NHL Cracks down on Renegade Octopus Twirler
I read about the ban on Al Sobotka’s routine for pulling an octopus off the Joe Louis Arena ice and on the one hand it’s not that big of a deal to me. But given that it’s a) wildly popular and b) completely harmless it just seems like an incredibly retarded decision by the league. It’s a bit like the NFL’s crackdown on touchdown celebrations which earned the league the moniker of No Fun League.
But twirling an octopus isn’t a form of excessive celebration and it doesn’t disrespect the opponent. Those are the two reasons the NFL fines celebrations that cross the line. Otherwise they’ve pretty much relented and realized that the choreographed routines that definitely put the I in TEAM generate insane amounts of attention and enjoyment.
Here’s the basic routine:
If the big concern is that Sobotka is getting the crowd fired up, then should the NHL take this stupid decision to its logical conclusion and get rid of the ice girls who are basically cheerleaders on ice who’s sole purpose is to energize the crowd? I personally like the ice girls more than a rotund guy waving an octopus but that might be the only explanation for why the NHL would institute a $10,000 fine for anyone other than a linesman to remove the octopus from the ice. There’s really no other reason to have an NHL official handle this when it’s something Sobotka has done with absolutely no problems or controversy for 17 years.
I didn’t disagree with the league’s decision to act immediately to put an end to Sean Avery’s unique form of screening the goalie as allowing a guy to put his hands or anything else directly in front of the goalie’s eyes and prevent him from being able to see is poor sportsmanship and obviously put the goalie’s team at a big disadvantage. But this is a case of being draconian for no reason whatsoever. The fact that octopus twirling - strange as it is to me - is a source of entertainment just makes this decision completely idiotic.
As IWO over at A2Y likes to say: Thanks Gary. Ass.
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[…] Dave @ Gorilla Crouch: I read about the ban on Al Sobotka’s routine for pulling an octopus off the Joe Louis Arena ice and on the one hand it’s not that big of a deal to me. But given that it’s a) wildly popular and b) completely harmless it just seems like an incredibly retarded decision by the league. It’s a bit like the NFL’s crackdown on touchdown celebrations which earned the league the moniker of No Fun League. […]
Already this got a few people I know calling the NHL the “No Humor League” in a throwback to the No Fun League deal - it just seems so completely unnecessary. I mean really, it gets “matter on the ice”? Come on.
[…] Gorilla Crouch […]