If people want to refer to the NFL as the “No Fun League,” they should probably be fair and start calling the NHL the “No Happiness League.” For whatever reason, NHL officials have decided to crack down on traditions during the 2011 NHL Playoffs. First, the league asked the Detroit Red Wings to see to it that their fans stop doing the octopus toss, a nearly 50-year-old tradition. According to Puck Daddy, the NHL has now asked the Vancouver Canucks to tell the Green Men to stop screwing around near the opponents’ penalty box during games.
Of the four major U.S. sports, it’s no secret that the NHL is the least popular. That being the case, why is it that the NHL is trying to squash harmless traditions and tone down some of its most devoted fans? According to the league, the issue with the Green Men is liability. If they were to get hurt doing handstands up against the glass the NHL could conceivably find themselves in hot water.
“It’s a liability thing,” Sully — one of the Green Men — told Puck Daddy on Monday. “Even though I’ve been doing them for a year and a half, and I’m sort of an expert on them. The Canucks have our backs. The NHL didn’t want to call us personally, so they had the Canucks do it for them.”
People like Glenn Healy, a former NHL goaltender and current commentator for CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, have been adamant about putting a stop to the Green Men antics saying things like “we’ve had enough” and “it’s about the game, it’s about the players, it’s not about the guys doing handstands.”
That’s where you’re wrong, Glenn. It’s about the money. Professional sports is an entertainment industry. Considering the Green Men fan page on Facebook had 87,707 fans as of 1:35 p.m. EST on Tuesday, one could argue they are good for the game. At the end of the day, they aren’t hurting anything but the opponents feelings. If you can’t do that while you’re sitting in the stands, you might as well stay home and watch the game.
