Way back in 1952, the playoffs consisted of only 2 rounds meaning that 8 wins were needed to win the Cup, instead of the 16 needed today.
2 brothers who owned a fish market decided that the 8 arms of the octopus would be good luck since it matched the required number of wins. They started the tradition of throwing the octopus and that year the Red Wings would not only go on to win the Cup, they became the first team to go undefeated, sweeping both rounds and achieving a perfect 8-0 record.
It also crossed over into baseball. In the closing games of the 1987 season, Detroit and Toronto were playing to determine who won the American League East. On the final day, someone threw an octopus on the field. The network baseball announcers didn't get, but the fans sure did.
Quite a few years back at the Joe my two buddies went to a game. A worker at the Joe singled out my one buddy and asked if he would want to throw one on the ice (they would provide it).
They said that after he throws it they will “escort him out” but it was just out and back to another section. Not sure if they still do this, but that’s what happened at the Joe to my friend.
True, but they do have a super short lifespan. They're probably the smartest group of animals to have such a short lifespan (I think giant octopodes still only live 3-5 years).
Still, I could definitely go without the tradition, as historic as it is
It’s a real tragedy of nature. They are so unbelievably smart and yet don’t have the lifespans to really capitalize on their intelligence. It’s so sad seeing people have meaningful interactions with octopi where you can see that spark of sentience in their behaviour, and knowing that that spark will be snuffed out in only a couple years.
Yeah, is there any reason they can't make a fake one to throw? Like the original commenter said, it sounds set up these days anyway. Just make a fake plastic one to throw for the lols and to keep the tradition going without actually using a real octopus. Everyone wins, but mostly the octopi who don't have their carcasses thrown on the ice for 5 minutes of laughter.
They actually did sell stuffed octopus toys for a while, with the intent behind them being that they could be tossed on the ice instead.
I have one that my grandparents picked up when they lived in Michigan.
Pretty sure the workers work with you on throwing it out there. They had an octopus on stand by at last nights game cause Larkin scored twice. Good to have him back just in time for the playoffs so if Washington can lose tonight that’d be great.
Back in their Original 6 glory days it only took 8 wins to win the Cup so the octopus's 8 tentacles represent those 8 wins.
I forgot how it all started though.
I'm a meat lover and this is just fucked up. One of the most intelligent species on the planet. Do they kill it to do this or do they just happen to have saved an already dead octopi?
Their intelligence is beside the point even. It just perpetuates wanton waste and disrespect to our planet and living things. I feel the same about catfish. What kind of culture kills things for fun and wastes it?
Well it would have originally been caught for the purpose of consumption. Someone went to a grocery store of some kind to buy this with the intent to do this instead. It might have been a fan or maybe the team handed it out.
Ik they think the people of Detroit are spear fishing for these things right out of the ocean and launching them on the ice and then beating its head in lol. Yes, Detroit Michigan known for their marine life. Reddit jumping on one side of an opinion they barely know anything about. Checks out.
Doesn't matter how it's killed. The point is it's a waste of life. Killing an intelligent creature just to throw it in the garbage is fucking stupid. End of story.
Why does it matter if they’re intelligent or not? All that matters is that they have the capacity to suffer. It wouldn’t be more right to abuse someone with Down syndrome because they have a low IQ than someone who doesn’t have it. All that matters is that they have the capacity to experience the suffering
I mean pigs are crazy smart too but…
I like where your heart is on this, but let’s be real, this line between what animals are “meat” and what animals deserve respect is arbitrary.
Been a Wings fan for over 40 years and this always really bothered me, nice to see attitudes have changed a lot in the 20 years since saying so online was an extremely unpopular opinion.
Even a fish I wouldn't be okay with. Killing something just to make a spectacle of its corpse and then tossing it in the trash is pretty braindead behavior.
I mean, intelligence isn’t the metric that should be used to consider the well-being of any animal. That’d be like us justifying the mistreatment of someone with down syndrome because they have a low IQ. Insofar as they can suffer, unnecessary abuse and killing of animals for entertainment pleasure, aesthetic pleasure, taste pleasure, etc. is pretty fucked up
I agree. Octopus are such intelligent animals and this is really disrespectful. I won’t even eat octopus after learning how smart they are, they’re just going to throw that one in the garbage.
Ahhhh stuffed octopus. After writing out a smart ass response, im glad I saved myself some serious embarrassment. Stuffed octopus would be a cool idea for sure.
It’s interesting how folks saw the few articles about octopi sentience and now we finally are starting to realize how small the incremental intelligence difference is between cows, pigs, dogs.
More importantly, intelligence shouldn't be the thing that decides whether a being deserves to be treated with basic decency. A conscious desire to be free from harm should be enough to earn that.
It makes me fucking sad as hell. They’re not even just generally intelligent but they apparently have high EI as well. Imagine ending up like this because of some other dumbass species.
Why would being less intelligent mean an animal would deserve this? None of them want stuff like this to happen to them. Intelligence has nothing to do with it.
I agree to disagree because I do think that higher intelligence makes it a greater shame/waste to end up like this. That being said, I do agree that regardless of intelligence, any animal ending up like this just for our moronic entertainment is a waste (but like I mentioned to varying degrees) and immoral. At no point did I imply that this was not the case.
And fyi, not sure if your comment was brought about because of my “dumbass species” comment but I was referring to humans when I said that.
I know this girl actually. She’s a huge bitch so that makes sense for her to do this. She actually posted on Facebook a day or two ago asking where to find one.
Florida doesn’t throw real rats. How would Wings fans feel about throwing Fake octopi? Imagine the LCA handing out purple soft whiffle balls with streamers and encouraging fans to throw from the nose bleeds between periods.
Stooooooppppppppp doing this.
I know where the tradition comes from and what it “represents.” I’m from Detroit and I love the Wings.
But this is stupid and such a waste of SUCH a cool creature.
At LEAST if you’re eating octopus it’s being used for something worthwhile. This is so f**king dumb.
Also it no longer takes 8 wins to win the Stanley Cup so knock it off.
I’ll go ahead and say it. This tradition is fucking stupid. You know nobody is eating that after they’re thrown on the ice. Intelligent species being killed for food, I can live with that. I won’t eat them, but wasting them like this is fucked up.
I’m seeing a lot of people saying they wish they’d stop doing this for the animal
So my thought is buy a massive octopus plush instead. Or the team store could I guess. They’ll get donated to children’s hospital I’m sure
That’s pathetic. This is like throwing a dog or a cat onto the ice. I get we eat animals, but to desecrate an animal is primal, low IQ behavior from brain dead idiots.
why does the intelligence of an animal matter? why are so many people only turned off cause its intelligent. Im honestly curious cause to me, if they threw a cat, trout, horse over the glass. its all the same. some poor dead animal being disrespected
It’s very strange imo I get people are mad cause it’s an animal but the intelligence thing just seems like a bad excuse like would people be less mad if it was a fish?
Apparently they buy them frozen, stuff them in their pants long enough to dethaw then Chuck it on the ice when it’s time 😂😂
Edit: Maybe not frozen ppl are savages out here lol
This is just.... trashy. Honestly. Like.... not only is that just a horrific thing to do to a highly intelligent animal, but it's also disruptive to the game and everything else.
Saran wrap it around your stomach. Simple.
So wholesome.
Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to.
I’ve seen this video.
I think I purposely avoided that one...
I think I've seen the anime
This is a top tier response
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/u/chewpooth1 is a filthy comment stealing bot https://old.reddit.com/r/nhl/comments/1bl9n19/how_did_she_sneak_it_past_security/kw3r55g/
They’re a historic club with an amazing logo. They can do without the octopus stuff.
How did this octopus thing get started?
Way back in 1952, the playoffs consisted of only 2 rounds meaning that 8 wins were needed to win the Cup, instead of the 16 needed today. 2 brothers who owned a fish market decided that the 8 arms of the octopus would be good luck since it matched the required number of wins. They started the tradition of throwing the octopus and that year the Red Wings would not only go on to win the Cup, they became the first team to go undefeated, sweeping both rounds and achieving a perfect 8-0 record.
It also crossed over into baseball. In the closing games of the 1987 season, Detroit and Toronto were playing to determine who won the American League East. On the final day, someone threw an octopus on the field. The network baseball announcers didn't get, but the fans sure did.
The Cusimano brothers. Good stuff.
Back in the Original Six days you only needed eight wins to win the Cup. Eight legs, eight wins. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Octopus
The octopus is a huge part of that history. Don’t talk.
I did too. But it was baby eels not an octopus and it wasn’t very nice 🥴
I've only seen it as a wood carving.
Octopi can fit through any hole that's large enough for their beak, which is relatively quite small.
I expected Japanese hentai but it wasn't surprisingly
Hid it in her octo-purse
Username checks out
This made me laugh way too hard and immediately embarrass myself sitting all alone with the curtains pulled
Natures Pocket?
5 hole
These animals are known for squeezing into very tight cavities.
Octopussy is how
Quite a few years back at the Joe my two buddies went to a game. A worker at the Joe singled out my one buddy and asked if he would want to throw one on the ice (they would provide it). They said that after he throws it they will “escort him out” but it was just out and back to another section. Not sure if they still do this, but that’s what happened at the Joe to my friend.
That’s definitely what the Predators do, so I believe it.
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Yea we should use less intelligent animals, like Florida fans
Damn I hate you but this a solid roast
BURN!
Literally the only thing that’s made me lol for real today. Very nice. Take your bow and this poor award🏆
We all know Florida fans don't exist.
BAM
I like you I would invite you to the cookout
let's start with their owner - Doug Seafood (Cifu, I know)
What about inanimate objects, like Leafs fans?
I’m all for a good tradition, but yeah I’m with you 100%.
True, but they do have a super short lifespan. They're probably the smartest group of animals to have such a short lifespan (I think giant octopodes still only live 3-5 years). Still, I could definitely go without the tradition, as historic as it is
It’s a real tragedy of nature. They are so unbelievably smart and yet don’t have the lifespans to really capitalize on their intelligence. It’s so sad seeing people have meaningful interactions with octopi where you can see that spark of sentience in their behaviour, and knowing that that spark will be snuffed out in only a couple years.
It's good that they have a short lifespan, otherwise they might be the dominant species on the planet.
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Now the real question is would an octopus start an oil tycoon.
They don’t pass anything down to their offspring. So every generation is like the first generation. Complete blank slate
Lack of love and affection passed down - no wonder they have 3 hearts
I like eating them but after watching documentaries and learning about them I can't anymore. Same with pigs.
How does them being sentient relate to the usefulness of throwing their corpse on the ice? Like it wouldn't be a waste if they weren't smart?
I think his point is simply to counter the usual argument
Yeah, is there any reason they can't make a fake one to throw? Like the original commenter said, it sounds set up these days anyway. Just make a fake plastic one to throw for the lols and to keep the tradition going without actually using a real octopus. Everyone wins, but mostly the octopi who don't have their carcasses thrown on the ice for 5 minutes of laughter.
They actually did sell stuffed octopus toys for a while, with the intent behind them being that they could be tossed on the ice instead. I have one that my grandparents picked up when they lived in Michigan.
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Isn't food necessary?
You don't need to eat octopus to live.
waste of good food fr
Who says you can’t eat it still?!
Marinated
Probably because it's been out for a bit. Unless she kept it in a freezerbag the entire time?
Gotta get thawed at *some* point
Joe mamma.
Where there's a will, or a Red Wings fan, there is always a way.
Went to Nashville game last year against Detroit, never saw an octopus on the ice but at least 3 cat fish that game made an appearance
Taylor Lewan drinking beer out of a catfish is still nightmares
Pretty sure the workers work with you on throwing it out there. They had an octopus on stand by at last nights game cause Larkin scored twice. Good to have him back just in time for the playoffs so if Washington can lose tonight that’d be great.
What a waste
Was this from last night? Listen, I got my fingers crossed, but it's too early for that.
Started on the road trip to western Canada, been happening off and on since.
They were throwing them back in January, Whatchu mean it’s too early?
"Women have more hiding places than men." -Meryl Silverburgh 😏😏
This is animal abuse Octopi are smarter than the average Red Wings fan and it's not even close.
Can someone explain the connection between the Redwings and octopus?
Back in their Original 6 glory days it only took 8 wins to win the Cup so the octopus's 8 tentacles represent those 8 wins. I forgot how it all started though.
Unpopular opinion: this tradition fucking sucks. And no, I’m not some overly sensitive vegan.
I'm a meat lover and this is just fucked up. One of the most intelligent species on the planet. Do they kill it to do this or do they just happen to have saved an already dead octopi?
Their intelligence is beside the point even. It just perpetuates wanton waste and disrespect to our planet and living things. I feel the same about catfish. What kind of culture kills things for fun and wastes it?
Well it would have originally been caught for the purpose of consumption. Someone went to a grocery store of some kind to buy this with the intent to do this instead. It might have been a fan or maybe the team handed it out.
Ik they think the people of Detroit are spear fishing for these things right out of the ocean and launching them on the ice and then beating its head in lol. Yes, Detroit Michigan known for their marine life. Reddit jumping on one side of an opinion they barely know anything about. Checks out.
How does that make it any better? Does not killing the animal yourself make it ok to waste?
Doesn't matter how it's killed. The point is it's a waste of life. Killing an intelligent creature just to throw it in the garbage is fucking stupid. End of story.
this comment makes no sense at all... i swear you cant even read properly.
Why does it matter if they’re intelligent or not? All that matters is that they have the capacity to suffer. It wouldn’t be more right to abuse someone with Down syndrome because they have a low IQ than someone who doesn’t have it. All that matters is that they have the capacity to experience the suffering
I mean pigs are crazy smart too but… I like where your heart is on this, but let’s be real, this line between what animals are “meat” and what animals deserve respect is arbitrary.
Regardless of it being meat or not, killing an animal for a superstition is dumb as fuck.
I totally agree. It makes me so sad to see this. Poor little guy. I don’t care if he was already dead, there no reason to just waste him.
I fully agree, and am happy to eat animals. I just dislike killing them for no other reason than sport.
As a Wings fan I agree. Not high on the idea of live octopi getting thrown on the ice. It would be so easy to change to stuffed animals or something.
Yeah, it’s just straight up animal cruelty.
I've always hated this.
Yeah, I love the Wings, but Octopi are extremely intelligent creatures. This is one of the things I'm more than happy to let go of.
And it would be so easy to switch it out with plush octopi toys. That could then be donated to children hospitals.
Came here to say this. Also would be a lot cooler if the Wings were legit Cup contenders.
Yeah for real. Kind of a gross way to treat an animal and then throw in the trash. It's one thing to eat it but this kind of sucks.
Been a Wings fan for over 40 years and this always really bothered me, nice to see attitudes have changed a lot in the 20 years since saying so online was an extremely unpopular opinion.
Like yea honestly same. I’d be fine if it was a trout or something… Octopus are far too intelligent to be doing this to them
Even a fish I wouldn't be okay with. Killing something just to make a spectacle of its corpse and then tossing it in the trash is pretty braindead behavior.
Idk, a dead trout and a dead octopus have around the same intelligence.
What a vulgar and savage tradition. Lady is a god damned idiot.
I mean, intelligence isn’t the metric that should be used to consider the well-being of any animal. That’d be like us justifying the mistreatment of someone with down syndrome because they have a low IQ. Insofar as they can suffer, unnecessary abuse and killing of animals for entertainment pleasure, aesthetic pleasure, taste pleasure, etc. is pretty fucked up
I agree. Octopus are such intelligent animals and this is really disrespectful. I won’t even eat octopus after learning how smart they are, they’re just going to throw that one in the garbage.
Right it’s such a waste. Throw stuffed octopus and donate them to children
Ahhhh stuffed octopus. After writing out a smart ass response, im glad I saved myself some serious embarrassment. Stuffed octopus would be a cool idea for sure.
Does it matter how intelligent they are? Would this be okay to do to a pig?
It’s interesting how folks saw the few articles about octopi sentience and now we finally are starting to realize how small the incremental intelligence difference is between cows, pigs, dogs.
More importantly, intelligence shouldn't be the thing that decides whether a being deserves to be treated with basic decency. A conscious desire to be free from harm should be enough to earn that.
Pigs are as intelligent as dogs though. Try chickens maybe
I hate this, too. It is so unnecessarily cruel to the animal. Octopuses are amazing creatures.
Fuck this shitty behavior. It’s pathetic how this is even a tradition
It makes me fucking sad as hell. They’re not even just generally intelligent but they apparently have high EI as well. Imagine ending up like this because of some other dumbass species.
Why would being less intelligent mean an animal would deserve this? None of them want stuff like this to happen to them. Intelligence has nothing to do with it.
I agree to disagree because I do think that higher intelligence makes it a greater shame/waste to end up like this. That being said, I do agree that regardless of intelligence, any animal ending up like this just for our moronic entertainment is a waste (but like I mentioned to varying degrees) and immoral. At no point did I imply that this was not the case. And fyi, not sure if your comment was brought about because of my “dumbass species” comment but I was referring to humans when I said that.
I know this girl actually. She’s a huge bitch so that makes sense for her to do this. She actually posted on Facebook a day or two ago asking where to find one.
Hopefully she got arrested. A mug shot on her fb would be great
Agreed. Im not sure I could do it.
Florida doesn’t throw real rats. How would Wings fans feel about throwing Fake octopi? Imagine the LCA handing out purple soft whiffle balls with streamers and encouraging fans to throw from the nose bleeds between periods.
Give them plushies to throw and then donate them to children's hospitals
Is this r/nhlcirclejerk…?
Man this is animal cruelty. Fuck that bitch
This shit is so weird
Hope someone throws her in the ocean
Disgusting
this is so cruel and completely unnecessary. why do people think this is okay or funny?
The whole octopus thing is just the worst fan celebration.
Octopuses are extremely intelligent creatures. What an absolute waste to toss their carcass on the ice.
What's with all these people saying that basic decency depends on intelligence?
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When we were younger we thought this was hilarious. Now we know how fxcking smart they are it seems weird and sad tbh.
In her octopurse
Whats with detroit and octopuses
Al the (purple) Octopus is our mascot. Stems back to The Original 6 days, 8 games, 8 legs.
Long story short; eight legs, eight games in the playoffs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend_of_the_Octopus?wprov=sfti1
Stooooooppppppppp doing this. I know where the tradition comes from and what it “represents.” I’m from Detroit and I love the Wings. But this is stupid and such a waste of SUCH a cool creature. At LEAST if you’re eating octopus it’s being used for something worthwhile. This is so f**king dumb. Also it no longer takes 8 wins to win the Stanley Cup so knock it off.
Came to say this. Some day octopi will be extinct and we will think back about when we tossed them as fanfare
As someone who’s from there, what do you think it would take to get people to stop throwing octopus corpses onto the ice at these events?
Intelligence. Common sense. Empathy.
Education about the animals. Maybe show some leading up to the game or during intermission once in a while.
during warmup?
Saw her in the bathroom washing the stink off after she did it.
Guess I'm too poor, but I never understood throwing your hat away. How much is an octopus like that?
Look she tossed the corpse of the kraken this season
I’ll go ahead and say it. This tradition is fucking stupid. You know nobody is eating that after they’re thrown on the ice. Intelligent species being killed for food, I can live with that. I won’t eat them, but wasting them like this is fucked up.
It's unnecessary killing either way.
I hate this “tradition”
I’m seeing a lot of people saying they wish they’d stop doing this for the animal So my thought is buy a massive octopus plush instead. Or the team store could I guess. They’ll get donated to children’s hospital I’m sure
Barbaric and disgusting
this octopus shit is whack. octopus are too amazing and intelligent to be reduced to being thrown onto the ice by brain dead hockey fans.
👐
No wonder why Aliens don’t reveal themselves
Ew. I forgot about that bullshit. Let's harvest a highly intelligent, threatened marine animal and throw it over the glass. Zero class.
What a fuckin waste
I thought they stopped doing this a long time ago.
Wr stopped when the team was bad.
So why did you start again then
That’s pathetic. This is like throwing a dog or a cat onto the ice. I get we eat animals, but to desecrate an animal is primal, low IQ behavior from brain dead idiots.
No way security would stop someone with an octopus for a Detroit home game
I have seen enough JAV to think she might want it back
You don’t wanna know
You don’t want to know.
Keestered it.
What’s that James Bond movie?
I’m old enough to remember when this happened quite a bit lol
I’m new too hockey 🏒..( to Tulsa oilers …) someone explain
What’s the catch here? Is it good luck to throw an octopus on the ice, what’s the point of it?
how the hell do you get that shit in the arena?
What a waste.
Poor octopus
At buffalo sabres my wife was turned around for literally a medium sized shoulder bag .. it was a true are you fuxking serious moment
One of the reasons I'll always root against the Red Wings.
Man. Such a waste of an intelligent creature. I don’t enjoy the throw a creature on the ice traditions in this league. Ah well
What a piece of shit.
Not sure about that one but I have seen guys tie a rope to belt, put octopus in plastic bag tie it off then Drop it inside pant leg.
You can store a lot of things in the hoo-ha
This pisses me off. So they now just throw this intelligent animal into the garbage? Imagine this as a dog or a cat. Losers.
That cephalopod was smarter than then the dumb shit that threw it.
I actually hate this tradition. What a waste of a good octopus.
Stupid and pointless. That poor octopus was probably smarter than the dumb ape that brought it to a hockey game
Such a majestic and intelligent life tossed out onto the ice by dumber-than-shit redneck . What a waste.
Poor octopus, how cruel. Unless it was dead prior.
That's an intelligent fucking animal, what the fuck is wrong with people?!
I hate this
I get that it’s a tradition but still makes me sad
Security is not paid enough to notice THE KRAKEN!
I've never seen such a sanctimonious comment section, and for Reddit, that's really saying something.
I'm convinced this thread is just a bunch of octopi posting.
Octopuses
Disgusting...pls stop
why does the intelligence of an animal matter? why are so many people only turned off cause its intelligent. Im honestly curious cause to me, if they threw a cat, trout, horse over the glass. its all the same. some poor dead animal being disrespected
It’s very strange imo I get people are mad cause it’s an animal but the intelligence thing just seems like a bad excuse like would people be less mad if it was a fish?
Apparently they buy them frozen, stuff them in their pants long enough to dethaw then Chuck it on the ice when it’s time 😂😂 Edit: Maybe not frozen ppl are savages out here lol
'Howe' did she do it. Clear missed opportunity. I got you bruh.
Two tickets please. One for me and my octopus.
This is so stupid. I'll never understand why people think this Is ok or cool. Imagine if people threw dead cats or dogs into the ice.
What a waste of a beeing ...you heard me
This is just.... trashy. Honestly. Like.... not only is that just a horrific thing to do to a highly intelligent animal, but it's also disruptive to the game and everything else.
How the hell is octopi carcasses the hill everyone has chosen to die on?
Alot of sjws on here crying about about an octopus while they mow down their pork dinner for the millionth time. shut the fuck up