[PASabreFan]

I was going to put an (OT) before the title, but I'm being optimistic that a discussion of the Cup ceremony is very much on-topic for Sabres hockey this season. :)

I was struck last night that the NFL appears to be ramping up its championship trophy ceremony. Len Dawson walked through a gauntlet of Saints with the trophy, close enough for the players to reach out and touch it and kiss it. Then up on the stage where it was handed from owner to coach to "captain" Drew Brees. Pretty cool.

But better than the awarding of the Stanley Cup? The Cup of course means more to hockey players than the Lombardi Trophy means to football players. An NHL team wins the Stanley Cup (or is awarded it, right Taro?), but an NFL team still wins the Super Bowl.

The Cup ceremony could use an upgrade. Guy Lafleur skating out the Cup is 100 times better than the schmaltzy guys with the white gloves. The Cup is already revered; we don't have to have the artifice of "handlers." I wouldn't mind ditching Bettman's speech either. It's not tradition, really. I really don't want to hear boos this June when he's congratulating Tom Golisano, Larry Quinn, Dan DiPofi, Jean Knox, Johnny Knoxville...

Again, just trying to be optimistic.

In summary, Stanley>Lombardi, but as usual the NFL does it better.

[shrader]

Why Len Dawson?

[PASabreFan]

shrader, on 08 February 2010 - 02:41 PM, said:

Why Len Dawson?

MVP of Super Bowl IV.

NHL could bring back old Conn Smythe winners.

[LabattBlue]

I've stated this before, but what the heck...

The Stanley Cup ceremony is a shell of its former self. I loved it when the entire team skated laps around the rink passing the cup from one teammate to the next. Now they allow so many people on the ice that one player passes the Cup to another, they do one little 360 and pass it to the next guy.
:thumbdown:

[shrader]

PASabreFan, on 08 February 2010 - 03:05 PM, said:

MVP of Super Bowl IV.

NHL could bring back old Conn Smythe winners.

And this was XLIV, right? Ok, that makes sense. Anyway, just have Gretzky hand it off and they're all set. Anything to avoid the inevitable booing of Bettman. He still needs to earn that paycheck he was given in Phoenix.

[PASabreFan]

LabattBlue, on 08 February 2010 - 03:13 PM, said:

I've stated this before, but what the heck...

The Stanley Cup ceremony is a shell of its former self. I loved it when the entire team skated laps around the rink passing the cup from one teammate to the next. Now they allow so many people on the ice that one player passes the Cup to another, they do one little 360 and pass it to the next guy.
:thumbdown:

I'm down with that. I'd like to see only the players and a very limited number of media at first. After their victory laps, release the rest of the hounds.