Catfish.
Nashville Predators fans seem to think that a good response to the Wings' legendary octopus is a nice, fresh catfish. Traditions come and go, but stupidity, it seems, is timeless.
A History lesson. Back in the 50's, a team had to win two best-of-seven playoff series to win the Stanley Cup. Two brothers who owned a fish market in Detroit thought the eight-legged octopus would be appropriate to symbolize the eight straight wins they were hoping for. They threw the octopus on the ice during game 1 of the first round, the Wings went on to win eight straight, and the legend was born. This tradition saw a revival of sorts when the Wings introduced an octopus mascot in the mid-90's, coinciding with a revival of the team's success. It became very fashionable to sneak one of the cephalopods into the rink in order to throw upon the ice when one was feeling particularly giddy about the Wings.
So Nashville fans feel they need an answer. Hmmm, well a pair of spiders doesn't really work. A banjo would be appropriately local, but mighty hard to sneak into the rink. Throwing Garth Brooks on the ice would be counterproductive. I know! Catfish are sort of seafood, like octopi--they smell bad, and lots of folks round Nashville like to eat them some catfish, right? (I can see Dave Chappelle's race pixie going crazy as we speak.) So Nashville fans start throwing Catfish on the ice, and hilarity ensues. Do they realize that this makes them look even MORE ridiculous in the eyes of real hockey fans? If they want to really show some local tradition, they ought to be throwing dollar bills on the ice to reflect that their team earns no money, won't partake of profit-sharing because of low attendance, and can't compete with the Grand Ole Opry for airtime or revenue.
This hearkens back to the 1996 playoffs when Miami hockey fans (does that even make SENSE?!?) starting throwing rats on the ice and at goalies. The league quickly intervened, because Panthers fans, like most nascent sports fans who think success equals tradition, took it too damn far. Hey, at least there was a funny, albeit gruesome, story behind the Rat Trick in Florida. The catfish? It just stinks.
4 comments:
Detroit actually incorporated a octopus mascot? I did not know that. Do you have a pic of this or something? Very interesting....
Also what the hell happened to the Capitals? Talk about hitting a brick wall!!! Does anyone think they still have a realistic chance? I got to admit, I had them as my dark horse team to make a deep run in the playoffs. Boy they sure fooled me!
Worse pirate I have ever seen,
Al the Octopus is more of a deity figure than an actual mascot. He hangs in the rafters of the Joe and snarls menacingly upon visiting players.
As a matter of knowing whom I am addressing, are you a member of my pool? If so, lemme know in an e-mail who you are. If not, that's fine. It just seems odd that a random stranger happened upon this site so quickly after its creation.
Geoff - who do you know is a big Pirates of the Carribean fan?
Hint: The current Iron Hockey League champion...
Apologies. I can be kinda dense sometimes. I guess it comes with the territory of being a Habs fan these days.
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