The Blue Jackets
Blue and red in the midwest: two decades of grit, heart, and a fanbase that never quits.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are a National Hockey League franchise based in Columbus, Ohio, who entered the league as an expansion team beginning play in the 2000–01 season. Their identity is drawn from the Union Army's famed 'Blue Jackets' regiments of the American Civil War, and their palette of cobalt blue, scarlet red, and white has become a fixture of midwestern sporting culture. The team calls home Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus, a modern rink that has become the beating heart of a passionate, loyal fanbase.
As an unofficial fan-history entry, this page celebrates the stadium experience, the rituals of the stands, and the cultural footprint the Blue Jackets have carved into Ohio's sporting landscape since their arrival at the turn of the millennium.
- League
- National Hockey League (NHL)
- Founded
- 2000 (first season 2000–01)
- Home Arena
- Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
- Conference / Division
- Eastern Conference / Metropolitan Division
- Team Colors
- Cobalt Blue, Scarlet Red, White
- Name Origin
- Union Army 'Blue Jackets' regiment, American Civil War
- Notable Draft Picks
- Rick DiPietro (2001, #1 overall); Rick Nash (2004, #1 overall)
Lore & Background
When the NHL announced Columbus as an expansion destination in the late 1990s, the city of roughly 700,000 people had never hosted a major professional sports franchise. The choice of the name 'Blue Jackets' was deliberate—a nod to the Union soldiers whose blue coats and red trim became symbols of resolve and sacrifice. The team's founding ownership group, led by a consortium of local and national investors, built a new arena in the heart of downtown Columbus, and the 2000–01 inaugural season arrived with a city hungry for a new identity on the national stage.
The early years were defined by the excitement of two consecutive first-overall picks: goaltender Rick DiPietro in 2001 and forward Rick Nash in 2004. Those selections gave the young franchise a narrative of promise and high expectation. The stands at what was then CenterCourt (later Scottrade Center, and now Nationwide Arena) filled with a mix of curious newcomers and die-hard hockey converts who learned the rhythms of the game in real time, season by season.
Culturally, the Blue Jackets became more than a team; they became a civic event. The pre-game traditions, the roar of the crowd on a goal, the collective groan on a missed save—these rituals wove the franchise into the social fabric of central Ohio. Rivalries with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New Jersey Devils, and the Buffalo Sabres sharpened the identity, giving fans a story to tell and a reason to pack the arena on a cold February night when the ice is slick and the lights are low.
In Their Own Story
The bus pulls into the lot at 6:47 p.m. and the doors swing open like a floodgate. Two thousand people spill onto the wet concrete, breath fogging in the November air, scarves already knotted tight around their necks. A kid in a size-too-big Nash jersey clutches a foam finger the color of the sky. Somewhere in the crowd, a woman is singing the old 'Jackets' chant her father taught her in the first season, back when the arena still had the old name and the seats were brand-new and everything felt like a dare.
They push through the turnstiles. The smell hits first—cold air, hot pretzels, the faint metallic tang of the ice resurfacing. The Zamboni's blue line traces a slow arc under the lights, and the crowd hums like a single throat. A stick taps the boards. A puck skids. And for two hours, Columbus forgets it is winter, forgets the traffic on the river roads, forgets everything except the crack of blade on rubber and the blue-and-red tide rising in the stands.
Reader's Guide
Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus is more than a building; it is the living room of central Ohio hockey culture.
The experience begins before the puck drops. Fans gather in the concourse, trading stories from the previous night's game, debating line changes over coffee and hot dogs. The arena's sightlines are tight—every seat feels close to the ice, and the noise bounces off the lower bowl in a way that makes even a quiet shift feel charged.
The color is non-negotiable. Blue and red are everywhere: scarves, face paint, foam fingers, the occasional full Civil War–inspired coat. The name 'Blue Jackets' is worn as a badge of civic pride, not just team loyalty. You are not merely a fan; you are part of a regiment.
Traditions matter. The pre-game anthem, the post-goal roar that shakes the upper deck, the collective silence when the goalie pulls the puck from the net—these are the small liturgies that bind a season together. On a losing night, the same crowd leaves, shakes the snow off their coats, and plans to be back Saturday.
To a Blue Jackets supporter, the arena is not a venue. It is a promise: that the blue and red will still be here next year, and the year after, and the one after that.
Did You Know?
- The team's name and color scheme are a direct homage to the Union Army's 'Blue Jackets' regiments of the American Civil War, chosen to evoke midwestern heritage and resolve.
- Columbus was selected as an NHL expansion market in 1997, and the Blue Jackets took the ice for their first regular-season game in the 2000–01 season.
- The franchise selected two consecutive first-overall picks in the NHL Draft—goaltender Rick DiPietro in 2001 and forward Rick Nash in 2004—giving the young team a high-profile narrative from its earliest years.
- The home arena has carried multiple names over the years, reflecting different sponsorship eras, but fans in Columbus have always known it simply as 'the building' or 'the arena' in the way only a hometown crowd can.