Tampa Bay Lightning may not be a “traditional” hockey market, but that’s ok with us. We have our own hockey family.

Tampa Bay gets a lot of heat for being a non-traditional hockey market. Many out there like to claim the Tampa Bay Lightning have no fan base, or that the fans they do have don’t know hockey.

I’ve been a Tampa Bay Lightning season ticket holder for over 2 seasons now, having started my journey as an STM during the playoffs of the ’13-’14 season only to watch my beloved team get swept by the Montreal Canadiens. Financially, a single seat in the 300’s has been what I could do so I’m a solo guy.

When the planets align correctly, however, I’ll wrangle up some extra tickets to take my kids and my girlfriend Alexa with me to games. The kids absolutely love their time with daddy, and our first date was a Lightning Game two years ago, so it’s a special date night.

For Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, I did something I had never done. I took the kids and girlfriend with me to the watch party at Channelside. Typically me going alone, and me going with other people entail completely different nights.

It’s a side of me others don’t often see. I strap on the combat boots, throw on my jersey and creepy mask, and just have a great time. For the watch party, I decided to bridge the two worlds together.

Before we even had seats and were settled in, Alexa was amazed. Her shy, reserved boyfriend seemed to know everybody. Not only that, many knew him by name.

From the wait staff at Splitsville to the random fans out in the parking lot preparing to watch the game the handshakes, hugs, and high fives kept coming. She even had to turn to me at one point and ask what was going on, how did all these people know me?

I started explaining to her that “these are my people” when it dawned on me. They really were.

I grew up going to Madison Square Garden watching the New York Rangers, and it’s a completely different experience than watching games at Amalie Arena. For years, I complained about the Tampa fan base, and how they didn’t know how to be fans.

During that watch party, I realized just how wrong I was. After realizing just how a part of the fan base I had become, I started to pay closer attention. Strangers were high-fiving my kids and trying to help them as they enjoyed the street hockey set up and other games.

It was simply an amazing family experience.

Yes, the Tampa fans and the New York fans differ drastically, but for the first time in over a decade, I’m glad for it. The Tampa Bay Lightning fan base is so much more. It’s a family.