NHL- Don’t Toss Jerseys, Toss Hats
As fans, we are passionate about our teams. We support them through thick and thin. We pledge our fan allegiance to a team and live vicariously through their actions on the ice. We save up enough money to buy tickets to see them, like a rock concert. We buy merchandise to show our pride. We voice our team unity and stand by the team, through good times and bad.
But what happens when we get pushed over the edge? Our chosen team stinks up the joint and we are embarrassed to say we are fans of theirs. What do you do? Well one thing you don’t do is toss your hard earned jersey on the ice for the NHL world to see.
A couple of weeks ago, two separate jersey throwing incidences occurred. One was at Edmonton, where the Oilers lost after climbing back against the Calgary Flames to tie the game. In fairness to the fan, the Oilers had not been lighting up the standings, being winless when that fan decided to voice their displeasure.
The second incident occurred in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs were playing the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sometime during the third period, a fan let their frustration out by throwing their team’s jersey onto the ice.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
Whatever happened to team loyalty as fans? Sure losing is frustrating, depressing, and downright miserable. But, there’s no need to throw your jersey on the ice. There are other ways to voice your displeasure. If you’re a season ticket or partial season ticket holder, give or sell your tickets to someone else. There are plenty of outlets that allow you to resell them. Don’t deprive someone of not going. Another form of is to go on a team hiatus. Pack up your team colors and put them out of your sight. Then when your team starts turning things around, you can break them out and be one with the fan base again. Make signs, posters, etc. of your displeasure. All these things you can voice your displeasure with.
But don’t toss your jersey. One, it’s a safety hazard. If you haven’t kept up with the times, we live in a dangerous and unpredictable world. If an object is thrown on the ice or anywhere in public, security treats it as a threat, even as harmless as a jersey. Two, you dropped at least $200.00 American dollars for that jersey. You saved up all that money to finally get one. Then in a blink of an eye, it’s gone with one simple toss over the glass. And the worst part is, you may not even get it back. Three, it looks bad. It let’s everyone know you have given up, turned your back on the team, thrown in the towel. Please be kind, don’t unwind.
So, I plead with you the NHL fan, don’t toss your jerseys on the ice. You bought it for a reason: to support your team. Just make sure to toss your hat next time your team gets a hat trick, or something pre approved by the organization, like an octopus before a Detroit Red Wings game.
Otherwise, you’ll be seeing security and your night may get worse. Your choice.