NHL team the Carolina Hurricanes are storming against Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry after he called them a “jerks” for their unusual after-game celebrations.
Cherry made the comments on the segment Coach’s Corner on Hockey Night in Canada, referring to the Hurricanes’ after-game ritual they have done since October, which they call the “Storm Surge.”
In the surge, the players clap their hands over their heads and rush towards the boards at one end of the rink and do a little jump, to the fans’ delight.
The practice has also gotten a little more zany, with players pretending to play baseball or bowling, or doing the limbo.
It is common for hockey players to gather in the middle of the ice after a game and raise their hockey sticks, albeit in a less flashy manner as the Hurricanes have taken up.
But Cherry was having none of it. On Saturday night he said the routine is a “joke” and said: “They better not do this in the playoffs.”
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Cherry alluded that he perceived it as “making fun of other teams.”
The Hurricanes on Sunday whirled together a levy of comebacks to Cherry’s remarks on the team’s official Twitter page, where the bio now describes the team as: “That bunch of jerks with the fun celebrations.”
They tweeted a photo that spoofed a scene from The Simpsons. It depicted a newspaper clip that reads “Hockey analyst yells at Celly.” The original clip in the TV show read “Old man yells at cloud,” signaling senility.
Cherry said “Imagine Justin Williams doing stuff like that,” so, of course, the Hurricanes posted a picture of Williams doing the limbo.
The team also designed T-shirts that read “bunch of jerks,” and said they will be available later in the week online.