Sports fans are as religious about their traditions as most people are about their actual religions.
Whether it be jumping through tables, yelling ‘TRUE NORTH’ at that part in O Canada, or an impressive Haka, traditions in sports are part of what make them so great. To be clear, they oftentimes make little to no sense, but that’s just fine with us.
If you’re a Motor city hockey fan, then you know that throwing an octopus onto the ice during home playoff games is part of the Red Wings tradition.
Legend says the tradition started on April 15th, 1952, when two fans hurled an octopus onto the ice to symbolize the eight wins (octopus have eight tentacles) that the Red Wings would need to capture the Stanley Cup. They went on to do just that, sweeping the Leafs and Habs to capture Lord Stanley, and the tradition has remained ever since.
Hockey and its traditions and superstitions, huh?
As pointed out by Reddit user maidenfan88 with this old news report, it’s been 69 years since this one began, and we imagine that Red Wings fans are hoping for a reason to hurl an octopus onto the ice very soon.
