 | Those of you who are loyal listeners to Dinner and a Podcast know that Steve was discussing the Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators, and how they are IDing people in Pittsburgh who want to buy whole catfish. The guys wanted to know why the tradition started for Nashville and why Red Wings fan throw octopi on the ice. This traditions are loosely linked. |
The Tradition of the Octopus goes back to the 1950’s for the Red Wings when two brothers threw one onto the ice before the playoffs and the Red Wings swept both series to win the Stanley Cup. The Octopus’s 8 tentacles was said to symbolize the number of wins needed to win the Cup (back then there was only 2 best of 7 playoff rounds). The Red Wings went on to win 2 of the next 3 championships and the tradition stuck. Today the Red Wings have an Octopus mascot named Al and hang 2 Octopi from the rafters during the playoffs signifying the 16 wins needed to win the Stanley Cup.
The catfish in Nashville has a less fabled story of origin, but is more symbolic of the region than octopus and Detroit.
The first throwing of the catfish happened at a game between the Red Wings and Predators in response to the Red Wings throwing an octopus on the ice. In 2008 during the playoffs between the 2, 4 catfish were tossed to the ice. More recently a Nashville fan snuck a catfish into the Finals and threw it on the ice in Pittsburgh. He was promptly escorted out and arrested (http://deadspin.com/preds-fan-who-threw-catfish-on-the-ice-charged-with-pos-1795654574).
For more on other teams’ fans throwing animals and in one instance sex toys on the ice during hockey games, check out this article from CityLab in 2012 (https://www.citylab.com/equity/2012/05/hockey-fans-throwing-weird-crap-ice-city-city-breakdown/1992/).
by Joe Zalak
The catfish in Nashville has a less fabled story of origin, but is more symbolic of the region than octopus and Detroit.
The first throwing of the catfish happened at a game between the Red Wings and Predators in response to the Red Wings throwing an octopus on the ice. In 2008 during the playoffs between the 2, 4 catfish were tossed to the ice. More recently a Nashville fan snuck a catfish into the Finals and threw it on the ice in Pittsburgh. He was promptly escorted out and arrested (http://deadspin.com/preds-fan-who-threw-catfish-on-the-ice-charged-with-pos-1795654574).
For more on other teams’ fans throwing animals and in one instance sex toys on the ice during hockey games, check out this article from CityLab in 2012 (https://www.citylab.com/equity/2012/05/hockey-fans-throwing-weird-crap-ice-city-city-breakdown/1992/).
by Joe Zalak
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