Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Reason 19 Why Hockey Is the Greatest Sport in the World...


... The hat trick. Tonight I had the pleasure of witnessing le petit Briere's second hat trick of the season in person and I love watching those hats pour onto the ice. I love that fans in the 300s throw the hats to the 200s and the fans in the 200s throw them down to the 100s where fans toss them over the glass. I love that fans behind the netting toss their hats to fans on the corners who then toss them over the glass. I love the game coming to a halt while players shove hats off to the sides of the ice with their sticks and people come out and collect them and skate back off the ice with an armful. Love it. It's one of the best traditions in professional sports and it's such a cool, unique way for fans to acknowledge the accomplishment of one of their players.

Margee, this is for you.

14 comments:

Shan said...

Very true, but I must say, whoever thought of throwing octopi was even more brilliant...

The Acid Queen said...

And suddenly, much is made clear.

Heather B. said...

And suddenly, much is made clear.

Hmmmmm... Should I be insulted or complimented? :-)

Margee said...

Bless you. Bless your warm heart for that video. It was just the morning shot I needed. The only thing that would've made me happier is if they announced they were giving him back to the Islanders.

HG said...

I saw that he had the hattie last night and that pleased me a lot, not only because j'aime le petit Briere, but because I have him in TWO hockey pools! Yes! Merci beaucoup!

Heather B. said...

Margee: He was SMILING. That made me so, so happy because last I heard he was pretty depressed. Lindy said Timmy is already saying he can get back in condition in 4 weeks so he's dying to get back on the ice. And yeah, you can't have him back. Sorry!

HG: I have Danny in a pool as well! I totally forgot about that. Of course I believe that's the team I also have Toivenen on so I'm sure they cancelled each other out. Oh, well! I'll take the real-life win of course :-)

Jordi said...

I think what's pretty insane is the people who BRING the octopi. Do they smuggle it in? Nibble it between periods?

Jocelynn said...

Seriously! How do they bring it in there? Doesn't it stink and alert the door greeters? And what about now that they check bags? Do they smuggle it in their clothes?

Does anyone know if the incidences of octupus throwing have declined in recent years, as a result of security measures?

Paige said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paige said...

May I just say, I managed to snag some seats on the glass, so I personally witnessed Briere's hat trick goal. It was especially fun b/c I was with my Mom, who's favorite player is her "Danny Boy." My hands are still bruised from pounding on the glass so hard!

About the Octopi: that's pretty disgusting, I always wondered how they managed to get them into the arena, maybe they sell them at the concession counter or something... ;-)

Shan said...

Aaah you people can afford to go to so many games, curse Toronto/Montreal and their ridiculous ticket prices!

Heather B. said...

Shan: That's one of the best things about the Sabres. They're one of the best teams in the NHL, but THE cheapest regular season ticket in the league. They're increasing the prices some next season but even the increase is extremely reasonable compared to what people probably *would* pay right now. God bless Tommy G!

Paige said...

If the octopi was a real security measure, I'd laugh. What are they really afraid of? Maybe someone knocking a fan of the opposing team out w/ an octopus? Or maybe someone smuggling a bomg within one?

Forgot to mention this earlier: Danny became the 5th one this season to get multiples hat tricks!

Also, if you see a replay of Danny's hat trick goal, you might see a glimpse of a white shirt in the stands behind him when he pumps his arm... That's Me!

Jocelynn said...

I didn't mean that they are looking for octupi during security checks but that they might coincidentally find them when they do the checks. And since the NHL's official stance is to not chuck things onto the ice (with the exception of hats) any found octupi should get confiscated.

Speaking of crazy stuff: how did they get that side of beef onto the ice...was it Edmonton or Calgary?