Poor Tampa Bay, the Blackhawks fans are coming.
Our riotous band of Original Six hockey fans have drawn ire from newbie NHL franchises and their homer sportswriters — first in Anaheim and now the city by the gulf.
The latest Hawks Fans Hate comes from Tampa Bay Lightning owners who have implemented a strange policy in the fancy section of their hockey arena.
“Chase Club and Lexus Lounge ticket holders: Please note that for all 2015 NHL Playoff Games at Amalie Arena, only Tampa Bay Lightning apparel (or neutral) will be permitted in these club and adjoining seating areas. Fans wearing visiting team apparel will be asked to remove them while in these areas.”
And throughout the playoffs, the Tampa team has blocked out of state credit cards from purchasing tickets to home games in a thinly veiled attempt to keep opposing fans — particularly the loud fanatics from Chicago — from disturbing the chill Florida vibe folks are used to down there.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel used the opportunity to poke fun at the Floridian hockey club and its bogus policies. Some fans have launched petitions demanding the NHL sanction and even fine the Lightning for stooping so low come playoff time.
That’s all well and good but these ridiculous bans deserves a much more visible protest.
And for that I call upon Tampa-bound Blackhawks fans of means — and all Hawks fans attending the Finals in Tampa for that matter — to engage in acts of sweaty, bare-chested acts of civil disobedience in the Chase Club and Lexus Lounge or anywhere else in the stadium.
That’s right, If the Lightning owners don’t want you to wear your Blackhawks sweater in their stadium I urge fellow Chicago fans to strip to the waist like one of those crazy kooks you see at Soldier Field when the Bears play in below-freezing conditions.
This will be an especially effective protest if perpetrated by especially burly, hairy Blackhawks fans sitting in close proximity to fancy pants Lightning supporters the rules aim to protect from having to endure being in the presence of out-of-towners — or the ex Chicago police officers and firefighters who retired to sleepy Tampa Bay — wearing Hawks gear.
Go ahead Blackhawks fans, and show 'em what you've got under those sweaters.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
