GRANGER THAN FICTION
‘Bobby’ recalls his run with Blueshirts
THE MOST famous Rangers fan on the planet walks the hallways of the WWE’s Stamford, Conn., offices in relative anonymity. He still bleeds Rangers blue, but when he goes to work these days at the creative services department for the wrestling giant’s TV network, he leaves the No. 98 Rangers jersey and cargo shorts at home. The wavy Mats Zuccarello hair is now short and he goes by his real name, Kev Kage.
But every once in a while, when the Blueshirts become the topic of conversation, he lets it slip that he was, indeed, Bobby Granger.
“When I tell people, they are like ‘shut up, that’s you?’” said Kage. “It was definitely a trip.”
In case you are just hopping on the Rangers bandwagon — you know who you are — or couldn’t bear to watch the Blueshirts from 2005-07, Granger was the official No. 1 fan of the team, starring in a series of hilarious TV spots for MSG Network and also rallying fans before playoff games.
“It was a surreal experience,” said Kage, now 32, who got the acting gig after a friend who worked at a talent agency said the Rangers were looking for a superfan. “I go into the audition wearing a (Mike) Richter jersey and I’m thinking, ‘They think I’m an idiot,’ but I ended up getting the gig.”
Memorable spots included Kage, as Granger, teaching some of the foreign-born Rangers — including a young Dominic Moore — how to say “Fuhgeddaboudit” in a New York accent, and tr y ing to learn how to speak Czech from Jaromir Jagr. Another saw Brendan Shanahan drill Granger below his blue line with a slap shot. “No more little Grangers,” Kage says while writhing in pain on the ice.
Kage recalled the time he was working with goalie Al Montoya and another Ranger goalie on a spot. “There were some girls there and we told them they could meet the players, and my friend kept telling them Montoya was the future of the Rangers.”
The other goalie that day was a new guy named Henrik Lundqvist.
That wasn’t his only misstep. When the spots started airing, Kage said the reaction from the usually tolerant and understanding Rangers fans wasn’t exactly warm. “In the beginning, you see this thing on TV and people think it’s stupid. People didn’t know I was a fan.
“I remember reading a message board and people were absolutely trashing me. But then I met a guy on a subway and he starts talking to me. I got on the message board, I see the same guy saying ‘He’s an idiot’ and five turns down he’s saying how cool I was.”
Kage, a die-hard Mets and Jets fan as well, also rode on double-decker buses around Madison Square Garden in character before playoff games. He became so famous that he said one time it took him an hour to get across Seventh Ave. by the Garden
“Everyone was stopping me for pictures and asking me, ‘Can you sign my jersey?’” said Kage, who lives in Stamford but is originally from New Jersey. “And I asked them, ‘Are you sure you want me to sign your nice jersey? In two years you’ll be embarrassed.’” Kage’s run lasted into the 2007 season, but then the campaign ended. “Nothing lasts forever,” said Kage, who admits there are times he misses the Blueshirt spotlight.
“It spoiled me. There were days I used to walk down the street and (former Ranger defenseman) Darius Kasparaitis would bump into me and say hello,” said Kage. “But I’m still here.” Kage, like all Rangers fans, is excited about the Blueshirts’ first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 20 years, and thinks the team has a great shot to bring home the Cup.
“I forget who was saying it, but in 1994 Vancouver was a .500 team, the Rangers in ’94 were amazing, and everyone said it was going to be a cakewalk,” said Kage. “And it went seven games. Anything can happen.”
Just ask Bobby Granger.