New York Rangers
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New York Rangers fans go absolutely nuts over the team’s Twitter hashtag change from #NYR to #PlayLikeANewYorker.

The New York Rangers caused an uproar in the world of social media on Monday afternoon.

The NHL released the hashtags of all of the league’s teams and not to be outdone, the Blueshirts changed their previously easy and simple #NYR to an 18-character monster.

#PlayLikeANewYorker

Fans who follow the Rangers have just one question. Why? In contrast to other clubs like the New Jersey Devils, #NJDevils, and the New York Islanders, #Isles, who deploy simple hashtags, the Blueshirts decided to go big with theirs.

To no one’s surprise, plenty of people had plenty to say about how ridiculous the hashtag is.

I didn’t think anything could take the conversation off of the roster announcement earlier on Monday, but then this news broke and everyone put the roster on the back burner to talk about a meaningless hashtag.

It’s like the Rangers were again blessed with a non-story that actually took over the real story of the day.

Who would have thought that a simple hashtag hidden within an NHL post introducing all of the league’s hashtags could have stirred up so much conversation?

In the end, due to the publicity, the New York Rangers social media department wound up having a pretty good day.

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A graduate of St. John's University class of '91. I have been a fan of the New York Rangers since the days of Peter Puck. Founder of Ranger Proud, the Facebook page that covers all news, notes, pre /post-game stats, and player quotes. I can be reached at [email protected]