Exclusive | Islanders superfans 9/11 always believe sign still inspires 25 years after terror attacks
Longtime Islanders superfan and “sign guy” Patrick Dowd still inspires with his witty and motivational messages — 25 years after he played a pivotal role in post-9/11 healing with his wildly popular “always believe” sign.“9/11 inspired my sign,” declared Dowd, well known among blue-and-orange faithful for holding his posters up on the glass when the Islanders take the ice.
“Really, it was a model of always having faith through crises in life – whether it’s on the ice or not,” he told The Post about the uplifting sign that has appeared at every major game in the decades since.The message struck a universal chord during the unforgettable 2001-2002 season, which brought a long-awaited playoff return and much-needed jubilation to anguished fans whose worlds had been shattered by the terror attacks.The 9/11 devastation sank in for Islanders defenseman Eric Cairns, a Canadian who was heartbroken hearing stories of loss his Garden City neighbors suffered while living on Long Island.
It hit even harder when he and then-head coach Peter Laviolette’s promising team visited Ground Zero and saw the “emotional,” seemingly never-ending photo wall of the many missing people in Lower Manhattan.“I think we chose to let it galvanize us as a team – and really vibed off that.”Things started with a rare moment of unity during an exhibition game against their arch-rival Rangers, where the usual bad blood was cooled to the temperature of the ice.“We all lined up on the blue lines as one – Ranger, Islander, Ranger, Islander,” he said.“Which doesn’t happen very often, if at all.”Fans were without a doubt ready to believe in something, said Bill Kain, the Isles vice president of sponsorship that season.“Everybody had been to a lot of funerals, a lot of services, including myself.”“It just made it really hard to enjoy life again,” added Kain, a diehard season ticket holder in his personal life.Hockey finally returned to the Nassau Vetera...