[text_output]

I’m going to be a father!

I’m going to be a father.

I’m going to be a father…

It’s funny how a simple change in punctuation at the end of a sentence or phrase can drastically change the way you read and interpret it. What is even crazier is that I have felt all of these emotions, sometimes within a matter of minutes, since learning the fantastic news that my beautiful wife Courtney is pregnant with our first child, and due in early June. Most fathers and pregnancy preparation books (I’m currently reading The Expectant Father) will tell you that it is perfectly normal to feel all of these emotions, and that they all felt the whole spectrum of emotions themselves. I’m not a very emotional guy myself, and my wife will be the first to back me up on this. I am not the type that wears my heart on my sleeves, and I have even more difficulty articulating how I am feeling. However, I can tell you that I have felt quite the range of emotions since learning the news that I am now a father-to-be.

One emotion that I am not feeling however, is fear. From what I’ve read and heard, it is very common for soon-to-be parents to feel afraid. Afraid that their children will make the same mistakes they made. Afraid they won’t be good parents. Afraid they will make the same mistakes their parents made. Afraid they won’t be able to financially support their growing family the way they hoped to be able to.

I am not afraid in the least, because I know that my wife and I will make great parents, and I know that we have a fantastic support network to lend us a hand when needed. I consider myself the luckiest guy alive to be married to my wife Courtney, and I consider us to be even luckier to have four wonderful people in our lives that cannot wait to be grandparents. I also have two sisters and a brother-in-law that will make fantastic aunts and uncles. On top of that, both my wife and I have amazing grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends that we know we will be able to rely on for anything we need. My wife and I are truly blessed to have one another as well as our support network, and for this reason I am not afraid in the least.

Speaking of support networks, my child will also have an additional “family” that he or she can rely on, and it’s the best one in all of sports: the New York Rangers fanbase. My wife and I are very different people, and we disagree on many things in this world, not the least of which is what NFL team to root for (I’m a New York Giants fan, while she is a Dallas Cowboys fan). However, we both bleed blue when it comes to hockey, and rest assured, our child will be a fan of the New York Rangers.[/text_output][image type=”circle” float=”none” src=”1050″ alt=”” href=”” title=”” info_content=”” lightbox_caption=”” id=”” class=”aligncenter” style=””][text_output]Similar to my wife and me, the Rangers fanbase is comprised of individuals with a myriad of opinions and beliefs. In fact, we are a fanbase that somehow cannot even agree on the objective fact that Henrik Lundqvist is a generational talent. However, when push comes to shove, this is a fanbase who always has each others’ backs, and I know my child will love (and sometimes hate) being a member of it.

My child will feel the heartbreak that we have all felt, year after year. My child will know what it’s like to feel like your heart is about to beat through your chest because the team is playing the NHL-equivalent to the prevent defense to protect a one goal lead in the playoffs, despite the fact we’ve seen this fail before. My child will know how heartbreaking it feels when your team trades away your favorite young player for a couple of past-their-prime veterans, like when I was six years old and the Rangers traded Sergai Zubov and Petr Nedved for Luc Robitaille and Ulf Samuelsson. And my child will know how it feels to experience a crushing defeat in the playoffs, like when Alec Martinez buried the overtime winner past Hank to seal the Rangers fate against the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final.

My child will also know how great it feels for the completely unexpected to happen, like when Tanner Glass buried a backhand from a low danger area past one of the best goalies in the world. My child will know how thrilling it is to watch a Chris Kreider-like player break through the neutral zone, full head of steam, bearing down an open lane to the goalie. My child will experience how fun the opening of free agency can be when you root for a big market, original six team, that is always in the mix to land a coveted free agent, even when all the insiders say they doubt the Rangers will land the big fish, like Kevin Shattenkirk this past offseason. And last but not least, my child will hopefully get to experience the thrill of victory, when the Rangers (knock on wood) again raise Lord Stanley’s Cup as the champions of the National Hockey League.

For better or for worse, my child will be ingrained in the New York Rangers fanbase, same as all of you reading this, and I for one cannot wait.

I’m going to be a father![/text_output][image type=”thumbnail” src=”1052″ alt=”” href=”” title=”” info_content=”” lightbox_caption=”” id=”” class=”aligncenter” style=””]