Free Al Sobtka and the Octapi!

[punk88yay]

We should get a petition going to get rid of Bettman!! Let's get someone in there who WON'T ruin hockey and it's long running traditions!

[ballhockeygoalie]

Gary Buttman is ruining a tradition that has run since 1952. Thats like relocating a original six team to his "southren hockey hotspots!" GOGOWINGS!

[face525252]

I hate the Wings. Im a former Nordiques fan and current Avalanche fan but things like this are what made hockey so unique to everything else.Bettman can rot in hell.

[Kiguli263]

I'm a Bruins fan, and I hate the Red Wings, but this tradition is something so great and unique, that even Buttman should leave it alone and untouchable.

And I hope that team that the Red Wings, the Original Six-member, wins the Stanley Cup. Even though I hate Red Wings.

[RedWingFan1340]

I think we should swing the octopus and Gary Bettman... That way all fans of all teams could enjoy it.

[MFULLER65]

Free AL!!!! Spin that shit!!

[ruttrho]

flyers fan here, hate wings but love their professionalism and sense of tradition, their love of the game. Screw Bettman, and stop him also. This is a harmless tradition that the fans love, let it be.

[yorgo69]

You wonder why NHL or even HOCKEYTOWN tickets sales are way down because of some stupid ass rules Gary Bettman makes. The key is to entice the people to go to the game by keepong prices affordable and tradition too. I wonder what next fighting.

Oh yeah he surpressed that too.

[Sayhuh122]

I hate Gary "Dicksqueezer" Bettman with a white hot passion. He's trying to pussify the NHL just like David Stern is doing to the NBA. I can't believe the guy has the gall to fuck with one of the Original Six for god sake! Anyway, free Al and lets go Wings!!!!

[WoNumber1Fan]

Go Wings BABY!!!  Let The Octipi Fly!

[Atler5264]

put me on the signature list, even though im no wings fan, tradition should stay! How many more signatures do u need?

[sccrdd483]

thanks for your support! I'm actually not running the petition, so I'm not quite sure how many more we're looking for...

[prdork]

im glad they got rid of the rule... this was a long standing tradition in hockeytown and deserves to be done during EVERY game, lol... good luck to your red wings as they tor to win back to back cups!

[RedWings010]

where do i sign ......... al, octapi, and wings 4 life

[mandymac502]

Thank you for supplying links to those petitions.

[WoodyAllenNY]

please...so they won't let octopi chunks get tossed in the stands? but they'll let people make diving catches off balconies for t-shirts out of an air cannon???

I'm an avid New York Islanders fan but I strongly support your cause. FREE AL...if this fine was ever instituted I'd go around Joe Louis Arena and ask for a dollar from every fan and help shove that dollar up Gary Bettman's ass

[hockeybrianboy]

Why don't you go complain about animals that are shot so their heads can be mounted on peoples walls. Was their purpose to be some stupid hunters wall decoration. This is just people trying to screw with a tradition of one of the greatest professional sports organizations there is. The octopus is already killed to eat (there isn't actually a killed-octopus-for-throwing-on­-the-ice store) and it gets eaten by its natural predators once its thrown back in the water afterwards anyway.

[smelltheglove6637]

Gary Bettman is retarded. Why decide to change something that has been a time honored tradition in Hockeytown. "Oh my god let's ruin a 50 + year old good luck ritual because Red Wings fans might get excited for their team." When is GB going to retire?

[letsgoredwings19]

It's all because Detroit gets pumped up. Bettman and his croonies are just trying to keep Detroit from catching their precious Maple Leafs, but it's not working. Bettman should get shot in the face with an octopi cannon

[striker300southpaw]

well if their gonna fine us.... thank god the wings make huuuge money :P

[skwirlygirly]

I have to be honest, I'm no hockey fan... I'm a baseball fan. However, I think that the commissioners of these sports whether it be hockey baseball or whatever forget why they have a job. With out the fans, they would be nowhere! Let the fans keep their traditions... it's what makes sports great.

[architype]

You know, I'm all about animal rights...blah blah blah, I love animals, but man...it's an octopus. I mean it's food that we eat for crying out loud. The octopus is already dead, why are animal rights activists freaking out? Don't they have something better to do? Like saving tigers from extinction? Are all animals rights activists vegans? Cause seriously if they aren't and they freak out about cows being slaughtered yet eat the meat, that'd be just funny.

[letsgoredwings19]

They try to save everything. They wear leather coats, shoes, belts and stand on the side of roads yelling, LET THE OCTOPUS SPIN!

[rstribrny]

Long live the octopus and fuck Bettman

[Gryffenne]

Bettman should back off. This is OUR town, HockeyTown. A lot worse things out in the world today than tossing something sold as FOOD. Go deal with gangs, drugs, etc... rather than a 56 yr old tradition. michigan's economy needs all the help it can get.

And for the PETA freaks... if throwing MY dead body around on the ice brings luck, then after i die & donate my organs, feel free to do what you will. My spirit won't be there anymore, and neither is the octopus's.

[maxwell8989]

haha i love big al! bettman should pull his head out of his ass

[grandtheftx13]

i'm a redwings fan but,

think about it this way

animal rights believes that creatures should be treated with the same kind of rights as humans in a sense.

wat if an octopus was swinging around a human?

i know they cant but, u know what i mean.

WINGS JUST WIN STANLEY CUP GO WINGS

[striker300southpaw]

i get that, but the thing is that these octopuses are being bought respectively from the market, its like yelling at people for buying the thing in the first place. theirs no rule telling you what you can only do to an octopus, and besides the tradition places the carcuss back in its natural process, in the water where the fish can feed.

[letsgoredwings19]

It would be sweet to see a giant octopus (wearing the winged wheel of course) twirling a human. FREE AL

[Pistonsfan1311]

actually the nhl had a reason. they said that it send stuff from the octopus up into the crowd.

but i disagree with them. i've grown up watching the wings in the playoffs and the octupus getting thrown then swung like that was always the ebst part.

[Lumaga]

The Free Press basically debunked the NHL's reasoning for the ban. They determined that no octopus matter could fly off with the way Al swings it.

[drummastajoel]

al has the right. its not like the octopus is alive or anything...

[FredFerdberger]

my question is . . . How many people actually smuggle Octopi into the arena every night there is a game? 10-12 a night x 30-40 home games?  or Is there one fan whose job it is to bring the Octopus every night? Some people like to eat that crap so I guess they are wasting food. :)

[sccrdd483]

there are very RARELY even ONE thrown in the regular season. And in the playoffs, it's around 1-2 per home game. So we probably won't even get up to 25 this year, unless there are a lot tonight when we win the cup.

[damoose28]

i thought they wanted to ban the octopus throw because of what gets on the ice. the slimy matter that comes off an octopus might not get cleaned off the ice and could potentially damage it.

[sccrdd483]

The octopi are boiled so there is no matter whatsoever.

[trashers4cashers]

traditions like this are whats unigue to our sport:)

[dderr345]

I didn't realize how much work goes into cooking, smuggling and throwing the octopus

[Hlarrydoon]

its ok that bettman wants to be a prick, we'll just change the tradition to Al swinging the octopus, and then recieving 10 grand from the team to pay the fine. lol go wings

[Findinmyway88]

I'm a Flyers Fan and I love watching detroit games for the octopus tradition. It's even better that even after the ban by the NHL (aka $10,000 fine for swinging) Sobtka still swings the octopus

[gruberted]

Octopus is worse than the mascot.

Delete this comment and then it shows the quality of Red Wing fans.

GUTLESS!!!!!!

[bballnut12]

Go Wings! What did the octapus eva to to you?

[CrazyMetalKidd]

are the octopuses dead?

[letsgoredwings19]

this is a legendary tradition in sports. now, they're trying to stop it because Nashville complained that it got in their players eyes, so there is a fine now. IT IS STUPID! The tradition should stand, as long as the legendary franchise stands! GO WINGS!

[llSgtScopell]

In a city where our games have not been selling out, is taking our most proud tradition away a good idea to help ticket sales? No, I agree with you, FREE AL!

Go RedWings!

[redwings19fan]

very good idea

[rwi979802]

Where do sign? Karen Newman is one HOT CHICK

[sccrdd483]

Press "More Info" over on the right. There are two links.

[Retroman43]

I love t when they throw the Octapi on the Ice all the Red Wings Games I go to. I was pissed when I heard about this so I am siging this for you so we can have Octapi back on the ice again.

[Kozzie13]

Signed it.

[nfl20]

hey why did this octapus tradition start

[563756297]

Thanks for telling us about the petition. Banning the swinging pissed me off so I signed the petition.

[jlgwolf]

Which would you rather have; A a fifty-six year old tradition (vote for Al the Octopus) or a fifty-six year old jackass for a commisioner (vote for BUTTman)? I signed the petition and think it should be presented at the next NHL Board of Govenors meeting. Impeach Buttman and bring back Al the Octopus!!!

[elder189]

i signed the petition, i am not a red wing fan, im from pittsburgh, im a pens fan, but i strongly support this. this is just bullshit how they are cancelling this tradition cause he was "inciting" the fans or something.

good luck in the conference finals, i hope we face you for the cup =]

FREE AL SOBTKA

[seannyboy2892]

go red wings free al and the octupus

[SheltonSEmmaS]

Umm it's an octopus. If it was an animal like a dog or cat, it would be animal cruelty. But it's a friggin octopus and I don't think it gives a shit about being thrown. I signed the petition.

[J04D8N91]

ok but its tradition since like 1950 for the red wings and the octopus

[aaron1210]

this is rediculous. i don't know whether gary bettman is trying to run the league into the ground, but it's just gone downhill after this. this is a tradition that has been carried on for years, and NOW he decides to break this tradition? come on...

[OJsimpsonMyHero]

Im a vegetarian and member of PETA and I don't see any problem with this tration, Actually I strongly support it. THese animals are already dead and the people that are saying its cruel probably eat meat all the time which is no worse. SHut up u people who think this is wrong

[trupzz]

Bettman, and as I can see here many others, knows nothing about hockey except the business side of it. He is just a "lawyer" not a fan. And, if one is guilty by association, his brother is Commissioner of the World Series of Poker. I don't care much for this tradition but it's not breaking any laws, so Bettman should stay out of it. Just like he should leave hockey to the players and fans. Look at The Green Bay Packers. He want to make Professional Sports times like Walmart!

[butterflykissesph]

hey this is America .... and without the fans no hockey... freedom of expression... let the traditon carry on.... God bless the men and women who serving the military here and overseas

[outlaws5]

Gary lay off the drugs it's more efficient and crowd pleasing to have our beloved octopus twirled around then to have someone scoop it up... this is hockey Gary not basketball, your destroying a piece of hockey culture.... don't you have anything better to do with your time.

[outlaws5]

Gary are you on drugs, it's more efficient and crowd pleasing to have the octopus twirled around then to have someone scoop it up... this is hockey Gary not basketball, your destroying a piece of hockey culture.... don't you have anything better to do with your time.

[navyseal646]

The NHL is already struggling for a new generation fan base, this is only another step in destroying that process.

[ltrain]

i understand the petition

but wouldn't it be more worthwile for everyone to email teh red wings organization

[SUPERBURRITO]

Don't f^ck with the Red Wings Mr. Bettman!

[jaj43123]

Die hard, life long (only 18 years old but whatever) fan of the greatest team on Earth and this is one of the few truly great traditions in sports. The Predator fans even tried to copycat us with the fish being thrown. Yet another great part of hockey ruined by the worst commissioner in sports history. Fuck you, Bettman. Fuck you. Petition signed and being passed to all my friends.

[bigman10101]

Despite being a Sharks fan, I must admit that this is one of the greatest traditions in hockey. It's a shame that Bettman has found yet another way to screw up the greatness of the game. Good luck on getting your Octopi back!

[elykshot]

gary bettman trying to make a few extra bucks...hes all about making as much money as possible and not respecting tradition that is older then he is!!!

[swatts100]

LOL

[HailCostanza]

This is the first I've heard about Gay-ry Buttman and his tyranny over the octopi tradition. I don't even know what to say about that except that Bettman is the devil!....a really really gay devil.