STH spotlight: Fan's collection shows off CBJ, Columbus hockey history

Throughout the Blue Jackets' 20th anniversary celebration, BlueJackets.com will be profiling season ticket holders who have become an integral part of the CBJ experience as part of the Season Ticket Holder spotlight presented by Jet's Pizza.
Head into the rec room of Blue Jackets fan Jeff Kennedy and you might be there for a while.
There's Columbus hockey memorabilia as far as the eye can see, and it all has a story. There's the Bud Light wall sign with the Blue Jackets' 2000-01 inaugural season logo, purchased in an antique store in Reno, Nevada, of all places a year or two after the team's debut year in the NHL (it wasn't much of an antique at the time).

There's the bottle of champagne adorned with the team's inaugural season logo etched into the glass of the bottle, a piece of history Kennedy acquired but won't be opening anytime soon. There's the jersey signed by the entire inaugural team, which he won in a raffle the first year, and the stick signed by the entire team from a couple years back, another gift he won for being a season ticket holder, which he has been since day one.
There's the hockey-themed pinball machine in the corner, just like one you can find at the Hockey Hall of Fame. And then there's something really cool -- the vintage Chexx bubble hockey game Kennedy has refurbished that features Blue Jackets skaters facing off against the Chicago Blackhawks.

"That was probably one of the first (bubble hockey) games," Kennedy said of the game that has been played more than 500,000 times, per the internal counter. "The reason I wanted one of those, years ago when I lived in Florida, I remembered one of the arcades at Daytona Beach had one of those and I thought that was so cool. I had forgotten about it for a long time, then I thought about them, so I went on a search for one of those games and found somebody in Chicago that had this game.
"It was completely apart and everything, but they only wanted $400 dollars for it, so I made a deal with the guy and I bought it. When I got it back here it didn't have all the pieces … but I got it up and running now, and with the Blue Jackets and the Blackhawks players, it's awesome."
There's also plenty of memorabilia -- pennants, ticket stubs, pucks and more -- from Columbus hockey history, from the Checkers to the Golden Seals to the Owls to the Chill. That's fitting because Kennedy's fandom traces all the way back to the Golden Seals and Owls, the International Hockey League franchise that played in the capital city from 1971-77 when Kennedy was growing up.
"I had season tickets when the Owls were here," he said. "I was still in high school. My classmates would go to the football games for high school and I used to go to the hockey games. I cut grass and worked teenager-type jobs to buy my season tickets."
So Kennedy has seen plenty of hockey history in Columbus, including the barren stretch of the 1980s when professional hockey left town. It returned in 1991 when the ECHL's Columbus Chill ignited the passion of the capital city with an aggressive marketing campaign, wild promotions and hockey that was equal parts entertaining and pugilistic. It didn't take long for the Chill to become a must-see event in town, something that both excited Kennedy and took him by surprise.
"One thing I remember in particular when the Chill first started, the first game the arena was sold out at the Fairgrounds, and I remember at intermission going to the bathroom and getting a beer and all that, everybody started chanting 'NHL! NHL!'" Kennedy said. "The diehard hockey fans were excited at the attendance that we had.
"I have to admit, the first year of the Chill, I didn't have season tickets. I figured I could just walk up and buy a ticket to whatever game I wanted to go to, then they started selling out! And then they started scalping the tickets in the parking lot for a minor league hockey team two rungs down from the NHL. I said, 'I better hurry up and buy tickets.'"
There was no such hesitation when the Blue Jackets, building on the wild success of the Chill, came to town. Kennedy bought season tickets in section 210, which were marketed to Chill season ticket holders and included a discount for the Fairgrounds diehards, then eventually moved across the rink to section 223, where the balcony provides an excellent view of the action.
Over the years, that has become a hockey home for Kennedy, who operates Kennedy American, Inc., a business based on West Jefferson that provides car parts for American classics like the Javelin, the Gremlin and many others.
"When I entered the upper bowl (in Section 210), I used to have to go 21 steps up to my seat," Kennedy said. "Now I go eight steps down to my seats. They're the best cheap seats in the building. I can afford better seats, but I got to know everybody around me that is a season ticket holder, so I wouldn't dream of changing because I have fun with the people that I sit around.
"We have dinner with them before and after games, we're hung out with them a few times. I've met other Jackets fans, I've even got some customers that are Jackets fans. We've had a few of our own private Blue Jackets viewing parties."
Kennedy has stayed loyal through all 20 seasons, including the lean years at the beginning of the franchise's two decades on the ice. He said he first noticed the team start to earn respect around the league with the hiring of Ken Hitchcock and the initial playoff appearance in 2009, and he's a big fan of what current head coach John Tortorella has been able to accomplish since taking over the team in 2015.
When it comes to a memory that stands out for Kennedy, he can't help but look back at the 2019 first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs sweep of Tampa Bay, which is memorable for a trip he didn't get to take. Kennedy had plans to fly to Tampa to attend Game 5 with his son, but he didn't have to take the flight after the Blue Jackets downed the Lightning in four games.
"I'm glad I didn't buy that airline ticket," he says now. "I'll never forget when we swept Tampa. Everybody says that, I'm sure. The overwhelming partying outside after the game, it felt like we won the Stanley Cup. That was awesome."