It was clear last season that the relationship between UMass fans and Cale Makar was special.
In a year of historic firsts, Makar’s Hobey Baker winning campaign made the fans as proud as any other of the Minutemen’s accomplishments last season. Makar became the face of a resurgent program and was the perfect, humble symbol of what the NewMass movement is all about.
But what has transpired in the last eight months since Makar left UMass and signed with the Colorado Avalanche is something I didn’t expect. UMass fans adopted Cale Makar as a fandom of its own and it has morphed into the crazy scene I witnessed Saturday at TD Garden.
There were five or six people wearing UMass hockey jerseys waiting for Makar and the rest of the Avalanche to take the ice for pregame warmups. Of the dozens of Avalanche jerseys in the building, more than 80 percent of the ones I saw had a No. 8 and the name Makar on the back. When Makar was announced as a starter, there was actually an audible cheer in the building.
Even on game nights at the Mullins Center, there are almost as many Makar Avalanche jerseys in the crowd as UMass jerseys. That might have been expected given Makar’s tie to the program, but how many UMass fans own a Jonathan Quick jersey or a Justin Braun jersey? There have been very successful UMass players in the past who have made the jump to the NHL and accomplished great things at the professional level. Why is Makar that much different?
People were genuinely conflicted for a whole night about Brad Marchand because he was the one who happened to lay the clean but heavy hit on Makar that sent him to the locker room. In that moment, the Bruins fans stopped caring about the fact the team was trailing by two goals and were concerned about Makar’s well-being. You had fans sending out adorable videos to Makar from their kids, who wanted to wish him well and were worried about him.
There is a different type of love between UMass fans and Makar, one that is unique from the love the supporters have for the school and the program. And it’s one that has evidently traveled well so far in Makar’s rookie season.
“I’m just very honored and humbled to receive all that (love),” Makar said before Saturday’s game. “It’s pretty crazy, nobody really knows how widespread and diverse the UMass crowd is and how far they go across the country. I see at least one person probably in every building with some random UMass jerseys, so it’s pretty cool.”
I could speculate about why UMass fans have clung to loving Makar in a way they haven’t for Andy Isabella or Jonathan Quick, but there’s no point to that adventure. Instead, I cherish and appreciate the special connection the UMass fan base has with Makar and the willingness they have to support him every step of the way.
It was honestly really cool to see a whole horde of fans follow along with Makar during last season’s playoff run in Colorado. It was neat to see the reception Makar received Friday night when he returned to be honored for his historic season with a banner. And it’s even more heartwarming to see Makar embrace that love and support from the UMass fan base, and understand how special that relationship is with them.
Every school is proud of their alums and every school is there to tout their accomplishments of those players in the professional ranks. But rarely does that rabid fanaticism carry over with the player to the professional ranks like it has with Makar. Maybe that’s just a UMass thing or maybe it’s just a thing that happens when a dormant program reaches a historic peak.
But it’s fun to watch UMass fans shower Makar with so much love and to see Makar embrace it all as eloquently as he has these last 15 months.
Josh Walfish can be reached at jwalfish@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshWalfishDHG. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.