Superfan No More, But Still Collecting

Photo from Vancouver Province

Long time Canucks fans know of Andrew Castell. For 29 years he was not just a season ticket holder who never missed a single game in Canucks history. He was undeniably the Canucks ultimate Superfan.

But enter the Mark Messier and Mike Keenan error era and he became jaded and fed up. Hey, a lot of us Canucks fans did. They day they traded Trevor Linden away I went out and bought a New York Islanders hat. I was through with the Canucks. For a few weeks anyways. I've heard so many similar stories. But we all came back.

Yet Andrew Castell never did come back. He got fed up with the non-sense and the big salaries and business side of the game. He's vowed he will never watch a Canucks game again.

I know he has never been back to watch a Canucks game in person, although I am not sure if his boycott extends to television or not, too. For most of us it is difficult to comprehend how Castell, now 51, has gone from one extreme to the other.

While his love for the Canucks may no longer exist, his love for hockey collectibles is still strong. He has a reported memoriilia collection worth over $4 million, including nearly 300 game worn jerseys and over 1800 game used sticks and over 100,000 publications. The Canadian Press has a great must-read article about his collection.

It seems Castell's love for hockey is as extreme now as it ever has been. Even if he isn't watching the Canucks.