It was a warm, early summer night in June of 2007. Twelve year old me was downstairs watching something on television while my parents were upstairs. I forget what it was, maybe it was Spongebob? I remember the New York Yankees had beaten the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier in the day.
That’s when I heard both my parents, in unison, says with fear “that’s it?” My mother yelled downstairs “is the television on, did the cable go out?” During my cartoon watching, everything was okay and the cable was fine. Franticly my parents called their friends to ask, “did you see what I just saw?”
If you haven’t figured it out already, this was the night my parents were watching the infamous series finale of “the Sopranos.” The greatest television show of all time ended that night with an abrupt cutaway to a black screen. Fourteen years later, we still don’t know the fate of Tony Soprano or what happened after he ate those onion rings at the diner.
The Sopranos Are Back
Now over a decade later, fans got another Sopranos story. After a year of delays, the Sopranos prequel, “The Many Saints of Newark” tells the story of a young Tony Soprano. The Sopranos are as New Jersey as they come, just like the New Jersey Devils. In a world where promotional nights reign supreme in professional sports, the New Jersey Devils should host a Sopranos themed night.
I remember when I was younger there was scattered talk here and there that “the Sopranos,” portrayed New Jersey in a negative light. Some were offended that it made the Garden State seem like everyone was mobster. Those people were the very small minority, as most people loved the attention it brought our state. Instead of being looked at as New York’s inferior neighbor where their football teams played in swampland, New Jersey was cool, exciting, and a bit dangerous.
For every one person who hated the “Sopranos” stereotypes, there were a million New Jersey residents ready to embrace the image. Italian-American dads wore their finest pinky rings with pride and Italian-American mothers channeled their inner Carmella Soprano. Even today with a young generation that was wither in diapers or not even born when “The Sopranos” were at their height still enjoys the series. Recently one of Tony Soprano’s many quotable lines became a TikTok trend. Tours of locations of where the series was filmed brings in tourists and fans from all over the world.
What About The New Jersey Devils?
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References to the New Jersey Devils were scattered throughout the show. As much as an episode taking place at the old Continental Airlines Arena where Pauly Walnuts, Christopher Molisanti, and Tony all go to watch a game. “I can hear the dialogue now, “Hey Tony, this Marty Bro-Der guy is pretty good, huh,” would have been an instant classic. Unfortunately, the team never took that central a role in the show. References to the Devils were mostly characters wearing jerseys or hats here and there, along with posters in AJ’s room and a well-placed sticker in the Bada Bing. A quick recap of Devils references can be found here from Reddit.
Apparently, former New Jersey Devils’ legend Ken Danyeko had a small cameo in one of the episodes, sitting next to Tony Soprano at a bar. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any still screenshots from the episode. E.J. Hradek wrote about it in his ESPN blog. A copy of the blog can be found in this forum section.
They Literally Filmed the Movie Down The Block
Like the rest of the state, the New Jersey Devils have adopted and embraced their Sopranos identity. The team’s famous social media accounts, especially Twitter, love using Sopranos quotes and gifs in response to fans and celebrities. Remember, the team experienced its greatest period of success during “The Soprano’s” original run.
The upcoming movie “The Many Saints of Newark,” shared the same location of the Devils new home in Newark, New Jersey. While it obviously takes place long before the Devils were in New Jersey (actually the movie takes place right around the first NHL expansion in 1967), some Newark sights familiar to Devils fans show up in the film. Most notably Devils fan favorite hangout Hobby’s Deli is in the movie and can be seen in the film’s trailer.
Was Tony Soprano A Devils Fan?
Going off of the references in the show, as well as the the fact Tony Soprano liked everything New Jersey by default, I think it’s safe to assume that the character Tony Soprano was a Devils’ fan. As for the actor, James Gandolfini, we’re not so sure. Gandolfini was a known supporter of his alma mater Rutgers Athletics and the New York Jets football team. He was at a New York Rangers’ game for a special appearance with the rest of the cast of “The Sopranos” for Adam Graves night.
Would Fans Come To A Sopranos Themed Night?
The short answer is absolutely. In the past few years, Sopranos themed events have become commonplace. Ever since 2019 the event Sopranos-Con has been held. Billed as “Comicon meets the Sopranos”, cast signing, screenings, and of course food, are all a part of the activities. This past year the event expanded to “Mob Movie Con”, going beyond New Jersey’s favorite suburban crime family. The Borgata casino in Atlantic City will host their own Sopranos themed event this October.
This wouldn’t be the first time the team held a theme night based around movies. Star Wars themed nights have been held not just by the Devils, but pretty much every sports team imaginable. I met Chewbacca there a few years ago. His playoff beard put mine to shame.
What Would The Devils Even Do For A Sopranos Theme Night?
The better question is what wouldn’t the Devils do? Put N.J. Devil in an opened dress shirt with a gold chain and have him walk around with a cigar. Have the team wear special warm up jerseys featuring the logos of either Satriale’s Pork Store or the Bada Bing. Those jerseys usually get auctioned off by the team for charity, and we all know there’s plenty of people in New Jersey who would pay a pretty penny for a jersey with this beauty on it:
Make food a big part of the event. There’s no shortage of Italian food, and good Italian food, places in the area. Bring in all the sausage and peppers, pizza, and Italian specialties you can find. Tell Callandra’s Bakery to bring extra cannolis.
Have Sopranos themed giveaways and intermission competitions. Remember that iconic episode that saw Pauly and Chris Molisanti go to the real Pine Barrens? Let’s photo shop N.J. Devil in there and put that on the jumbotron. Have a cast member from the Sopranos do the ceremonial puck drop. If you get can Tony Siricio out of retirement in Florida, the Rock might erupt from pure New Jersey vibes. If not him, James Gandolfini’s son Michael, who plays his father’s younger self in the prequel movie, would be a fantastic choice.
Please Make It A Bobblehead Night
I have one simple request for this night. Please make it a bobble head night, and make it a Tony Soprano bobble head night. Make it of Tony Soprano in his bathrobe feeding his ducks. The line to get one of those would stretch all the way back to Newark Penn station. Don’t make it “for the first 10,000 fans,” either, make sure everyone gets one. I’ll camp out outside the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House to get one if I have to.