Hockey fans love throwing sea creatures onto the ice at games, but just how do you get a giant fish past arena security?
A group of Vancouver Canucks fans went to overwhelming lengths to sneak a few five-pound salmons past security guards during a weekend game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Joey Smith strapped a massive salmon to his stomach and had it vacuum-sealed and flattened under his Canucks sweater. Yet he still had concerns.
"I was a little worried getting caught," he told the Vancouver Sun. "But there were three of us with salmon taped to our chests so I knew we wouldn't fail ... and a lot of what I was thinking had to do with getting the fish off."
The key, Smith said, is hiding the fishy funk. The three friends used a mixture of vacuum wrap and perfume hide the odor. They also gave the salmon a "special perfume bath" before attempting to get it past arena security. Once inside the arena, the fans painstakingly removed the vacuum wrap, putting a pair of fish in the bathroom and placing the third salmon in a Bill Belichick style hoodie underneath their seats until it was time to drop the salmon bomb.
To be sure they were all on the same page, the fish tossers met at a Vancouver hotel room just before the game to set everything up and go over rules before letting it fly. Safety was (thankfully) No. 1 on the list. The friends waited until players were on the far side of the ice. They also waited until the third period, in case security guards caught them and kicked them out of the Rogers Arena. (They didn't want to miss a great game, after all.)
Video of the stunt has been a hit on Canadian sports channels and even YouTube.
Although the prank might just seem like random silliness from a few bored fans, the group took said it pulled off the stunt to honor a fallen friend. Garrett Paquette, a 30-year-old fan, had arranged to pull off similar mischief before dying in an ATV accident last November, according to the Nanaimo Daily News.
Garrett's father, Roger Paquette, was the inspiration for his late son's fish tossing fascination. Roger was the first to chuck a salmon on the ice during a Canucks playoff game in Calgary. Dad was part of a group of family and friends who got tickets to the game with Toronto. The father, along with Smith and Blake Simpson, took part in the toss.
Paquette, who loves hockey and owns a fishery business, felt his Canucks needed something similar to what the Red Wings fans have with the tossing of octopus.
By the way, the salmon-carrying fans didn't get caught, pulling off the perfect fish caper.
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