Why am I writing about hockey?

Because the Panthers have given hockey novices like me a reason to care. Other teams could learn from them.

Matthew Tkachuk, right? See? I’m getting the hang of this. (USA Today photo)

I got home from an event at about 9:45 Thursday night and eventually turned on the television. Flipping from channel to channel, I saw the Panthers had a one-goal lead over the Carolina Hurricanes with approximately 10 minutes to play in the 3rd period of Game 1 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals.

So I decided to watch the end of the game. 

By the time the 3rd period ended at 2-2, sending the game into overtime, I had probably watched more hockey in a single sitting than at any point this season. 

By the time the epic 6-hour, 4-overtime affair ended at 1:54 a.m., I had probably watched more hockey in a single sitting than I have in the last decade combined.

It’s not that I have anything against hockey. Raised in South Florida in the 1970s and ‘80s, I just didn’t grow up around the sport. I never played it, and didn’t know anyone who did. NHL games were rarely televised nationally in those days, and with no hometown team, hockey wasn’t on TV.

I have vivid memories of watching the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team. In my opinion, they remain the greatest story in the history of sports. I even visited the quaint arena in Lake Placid where they pulled off the Miracle on Ice.

But hockey never had the opportunity to become ingrained in my sporting soul.

As an adult, I’ve attended a handful of NHL and AHL games in various cities over the years and was always struck by how exciting the sport is in person. My untrained eyes tell me the speed, the power and the precision don’t seem to translate well to TV. And call me an uneducated novice (because I am one), but, when I watch on TV, I have a hard time following the puck and keeping track of who’s on the ice.

All of that brings me to this:

Good for the Florida Panthers.

Good for the Panthers for putting together a team capable of making a run that has given someone who wouldn’t even classify himself as a “casual fan” a reason to be interested.

I knew a little bit about their story the way someone who walks through his days with his eyes and ears open might know that there’s a new Marvel movie coming out. You might not know the characters. You might not be planning to see the movie. But you hear stuff. You know the movie is coming out the same way you hear it may rain a bit over the weekend.

I knew the Panthers had an amazing regular season last year, and I knew the playoffs were a huge disappointment. And I knew that they barely snuck into the postseason this year.

Then the buzz started to build. In the first round, they stunned the Bruins, who I’d heard in my travels had just completed the greatest regular season in NHL history.

In the second round, they shocked the Maple Leafs, a franchise that was carrying the weight of history. I had heard a little about the Maple Leafs’ story on a podcast I listen to. There was thought this might have finally been Toronto’s year, especially with the Bruins getting knocked off.

And then I heard the Panthers would again be prohibitive underdogs against the Hurricanes with a trip to the Stanley Cup Finals on the line.

So stumbling upon the series opener by accident Thursday night and seeing they had a late lead got me to stick with TNT. (Or was it TBS? One of them televises the NHL. Or maybe they both do. I’m not sure. I’m new here.)

Considering how invested I got in the game, I can only imagine what the experience of watching the historic marathon must have been like for real Panthers and Hurricanes fans.

Those die-hards are the lifeblood of any franchise. Whatever the sport and whatever its level of success may be, every team has that core group of fans who turn out or tune in game after game, year after year. They live and die with each win and each loss.

The Marlins may be 29th out of 30 in MLB in attendance annually, but even they have a devoted core like that. It’s smaller than the devoted core that roots for the Yankees or the Cardinals or virtually any other team. I know most of them by name. But they’re there for their team through thick and thin.

What sets certain teams apart though is their ability to supplement that core by attracting people like me. When you can give the casual fan, or in the case of hockey and me, the extreme casual fan a reason to care and a reason to get invested, you’re on to something.

I watched that happen when I was with the Boston Red Sox in the early 2000s. The Red Sox always had one of the largest cores of life-long devotees in all of baseball. But when Johnny Damon and Kevin Millar and Manny Ramirez and some others came along, everybody jumped on board, and you couldn’t get a ticket to see a game at Fenway Park for years.

And while I’m not predicting a decade of sellouts in Sunrise, my point is the Panthers have created something similar with people like me. I might only be able to name a handful of players at this point, but I’m tuning in for Game 2.

It’s what the Miami Heat have done under their respected and beloved owner Micky Arison and through the leadership of Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra. They’ve built a first-class organization and a culture of success.

They’ve made even casual fans want to care.

Even coming off a mediocre regular season, it’s hard to be surprised the Heat have once again made it to the conference finals and now have a 2-0 lead over the Celtics. Winning cultures so often find a way.

It’s not about marketing slogans or sophomoric social media posts or over-hyping players you sign off the clearance rack and over-selling your expectations to try to sell season ticket mini-plans. It’s not about Taco Tuesdays or giving away “tropical shirts” decorated by black bean cans and Adobo seasoning bottles to the first 8,000 fans.

It’s about winning. It’s not about explaining a plan. It’s about having competent people in positions of power to actually execute it. It’s about putting a team on the court or on the ice or on the field that is worthy of the fans’ support. It’s about being able to compete with the league’s best when the games matter the most.

And it’s about giving the casuals a legitimate reason to be interested.

That’s what the Heat have done for years. That’s what the Panthers are doing now.

And that’s why the Heat and Panthers have made this such a great time to be a South Florida sports fan.

So hats off to the Panthers for reeling in this hockey novice. I’ll be tuned in for Game 2 tonight at 8.

It’s on TNT, not TBS. Definitely TNT. I checked to be sure.