For years Ohio’s only NHL hockey team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, have been ridiculed for having what others believe to be one of the worst fan bases in the NHL These harsh accusations have been backed with many losing seasons and bad attendance records. This year proved otherwise. The Jacket’s crowd attendance steadily increased as the season moved on, and the team’s record improved dramatically.

For only the second time in the teams fourteen year history the team made it to the playoffs. The Jackets played the overpowering Pittsburg Penguins in the first round and ended up losing in six games. Despite getting kicked out in only the first round, the potential the team possesses is great. The team has an abundance of young players eager to get better and continue to help the team.

During the playoffs, the fans have been extremely supportive of the Jackets. Every home game in the playoffs not only sold out, but created an amazing experience for the players and fans alike. Freshman Ronnie Larkin was lucky enough to get standing rooms seats to game 6, which the Jackets won in overtime.

“It was rowdy,” said Larkin. “[It was] by far the best experience I’ve had at a game.”

The Nationwide Arena speakers were said to be unbreakable, but it was reported that the crowd was so loud that they were forced to set their speakers to maximum capacity and broke.

“We were right by them [the speakers] and you could tell that there was something wrong with them,” said Larkin.

Another avid hockey fan who attended one of the games was Elder senior, Peter Aguilera.

“It was the first playoff game that I’ve been to,” said Peter. “I’ve been to [NHL] games before in other cities, but it was way louder than any other game that I’ve been to.”

The “5^th Line” , as they have been called recently, made Nationwide Arena a deafening venue to be in. While probably unlikely, it was reported by a fan that through his phone he measured how loud the building actually was. Via the app on his phone, it was reported to have reached a thundering 160 decibels.

“It was nuts,” said Peter when talking about the atmosphere of the game. “There wasn’t a single empty seat and everyone was standing the whole game.”

“The 5^th Line” is stronger now for the Jackets than it has ever been. The team is so young that the potential for the franchise to get better is great. As the team gets better, they will get more support and the “5^th Line” will only get stronger.