San Jose fans want their Glitter back

San Jose Sharks fans have started a petition to bring back Gary Glitter's Rock and Roll Part 2 as their goal song. The team is currently using Green Day's Holiday when the Sharks score -- no wonder fans are complaining. (via HockeyBuzz.com)

Previous: Gary Glitter's strange fame

25 years of The Wave

Twenty-five years after the first "Wave", EPSN.com's Page 2 tackles the "who invented the wave" debate.

Previous: San Jose fans complain about "The Wave"

It's time to build a hockey shrine

John Buccigross writes on EPSN.com:

"I just hope there is an owner or an architect out there who has the vision and the courage to build the NHL fan a "destination" once again, a hockey rink of worship that has the sightlines and camera angles of Boston Garden and the soul of Chicago Stadium. An arena every hockey fan just has to experience to bring back that loving feeling. I don't see why this can't be done, why an intimate hockey arena can't be built again with the purist in mind. Baseball did it, and it reinvigorated the game." Read the full article...

(via Kukla's Korner)

More on the Canucks new video scoreboard

The Vancouver Canucks unveiled their new video scoreboard last night at GM Place:

It weighs 49,000 pounds and its four large HD-ready light emitting diode (LED) screens (13.5 feet by 24 feet) display 4.4 trillion colours. Up close at full power it’s like standing on a Tahitian beach.

“It’s not so bad up here,” says Daktronics project manager Jacob Frein, the engineer in charge of lighting the behemoth. “Down south in Texas they need air conditioning for each panel just to keep it cool.”

But could you cook an egg on it if you dropped one on it midway through the third?

“No, probably not that hot,” says the lanky Frein, screwdriver in hand.

Still, it’s an impressive beast. And no, don’t try the egg test. A 12 by 12 inch panel costs about $1,000.

In all, the eight computers and 1.2 million pixels spread over eight screens draw as much power as your average house – which isn’t too bad considering it’s roughly equivalent to 80 big-screen televisions.

It’s the absolute largest clock they could get.

...

The ceremony for the old clock was a private affair, cut gently from the rafters with blow torches after more than 10 years of solid service.

The old clock’s reign came to an end on Tuesday, October 17th, less than a day after the Canucks defeated the Oilers 2-1.

Maintaining the Mark IV’s outdated cathode ray tube (CRT) system had become a burden — to say the least. Orca Bay engineers have scoured the technological dust-piles of North America and Asia for the past three years in search of extra light-cubes.

“We bought up all the spares in the world,” explains Jones. “We basically had a scavenger hunt through North America and Japan, and we acquired all the spares that were available. We were running out and we weren’t going to be able to keep all the little cubes lit through this year.”

Simply put, it was time for all 50,000 pounds of the old scoreclock to go unceremoniously the way of Betamax and Laser Video Discs — to the scrapheap. It took ten workers two full days to lower and dismantle.

Read the full article (with lots of photos)...

Previous:

Flyers try to set world record for wigs

From a Philadelphia Flyers press release:

The Philadelphia Flyers invite their fans to be a part of history and help the team break the Guinness World Record for “most people wearing wigs at a single sporting event” when the team takes the ice at Wachovia Center against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, October 30.

All fans will receive a orange wig on their way into the building.

(via Kukla's Korner)

GameOps.com on text messages for troops

From GameOps.com:

This summer a few teams took part in a program that encouraged fans to send text messages to troops serving overseas. The program sounds like a nice way to connect appreciative sports fans with American soldiers serving overseas. Except the messages actually weren’t being sent to the troops. Read more...

Vote for New Jersey's new goal song

The New Jersey Devils are letting fans choose their new goal song. There's an online poll featuring eleven tunes -- or you can write in your own nomination.

The songs in the running:

• Crowd Chant - Joe Satriani
• Do It Again - Queens of the Stone Age
• Ole! - The Bouncing Souls
• Kern Kraft 400 - Zombie Nation
• Hey Man Nice Shot - Filter
• Song 2 - Blur
• Memory - Barbra Streisand
• Kick Start My Heart - Motley Crue
• Brohymn - Pennywise
• Elevation - U2
• Supercharger Heaven - White Zombie

Click here to cast your vote...

(My vote would be for either Kick Start My Heart or Supercharger Heaven -- they have the right feel for a Devils goal.)

Previous:

• Pennywise comments on "Bro Hymn" goal song
• Vote for the Maple Leafs new goal horn
  

San Jose fans complain about "The Wave"

Krazy George would not be proud. Here are two letters printed recently in the San Jose Mercury News, from fans complaining about fans blocking their view while doing "The Wave":

I was at the Sharks game Oct. 7 against the Islanders. I have to say, although the Sharks won, I left feeling cheated. With about seven minutes left in the game, the whole arena started doing the wave during playing time! This was very inconsiderate, since it is often hard to see around the persons sitting in front of you. Now we had the whole section standing in front of me, blocking my view of the ice. The couple behind me were voicing their displeasure also. I have no doubt there were others who must have felt of same way.

It especially irked me when the Jumbotron was showing a camera shot of the wave. The Sharks camera crew was encouraging the behavior!

1. Because the fans can't regulate themselves, the Sharks organization should not promote this behavior. Please discourage it with a Jumbotron message like the legal disclaimer to watch out for flying pucks. If it continues, I will quit going to NHL games. It's not worth it to me.

2. I know the NHL has sped up the games, but the short stoppages between the action does not allow fans to get back to their seats without standing in the aisles or crawling over people to get to their seats. This also blocks my view. I am not saying this because I personally want more time to buy a hot dog. I am saying this because I want to see the hockey game.

Victor Zilinskas
Palo Alto

• What's up with Sharkie this year? At the first two Sharks home games, Sharkie got the fans doing the wave. This childish antic may be appropriate at baseball games where the action is slow, or at college football games where the student section will do anything suggested to them, but not at hockey games.

In hockey, the action is fast, and hits and goals happen in a split-second. I didn't pay good money on season tickets to have some ``occasional fan'' jump up to do the wave and block my view of a great Nabokov save. Heck, it's bad enough with people not waiting for the whistle before leaving or returning to their seats. We don't need the team's mascot making things worse. No wave!

Steve Jursa
San Jose

(via Kukla's Korner)

Game Entertainment YouTube Extravaganza, Part 2

A few more YouTube clips:

• The Worst Halftime Show Ever (via GameOps.com)
  
• Things mascots shouldn't do: Tennessee Titans mascot T-Roc drives a golf cart into a New Orleans Saints player at the end of a halftime show. (Via GameOps.com)
• Ottawa Senators home opener - full-ice video projection
• Ottawa Senators video projection - extended version
  
• Eva Avila sings O Canada at the Toronto Maple Leafs home opener

Previous: Game Entertainment YouTube Extravaganza, Part 1

Pennywise comments on "Bro Hymn" goal song

From The Universal Cynic:

Pennywise is another one of those fantastic SoCal punk bands that I grew up listening to -- so imagine my surprise when the Ottawa Senators recently began spinning one of their tracks after a goal is scored.

The song is called "Bro Hymn", and the trend of hearing it played after goals didn't start in Ottawa -- it actually began in Anaheim during the Ducks' playoff run last year. Anaheim would play it religiously, and the fans eventually caught onto the catchy chorus.

...

If a song is receiving regular exposure in the venues where a major sport is being played, you'd think the band would be thrilled, right? Not necessarily...because there's a lot more to "Bro Hymn" than just a great hook.

...

"We're not upset, but it's not cool," Dragge said. "There's a deep meaning behind that song and it's weird for it to be used in such a fashion.

...

"They're only hearing the chorus; they're not hearing any of the lyrics," Dragge pointed out. "They don't know any of the lyrics, but if they did, maybe they could relate better.

Read the full post...

(See also: Hockey Music Forum)

Game Entertainment YouTube Extravaganza

Grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy these vids found on YouTube:

• Ottawa Senators Round 1 entrance from 2006 playoffs
• Ottawa Senators Round 2 entrance from 2006 playoffs
• St. Louis Blues National Anthem
• Carolina on-ice projection, Stanley Cup
• Edmonton Oilers, Game 3 of Stanley Cup Finals
• Ronin Tynan sings God Bless America @ Buffalo Sabres
• Ottawa Senators vs. Buffalo Sabres, 2006 playoffs
• Edmonton Oilers, Game 6 of Stanley Cup Finals
• Carolina Hurricanes ice projection slideshow
• Carolina Hurricanes - player entrance 2006 playoffs
• Edmonton Oilers fans go nuts
• Vancouver Canucks opening ceremonies
• Carolina fans celebrate a goal
• Sens vs. Lightning, Round 1 Game 2
• Dallas Stars pre-game show
• More Dallas Stars pre-game show
• Montreal Canadiens player entrance
• Columbus Blue Jackets - intro to Blueland
• 2004 playoffs: Calgary @ Vancouver
• Toronto Starting Line-up 2004
• Phil Esposito retirement ceremony (Boston)
• Buffalo Sabres unveil a new uniform
• Seattle Thunderbirds opening
• San Jose Sharks hit the ice
• Carolina Hurricanes raise their Stanley Cup banner

Previous YouTube vids...

Game day promotion round-up

• The Everett Silvertips are holding a promotion where any fan suited up in full hockey gear (minus skates, we assume) will get a free ticket to the game. Source: Herald.net, via Kukla's Korner.
• Choose your favourite music, video clips, and voiceover to create your own Dallas Cowboy cheerleading commercial. Source: Coolz0r
  
• Giving out handheld TVs at NFL stadiums cheats fans. Fans get small portable tvs so they can watch out-of-town games -- while they're inside the stadium. Source: SI.com
  

White Sox sign 7-11 to a clever game promo

The Chicago White Sox have signed a three-year promotion deal with 7-11. In exchange for half a million dollars, the White Sox will move the first pitch for all evening games to 7:11pm. (via Adfreak)

Saginaw Spirit name their mascot after Stephen Colbert

The Saginaw Spirit are naming their mascot after Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report. The large eagle will be named Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle. Earlier this year, Colbert encouraged viewers to enter his name in a "name the mascot" contest.

Some links:
Sunaya Sapurji on HockeyBuzz.com
YouTube: Saginaw Spirit clip from Colbert Report
ggower.com: Stephen Colbert and the Saginaw Spirit mascot

Thanks to everyone who emailed about this today!

GameOps.com reviews the Pittsburgh Pirates gameday show

Jon Cudo from GameOps.com has posted a great review of the Pittsburgh Pirates gameday show, as part of the GameOps.com Six from Six series. It's a great idea for the series -- and this installment is the best one yet.

A sample:

Lesson 1: Spice up your most reoccurring elements

In baseball a major video piece is the introduction of each batter. Most teams do a nice job with the intros and graphics, knowing that it is something that fans will see over and over again. The Pirates didn't do a great job on this....they did a great job on this over and over again.

After the team had batted around, the video package changed. The Pirates scoreboard crew had no less than four entire sets of graphic packages for the roster. One was a pirate-theme video package using the team name and concept. The next time around there was a comic book-style font and graphics, followed by a bobblehead version.

Another version showed each of the Pirates players painting their names on a large canvas. The video ended with a tight shot on the players' painted name. It showed the players in an interesting setting and a unique side of their personality. Some players were more engaged in this that others, so the results varied a bit, but overall it added to the variety and it showcased the players personalities well.

Read the entire article at GameOps.com