by Joshua L. Tenzer
It’s no secret that New York sports fans are among the most insane anywhere in the United States. They are fickle, rash, illogical extremists yearning for the good old days of the 80s and 90s, and I am proud to be one. If you sift through the hot takes, the calls to fire whoever, the constant panic, and the armchair GM-ing, every once in awhile you find one having fun. When you do, you find some of the funniest and most devoted fans in existence. The perfect example of this: Ryan Mead and the Church of Kakko.
Kaapo Kakko is only 18 years old and has only played 8 games with the New York Rangers, but he is already seen as the future of blueshirt hockey. Drafted #2 overall in the 2019, the Finnish 18 year old already has a spot as a top 6 forward in the garden. He competed in three international competitions before being drafted winning gold in all three. In the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championships, he tied for leading his Finnish team in points racking up 6 goals and 4 assists in 7 games. He has an assist and a goal through his first 8 games but a plus/minus of -8 and a negative point share. Regardless of these early concerning statistics, rangers fans are sticking with the young man and putting all their faith in him, most notably Ryan Mead.
It’s no secret that New York sports fans are among the most insane anywhere in the United States. They are fickle, rash, illogical extremists yearning for the good old days of the 80s and 90s, and I am proud to be one. If you sift through the hot takes, the calls to fire whoever, the constant panic, and the armchair GM-ing, every once in awhile you find one having fun. When you do, you find some of the funniest and most devoted fans in existence. The perfect example of this: Ryan Mead and the Church of Kakko.
Kaapo Kakko is only 18 years old and has only played 8 games with the New York Rangers, but he is already seen as the future of blueshirt hockey. Drafted #2 overall in the 2019, the Finnish 18 year old already has a spot as a top 6 forward in the garden. He competed in three international competitions before being drafted winning gold in all three. In the 2018 IIHF U18 World Championships, he tied for leading his Finnish team in points racking up 6 goals and 4 assists in 7 games. He has an assist and a goal through his first 8 games but a plus/minus of -8 and a negative point share. Regardless of these early concerning statistics, rangers fans are sticking with the young man and putting all their faith in him, most notably Ryan Mead.
Kaapo Kakko taking a shot on opening night against the Jets
Ryan Mead is an employee of The Athletic, a subscription based sports news website. He runs a podcast about the New York Rangers with Greg Kaplan called the Blueshirts Breakaway. However, his most significant contribution to New York is his prized creation: The Church of Kakko. What can almost be described as a religion, the Church of Kakko has its own 10 commandments, clergy, donation box, and Ryan Mead has even taken on a clever nickname for himself as the leader of this new cult of fans: The Kaapope.
The church has a central prayer to greet people on the face of the church’s website: “Kaapo Kakko is chosen, our lord and savior, a Finnish miracle, Cup-raiser. You are here because you acknowledge Kakko as our lord, let him be praised.” They sell posters of stained glass windows depicting Kaapo skating with a halo over his head and sweaters with the logo of the church. 1127 people and counting have purchased C.o.K. merchandise or signed up for the mailing list and have gotten their names on the clergy list on the Church of Kakko website. The whole thing is ridiculous, but it goes further into the realms of insanity.
The church has a central prayer to greet people on the face of the church’s website: “Kaapo Kakko is chosen, our lord and savior, a Finnish miracle, Cup-raiser. You are here because you acknowledge Kakko as our lord, let him be praised.” They sell posters of stained glass windows depicting Kaapo skating with a halo over his head and sweaters with the logo of the church. 1127 people and counting have purchased C.o.K. merchandise or signed up for the mailing list and have gotten their names on the clergy list on the Church of Kakko website. The whole thing is ridiculous, but it goes further into the realms of insanity.
The Church of Kakko's emblem
The Rangers opened the season on October 3rd at home hosting the Winnipeg Jets. Ryan Mead was at the game dressed in his Kaapope garb. Dressed similarly to the catholic pope he wore a mitre (the pope’s tall hat) and white and red robes - underneath a Kaapo Kakko Rangers jersey, of course. He was stopped constantly for pictures now proudly displayed on his twitter and made it to the front page of Finnish news website Ilta-Sanomat.
The Kaapope himself at Madison Square Garden on October 3rd
At first glance, this church seems like a joke taken very far but under closer inspection, it is what sports fans can be at their absolute best. Throwing all your faith behind a player to the point of forming your own church for him is an admirable task. As fans we all love to love our team so even as Ranger’s fans expectations of Kakko are reevaluated, the church continues to grow. Yes, the Church of Kakko is silly, ridiculous, and bizzare and yes Ryan Mead has made a cult but it’s also just a concentrated form of how good it is to love your team.
Praise be to our lord, Kaapo Kakko.
Photo credits to:
Praise be to our lord, Kaapo Kakko.
Photo credits to:
- Getty Images
- The Church of Kakko
- MSG
- Nick Depalo (The Bishop of Branding)