Pittsburgh police are laying charges after a fan threw a dead catfish onto the ice during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final.
The incident happened at 9:00 p.m. ET, about one hour and 30 minutes into the first installment of the final between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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Jacob Waddell, 26, of Nolensville, Tenn. was charged via summons with disorderly conduct, possessing instruments of crime, and disrupting meetings and processions — and also ejected from the arena Monday night.
He reportedly bought the fish in Tennessee, sprayed it with Old Spice and vacuum sealed it, then stuffed it in his pants to sneak it into the arena.
“I thought ‘Man, wouldn’t it be awesome to get to go to that game?’” he said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “And then, like an ignorant redneck, I thought ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome to throw a catfish on the ice at this game?’”
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The NHL Fan Code of Conduct states that “fans may not engage in fighting, throwing objects or other behavior deemed detrimental to the experience of other guests and those who engage in any of these actions will immediately be ejected from the game.”
Despite that, the charges have fans outraged: one lawyer offered to represent him pro-bono.
While the mayor of Nashville said she wouldn’t intervene, Megan Barry said she hoped the charges would be dropped, according to the Tennessean.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation poked some fun at Pittsburgh Police on Twitter saying that that they’ve “seen a lot of ‘instruments of crime’ over the years,” but they’d never seen a catfish used as one.
A Go-Fund me campaign has already started to help Wadell with any legal fees associated with the charges, even though a local radio station, which Waddell collaborated with, is covering the fines, the Post-Gazette reports.
“It started with a man, a catfish and a dream,” the description of the page reads. “That dream, to make an impact in the Stanley Cup Final for his Nashville Predators. That dream would end in a disorderly conduct charge.”
So why did he do it?
Tradition, basically. The Tennessean reports that it started in 2003, when someone threw a catfish on the ice during the playoffs at a home game.
Fish were thrown during the Western Conference finals against Anaheim as well, though not during away games.
They’re not the only city to have an odd tradition though: Detroit fan throw octopuses onto the ice during Red Wings games.
The Penguins won Monday’s game 5-3. Game 2 takes place Wednesday night.
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