Umberger hungry to beat Penguins

The Columbus Dispatch reflects on the fairly well-know fact of R.J. Umberger growing up in a Pittsburgh suburb as a Penguins fan. Like most hockey players who don't then to get play for their hometown team, it can be a little odd at times.

Umberger recalls being in the press box, injured, for Game 1 of the Penguins-Blue Jacket series.

“I heard the fans chanting ‘Let’s Go Pens!’ ” and it was such a weird feeling,” Umberger said. “I remembered loving it so much, and now it’s pretty much the worst. I mean … you grow up to hate the team you grew up loving. It’s an odd feeling.”

He noted, “I have a lot of supporters, but I always get a lot of, ‘Hey, when are you coming to the Penguins?’. There’s always annual trade rumors of me going to Pittsburgh. But I’ve also been getting a lot of calls and texts from people who are diehard Pens fans who say they’re rooting for us in this series. They’d like to see us do well.”

It's all about the Blue Jackets now.

“To be with this team, with all the things that we’ve been through … I just want this opportunity so badly,” Umberger said. “It’s fair to say we’re pretty unknown to a lot of people. But this is the kind of stuff that leaves memories.”

Source: Aaron Portzline, Columbus Dispatch