Wikipedia is a fascinating website. As everyone knows, it’s maintained and edited by the general public, which leads to a trove of information that’s… what’s the word I’m looking for? Not accurate. Or trustworthy. Or even especially credible. But interesting! That’s it. The site is always… interesting.
And that’s largely because when you let the general public decide what’s worth mentioning, you find that they don’t just focus on the positive. When you give everyone access to the edit button, you’re going to get the good, the bad, the ugly, and (especially) the just plain weird.
A few years ago, I went through the Wikipedia entry for every NHL team to find the saddest, strangest or most regrettable passage on each team’s page. It ended up being lots of fun – we learned about murdered rodents, injured mascots, and how to use “hoodoo” in a sentence. Also, someone slipped a haiku into the Penguins’ page that remains there to this day. So, good times all around.
Today, let’s take another tour around Wikipedia’s version of the league. But this time, we won’t use the teams themselves. Instead, let’s remember that home is where the heart is, as we highlight the strangest passage from the Wikipedia page of every NHL teams’ arena.
Air Canada Centre (Toronto Maple Leafs)
On Oct. 3, 2003, the ACC had a power outage during the third quarter of a Toronto Raptors pre-season game against the Athens-based club Panathinaikos. The game was called final, because the power was not restored in time and Toronto already had a 30-point lead.
Man, the NBA are a bunch of quitters. If NHL started cutting games short just because one team was ahead by 30, half of the Maple Leafs games played in the last decade wouldn't have made it out of the second period.
Amalie Arena (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Following the PPV's conclusion, newly crowned WWE champion John Cena announced the death of Osama Bin Laden which resulted in a big "USA!" chant and [the] internal public address system of the Arena then proceeded to play "Stars and Stripes Forever."
This is the most American sentence that has ever been written about anything.
American Airlines Center (Dallas Stars)
On July 27, 2001, the facility opened with the largest ribbon-cutting ceremony ever, according to the Guinness Book of Records.
There had actually been a bigger ceremony held in Buffalo, but everyone decided to just ignore that and award the title to Dallas anyway.
BB&T Center (Florida Panthers)
The Dave Matthews Band - 2001 (There was a power interruption during the performance; they have not returned to the venue since.)
Oh, quit being such a baby, Dave Matthews. If it's good enough for the Stanley Cup Final, it's good enough for you.
Barclays Center (New York Islanders)
Business Insider has called sections 201 to 204 and 228 to 231, "the worst seat in American professional sports". In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark acknowledged the issue, but insisted nothing can be done: "There's really nothing we’re going to do from a capital improvement standpoint. You can watch the game on your mobile device. The game is on the scoreboard."
Unless you're sitting in one of the sections where you can't see the scoreboard. Or one of the other sections where you can't see your mobile device. Then you're pretty much screwed.
Bell Centre (Montreal Canadiens)
The most infamous event that took place at the arena was Survivor Series 1997, during which the well-known Montreal Screwjob incident occurred.
This is, of course, a reference to the Bret Hart incident, one in which the WWE outraged its loyal fans by shockingly parting ways with a talented and beloved superstar due to concerns about his contract and failure to get along with management.
Luckily, everyone learned a valuable lesson and nobody in Montreal has ever made that mistake again.
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