Florida fans got their team in trouble after throwing toy rats to the ice
The Florida Panthers' PR staff might want to re-think their promotion plans. The team gave out 10,000 toy rats before Thursday's game against the New Jersey Devils as a nod to a Florida tradition from the mid-1990s where fans used to throw plastic rats to the ice to celebrate a goal. But when fans tried to bring that tradition back Thursday night by throwing their toy rats, the Panthers suffered the consequences.
Rats rained down onto the ice after Florida forward Jonathan Huberdeau scored in the second period to tie the game at 1-1, but the referees were not in the same celebratory mood as the fans, as they gave fans a warning over the PA system to stop throwing plastic rats or else the team would be assessed a delay of game penalty.
But whenever people are told not to do something, it only serves as more enticement to do it. So naturally when the Panthers scored again in the third period to take a 2-1 lead, fans tossed more rats to the ice. The refs followed through on their threat and the Panthers were given a delay of game penalty.
Luckily the Devils did not score on the resulting power play, but because the Panthers are locked in a tight race for first place in the Atlantic Division with just five games left in the regular season, this celebration quickly could have turned into a nightmare for the Panthers if New Jersey had scored.
The celebration also angered fans who were annoyed the Panthers were given a penalty when the Detroit Red Wings have a tradition of throwing an octopus onto the ice during the playoffs and are not penalized for that practice. Even Jaromir Jagr was upset about the resulting Florida penalty.
#FlaPanthers Jaromir Jagr said he was upset at officials on Rat Delay...said games are too important to penalize teams for actions of fans
— George Richards (@GeorgeRichards) April 1, 2016
Given that hockey in Florida can be a tough sell, controversy reigned in the NHL over the idea of penalizing Floridian fans for a relatively harmless celebration. But rules are rules, and at least fans were warned the first time it happened Thursday.
