Interview with Superfan Patrick “Islanders Sign Guy” Dowd
We spoke with Patrick Dowd about his Islanders fandom, how he started to make his famous signs, the excitement around the fan experience at the highly anticipated UBS Arena, and more.
On what Islanders fandom means to his family:
I have four daughters that I brought to games when they were little to introduce them to the sport, they fell in love with the team as they grew up. Now, whenever we are all together and there is an Islanders game on they’ll ask “Dad, are we watching the game tonight?”. My family has grown up with the team as a focal point in their life, we’ve attended playoff games together and it has impacted our entire family to the point that we are all die-hard fans.
On the start of his tradition bringing signs to Islanders games:
During the 1994-95 season, there was a strike in the NHL. Before the strike took place though, my daughter and I attended a game where the seats were a bit further up and we were screaming and yelling; my daughter looked at me and asked me “what are you doing? they can’t hear you” and she recommended to make a visual so that our collective thoughts can be seen. The idea was then planted in my head, but then the strike took effect and my daughter would ask why the team wasn’t playing and she referenced how I would play open hockey for free. The first game back that we attended, she and I were talking about what sign to make and she thought why not tell the owner that you’d play for free, and the first sign was born from a piece of cardboard. She was my partner throughout and we have made signs together ever since.
On the past year of his fandom and his outlook on the current season:
It’s been a weird year for the team, with the Islanders coming into the bubble with unknown expectations. Then they basically dominated from the start of their run into the playoffs, and they were so close to making it to the finals. What’s baffling about this year is the number of leads that we have blown, it’s been a back and forth season. There have been some uncharacteristic moments, but as sports fans, we have to always look ahead. You cannot use yesterday as an excuse for not being good tomorrow, brighter days are ahead for this team.
On the importance of good ownership for the Islanders:
One of the signs that I have says “Malkin & Ledecky Best Owners in Sports”, which I truly believe is the reason why the franchise is in such a great place. This team will be strong for years and will compete for the Stanley Cup. This starts with the vision at the top, plus fans have a lot to look forward to with the new arena coming to Belmont which the organization has worked very hard to build.
On the highly anticipated UBS Arena:
It is going to be amazing, I cannot wait until opening night. To be in the arena, seeing all the faces of Islanders fans, it will be a dream come true. It is aligning well with the position of the team, I’ve been an Islanders fan my whole life and I really feel like this time coming up will be some of the best times for the franchise. It will have great air filtration to fit with the times and will have a ton of bathrooms, something that wasn’t the case at the Coliseum. It will still have low ceilings so the noise level will be great and the location makes it an ideal setting for all Isles fans.
On providing essential workers with his famous Islanders signs:
During the pandemic, my cousin asked me what I did with my old signs and I didn’t have an answer because I didn’t think there was anything to do with them. She recommended that I give them away so I reached out to News 12 who I have developed a good relationship with, and with the help of my daughter I created a Twitter account to see which families might want the signs. It was extremely rewarding to see how happy people were from this. Not only was I able to give old signs away to people on the segment but I was able to connect and create genuine relationships with others that reached out and give more signs away to them.