse to go to High School)  he said he would carry a hand axe in his gym bag in case anyone gave him trouble on the trip....from these humble beginnings to a 13 year career in the NHL and a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals with Calgary in 1986, he was the first New Yorker to ever play for the Rangers and he was the toughest....but it was his personality and his interactions with the fans, his incredible fundraising and charity work that endeared him to Ranger Nation and NYC..I was working at the D.A.C. when he came to shake hands with Wall street suits and collect checks that would go to the building of the New Dorp Hockey Bubble (Home of the St Francis Terriers Hockey team) ...as luck would have it he scored 2 goals the night before against the Penguins, and as he would bluntly state in his speech in the Heisman room "Timing is Everything"...I was on a Bus Trip to Montreal with the My Former Head linesmen and the Fan club in the early 80's ....about 600 Ranger Fans all with standing room only tix in  the upper deck of the Forum , and of course Nick was the last one off the ice in the pregame warmups....and he starts flinging pucks up into the rafters.....only about half made it to the top of the arena, the others fell on unsuspecting Montreal Frogs.....classic Nicky.

I would like to sincerely thank those that played a role in getting Nicky to attend and for the Autographed photo of Misters Messier and Gretzky.

speaking of Gretzky......the unfathomable may become a reality....his all-time goals record of 894 is in the cross hairs of the Russian Bear Alex Ovechkin......as of this writing Ovie needs 64 goals to tie. I feel it is unfair to compare players from different eras, and i have great respect for Ovechkin...but some observations .... the NHL did not adopt its current regular season overtime format of 4 on 4 play until AFTER Gretzky had retired.....can you imagine what the great one would have done with all that open ice with one less skater on either side?  Ovie has 26 OT goals.....i have to think Wayne would have at least that many.........this one is tricky...Ovechkin has 98 more PPG......the Caps power play has always revolved around #8.....he was always option #1........Gretzky on the other hand played with a much better supporting Cast...and although he benefitted from that overall, it also meant he shared the Power play with future Hall of Famers , unlike Ovie he was NOT the only option....nowhere is that more evident than in the fact that #99 has  nearly 1,300 more assists (1,283).....think about that....Gretzky has more assists (1963) than Ovechkin has total points (1,510)......Gretzky retired at 38.....Alex just turned 38......he will probably have to play 2 more years to match the record........to those of us old enough to have enjoyed Gretzky's career from the start, there simply is no comparison between the two...if Ovechkin hangs around and scores 900 it will not change my opinion, but here's hoping an injury, asteroid or a second Fauci Pandemic stops him short.......side note....Me and Admiral Jack Duffy spent a week in Gretzky's Toronto bar during the 93 World Series, and Grandma Gretzky's pierogis are better than any delicacy the Moscow Dynamo can cook up. ....giddy up

Speaking of Horsies.....the 2024 and possibly 2025 Belmont Stakes will be held on the Storied Grounds of Saratoga Springs as Belmont Park is being fumigated after an infestation of disease, plague and homo-ness from their next-door neighbors.......might warrant a trip north or at least a BBQ to watch the Historic race.

We all know the migrant crisis is out of hand, but sending these folks to Secaucus and forcing them to board a NJ Transit Train to NY is a cruel and unusual punishment. The UN needs to look into human rights abuses....nobody should ever have to switch trains at the Boondoggle Lautenberg Monument...the bar in the waiting room serves warm beeer for Criminy Sakes.......side note...the Bar in The Moynihan Train Hall across from MSG serves ice cold Brooklyn Lager in a real GLASS pint......side side note....the Molly Wee may be back on the chopping block if Horrible Hochul has her way....the evil Governor wants to take about 10 buildings on 8th ave under eminent domain bullshit, knock them down and build ....you guessed it....office towers.....the NYC of 2050 will be a 10 block corridor stretching from the Hudson yards to the Empire State Building and 30th to 34th street....The Corporations that remain will move their HQ's to this sector....a new train station below ground to deliver workers from the NJ suburbs,  and all the inmates will never leave the heavily guarded complex... and the rest of the island will be turned over to the bloods, Cripps  and Latin Kings or MS 13......also in the Crosshairs are the Blarney Stone, Tir Na Nog and Tracks.......i can only speak for myself...but the more my city disappears, the easier it will be to leave.....I weep for the Reade Street Pub, the Beekman and the Old Suspenders....Grateful that i spent as much time in those gems as i did....and i still regret the handful of days i foolishly did not stop somewhere for a cold one....life is short, drink up.

Can't make it up.....as i sit here enjoying a cold beer and typing the letter i get a text from Jonny Ti Jean Caddotte inquiring about Sweater Nite 26 and then a knock at the front door from UPS (Will Danaher they're coming to the front door....whats the matter ?, is the back door not good enough for him) and the Koozies have been delivered. (Nicer than Mulligans i might add). Still waiting on the Sweater Delivery from the Uyghurs Repatriation Camp , this years Official Sweaters will be awarded to two loyal skaters.. Chris Coughlin and Margie Z Bird.....and a special commemorative Sweater will be awarded to Mike Gallagher and the Lief.... Finally, we have 4 seats in an Executive Box for the Devils-Flyers Game at Giants stadium that we are raffling Off. Sat Feb 17th, Free Food and Booze....Please click on the link below to register.

http:\\satanlikeshockey2

Leave it to a bunch of teenage hockey players to restore a little faith and pride in our Country. (In case you missed it, search You Tube) The USA Hockey Team won the Gold medal at the World Junior Championships, these kids are good, really good; and will playing in the NHL soon.....but as much fun as it was to watch them dominate on the ice, what happened next was sweeter. At the medal ceremony and playing of the National Anthem, they stood shoulder to shoulder and sang along; the Unbridled Joy and Pride burst through the TV and you couldn't help but feel a swell in the heart as you watched. No Kneeling, no sitting, no profanity or crotch grabbing, no speeches about LGBTQ-LMNOP, No Black Olives matter, no rapinoe or krappernick .....just red-blooded American Pride on Display....good on ya boys.........side note , the Rangers-Islanders and Satans all had prospects on Team USA, so these guys should be lacing them up for the local squads in a few years.

Interesting to see the coordinated full court press by the DOJ, FBI, and The Capitol Police to identify and track down anyone and everyone who may have passed through the Nation's Capital on Jan 6th 2021. ATM records were gladly turned over by Banks, D.C.  Hotels, Amtrak and the Airlines cooperated too....if you so much as had a cup of Dunkin within 50 miles of the Capitol you had to explain yourself....guilty until you could convince them of your innocence.......also interesting was how swiftly and quietly a black Police officer was acquitted for Shooting through a barricade and killing an unarmed Air Force veteran (Ashli Babbitt)...nobody said her name or marched in the streets. I wonder how many people were prosecuted for the BLM riots of 2020, the sleepy floyd inspired nightly looting, the burning of courthouses and police cars.......yeah well.....2 systems of weaponized justice. 

Claudine Gay....if you copy and paste any of these gems, be sure to give credit to Matteau Matteau Matteau in the footnotes.

Come gather ’round people, wherever you roam.

And admit that the waters Around you have grown.

And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone.

If your time to you is worth savin’

Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin’  (B. Dylan) 

This past year saw the closing of another historic Bayridge Watering Hole. The persistent rumors of the pending demise came to fruition as O'Sullivan's closed their doors for a final time. Established in 1934, the Grand Dame closed 11 short years before turning the century mark. 89 years on the Corner of 89th street.... symmetry.   Amongst the many stories shared in her final days came one from a few skaters that heard them firsthand from their fathers. Apparently, O'Sullivan's was one of the first Bars to have a Television set, and it gained notoriety as being the place to go to WATCH the Brooklyn Dodgers when you could not make the trek to Ebbett's field, or the team was on the road. Not surprisingly most of the team called Bayridge and Dyker Heights home. I can't fathom how traumatizing it must have been when the first TVs were introduced.... imagine slaking your thirst in the Bayridge watering hole when a magic box starts displaying a live baseball game being played in Crown Heights...it's a good thing the Whiskey was in arms reach to calm your nerves... I spent many a delightful afternoon at the bar washing down icey cold mugs of beeer and watching the occasional passersby through the front picture window. Another gem taken from the crown that was our childhood....as sad as it is to think about all the people and places we have lost, I try to balance the equation by thinking about Just HOW Fortunate I /We were to be born at that time and in that place. (we coexisted on the planet with Jerry Garcia for goodness sake) .... I would not trade the last 60 years of a Life Connected to the barrooms and Churches and Schoolyard's of the Hamlet that is BAYRIDGE 11209 for anything .....I thank God for each and every piece of it. I have been harping for 25 years, but again I stress......nobody is guaranteed to see tomorrow...if you can carve out a few hours to stop by and see some old friends, then you should. On more than a few occasions in the lobby of Clavin's, i have been told that the last time someone saw the deceased was at the prior Sweater Nite......and that reinforces why we still do it.

That Brings us to the 26th edition.... The Viking Invasion....Mike Gallagher welcomes us to the Oasis on Senator Street.....we return triumphantly to Liev Eirikson, the Oak Room and the Alley. The sun shall rise over the borough of Churches on the 18th day of February and before that Sun sets (or maybe just afterwards) the Rangers shall dispose of the old ancient, boring islanders. On the same grid iron that hosted a Super Bowl and a Giant playoff game (No jets playoff games yet, but Brian Duffy and Aaron Rodgers will end that drought next year) they will take to the makeshift ice. Yes......Rangers vs Islanders from Giants Stadium....Pregame skate at 1:00 in PC's....followed by a Viking March along 5th Ave to "The Lief"...Live Pizza and Free Music await....hope to see you then.....Slainte....

2+3=BEEER

Matteau Matteau Matteau

PRESIDENT & FOUNDER