Call it a view to a thrill!
New York Islanders legend Mike Bossy skated into MetroTech on Thursday to hang with hockey fans in a replica of the Barclays Center’s glass-side seats — a move he hoped would score the team some local supporters for its inaugural season at the stadium.
“This is a great opportunity for the Islanders to win over these fans and build a new fan base in Brooklyn,” said Bossy, who sported the team’s new Brooklyn alternate jersey.
The front-row Barclays seats are the highest of any professional hockey arena in the country, thus offering a better vantage of the action on the ice, according to a team rep. And fans joining the Hall of Famer in the coveted chairs said it was the best glass-side view of an office complex lunch hour they’d ever seen.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Joseph Liveo of Sheepshead Bay. “But I’ll take front row seats no matter how high they are.”
But most fans just wanted a seat next to Bossy. Many of those who turned out said they were long-time supporters who grew up watching the goal-scoring dynamo during the team’s four consecutive Stanley Cup victories in the 1980s.
“Mike Bossy, he’s one of those that guys that symbolize the hard work and grit of those four Stanley Cup teams,” said Jeff Leone. “That’s why I call myself an Islander fan.”
And Bossy said he hoped the fans would get to see the Isles take home another Stanley Cup soon — maybe even while sitting glass-side, if they’re lucky.
“They have a team that did a lot better last year,” he said. “I just hope they can continue their progress toward another Stanley Cup.”
