The offensive linemen of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans held up catfish while revving up fans before another game. Dead fish have never been so popular.įive hit the ice one night early in the playoffs. With the Predators’ in the playoffs for the 10th time in 13 years, there has been a catfish comeback. The tradition became so popular that officials started handing out delay of game penalties against the Predators, which put things on ice for a while. “‘Hey, we’re the new Southern team on the ice, and we’re going to throw a catfish on the ice.’ That was kind of the attitude that day.” “It wasn’t meant to be anything but fun and answer Detroit’s call to their octopus,” said Wolf, now semi-retired and living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. With a small bar inside the arena, Wolf said he knew where to hide from security, too. Wolf said Leipold, still a close friend, did not know about the catfish. I figured that it had to be one of our fans mocking the Red Wings. “I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it was a catfish. “The first time I saw the catfish flop on the ice, we were playing Detroit so I thought it was an octopus,” Leipold, now owner of the Minnesota Wild, wrote in an email to The Associated Press. Friends around the arena provided cover and a distraction by running as well. Wolf said he tossed the catfish, then ran up the aisle. The stench started wafting around him until the Preds’ lone goal in what ended up a 4-1 loss. 26, 1999, Wolf tucked the catfish underneath his Predators’ jersey, walked in and waited for Nashville’s first goal. Wolf bought a nine-pound catfish and wrapped it in newspaper and plastic wrap. Wolf’s inspiration came when he walked outside and looked down Broadway to the Cumberland River. The Red Wings immediately became Nashville’s biggest foe.Ī couple days before Detroit’s visit in January 1999, Wolf said, he sat with friends looking for a uniquely Tennessee answer to the Red Wings’ storied octopus tradition. There were also a fair number of Red Wings fans in the area, thanks to General Motors’ nearby Saturn plant and the automaker’s close ties to Detroit. Once Nashville landed an NHL expansion franchise, Wolfy’s became a go-to stop for fans and players. He also lobbied Nashville to build an arena on the other corner to spur redevelopment of what then was a neighborhood down on its luck.īack then, he served burgers to construction workers and the Predators’ new owner, Craig Leipold. He helped open the restaurant bearing his name across from renowned honky-tonk Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. Wolf is a Rangers’ fan born in Brooklyn who had played drums for Johnny Paycheck and others before going into the restaurant business in Nashville. He says the idea to toss a catfish grew out a discussion at Wolfy’s during the Predators’ inaugural season, back in 1998-99. Traditions may be traditions, but you’re technically not allowed to bring that stuff into the arena.Wolf, of course, watched all this from afar with some measure of satisfaction. The same is true of the octopus in Detroit. It was dubbed “Operation: Fat Cat” and it appeared to be a rousing success.īut you’re probably wondering, “How does one get a giant cat fish into the arena?” Well, you can’t just put it in a shopping bag and haul it in. As the final notes of the Star Spangled Banner were sung, the catfish hit the ice, one in each end and another in the neutral zone. Also palpable, probably, the scent of catfish waiting to be thrown.įour Predators fans, in a well-coordinated effort, threw what can only be described as the biggest catfish they could find onto the ice after the national anthem. The excitement surrounding the team for that big game on Nashville ice was palpable. The Predators returned home for Game 3 after winning each of the first two games against the Anaheim Ducks on the road. Whatever the case, it’s become one of the big-game staples in Nashville as the Preds have become a perennial playoff contender. Sometimes it’s before a game, sometimes it’s after a goal. They throw catfish – big ones.Ī tradition that is believed to have started in the early 2000s, Predators fans have taken to throwing large cat fish on the ice. Like the Detroit Red Wings have their octopus-throwing tradition, the Nashville Predators fans have put a southern twist on something similar.
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