Greg Van Roten, childhood Islanders fan, glad to see Dan Feeney embraced

Unlike fellow Jets lineman Greg Van Roten, Dan Feeney wasn’t always an Islanders fan.

Dan Feeney has only attended two Islanders playoff games, yet he has already become the new face of the fanbase.

Several Jets, including rookie QB Zach Wilson, have made themselves heard at a couple of the Islanders’ playoff games in recent weeks. Feeney has grabbed the attention of the cameras, though, crushing beers on his head and chugging them. He’s gone viral more than once, and the backup offensive lineman has become a well-known name in New York despite not playing a game here yet.

The Islanders have enjoyed Feeney’s presence so much that they collaborated with the Jets on a t-shirt featuring Feeney’s signature mullet.

Feeney, however, is not the longest-tenured Islanders fan in the Jets’ trenches.

“He was a Blackhawks fan,” fellow lineman Greg Van Roten, who spent his childhood on Long Island, revealed Tuesday. “Now he’s coming in, and Islander Nation has embraced him. I’m not jealous or bitter, but I grew up an Islanders fan!”

Van Roten has been the orchestrator behind the Jets’ adventures to Nassau Coliseum. He joked about using the Jets’ public relations team to get tickets to see his favorite NHL squad.

But Van Roten views these gatherings with his teammates as more than just going to see a hockey game. The 2020 Jets were limited in the time they spent around each other due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so they had a harder time connecting away from the field or team facility.

With fewer pandemic restrictions now in place, this current Jets team can come together for events like Islanders playoff games.

“It’s an opportunity to bond,” Van Roten said. “We didn’t have this opportunity last spring, and it definitely hurt us as a team throughout the season. You get to spend time with your position group a lot but maybe not with guys from other position groups or across the ball. This has been a no-brainer as far as, ‘Hey, let’s get together on a weekend to go see a game, and blow off some steam together and get to know each other on a more personal level, not around football.'”

The Islanders lost Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals on Tuesday to the Tampa Bay Lightning by a final score of 4-2. The series is now tied 1-1 and Game 3 will be at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday night at 8 p.m.

For those wondering, the answer is yes, according to the New York Post: Feeney and other Jets will return to The Barn to root on the Islanders.

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