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sbp
05-15-2002, 04:27 AM
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WolfFiles/wolffiles.html

What single object is the world's most famous champagne cup, potato chip dish and dog-food bowl, while doubling on occasion as a baptismal font?

It's the Stanley Cup.

The Stanley Cup has partied longer and harder than Ozzy Osbourne over its 109-year reign as hockey's Holy Grail. In a tradition unique in professional sports, every player on the championship team gets at least 24 hours to do virtually whatever he wishes with old Stan.

The cup has visited the White House and Lenin's tomb. It's also visited churches, bars, and strip clubs. It's been to the top of mountains and the bottoms of pools. It's been strapped to a Harley, a dog sled, and a golf cart. And along the way, it's been kissed, hugged, and admired by countless millions. Many, undoubtedly, are not hockey fans. They wait on line for more than an hour simply to enjoy a moment in awe of Stanley's grandeur.

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Stanley Cup Misadventures

Baptism — Talk about a great save: In 1996, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre had his daughter baptized in the cup.

Dog-Food Bowl — In 1980, New York Islander Clark Gillies allowed his dog to eat from it. Ranger Ed Olczyk did Stanley a little more honor when he let 1994 Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin eat from it.

Out for a Swim — In 1991, Stanley was found at the bottom of Pittsburgh Penguin Mario Lemieux's swimming pool, a feat later duplicated by Avalanche goalkeeper Patrick Roy.

Strip Club Runway — Gentleman that he is, Stanley has been spotted on several occasions at topless joints. When the Edmonton Oilers took the championship in 1987, the cup ended up on the runway with an exotic dancer at the Forum Inn, just across from the Northland Coliseum.

Mark Messier, who has a reputation of getting pretty rowdy with the cup, reportedly let fans drink from it. Stanley graced another strip club after the Rangers took the cup in 1994. After a wild night in New York City, it was the one time the strip club clientele wanted to touch something other than the dancers.

The Flower Vase — In 1906, members of a Montreal club took the cup to a local photographer. Pictures were taken but the cup was forgotten. It wasn't until weeks later that hockey officials found that the photographer's mother was using the cup to plant geraniums, which were decorating the studio window.

Drop-Kicked Into a Canal — In 1905, some Ottawa Silver Seven players, reveling in their championship, decided they could punt the cup over the Rideau Canal on the Ottawa River. The water was frozen, and at the time the cup didn't have so many rings around the bottom, so it wasn't much larger than a football. The trophy was recovered the next day on the ice.

Stranded at the Side of the Road — In 1924, some Montreal Canadiens left old Stan for roadkill. They were en route to the team owner's house for a victory party and pulled over to fix a flat tire. They didn't realize until after they arrived that they had left the cup roadside. After a frantic ride back, they found it untouched, a mile and a half from the party site.

Bowling Alley Trophy Case — In the early 1900s, a member of the Montreal Wanderers who operated a bowling alley supposedly stuck the cup in a trophy case, heaping gum and cigars in the chalice to impress the clientele and, presumably, to boost sales.

Junk Drawer — When the Ottawa Senators won in 1927, King Clancy supposedly found the Stanley Cup to be a handy holder for junk mail, stray pencils, chewing gum, even cigars.

Meet My Silver Lover — Did they need a new teddy bear? Were they looking for love in all the wrong places? Players regularly take the Stanley Cup to bed for reasons that might best be left unspoken. New York Islander Bryan Trottier once said, "I wanted to wake up and find it right beside me. I didn't want to just dream of this happening." In another act of strange intimacy, Stanley took a shower with Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings.

A Strange Trip — During a 1962 playoff game between the Canadiens and the Chicago Blackhawks, a fan took the cup out of the Chicago stadium display case, telling police outside that he was merely returning it to Montreal, "where it belonged."

Merlin
05-15-2002, 05:14 AM
Originally posted by sbp
They wait on line for more than an hour simply to enjoy a moment in awe of Stanley's grandeur.

I've waited in the long line once and got my picture taken with the cup as well as pictures of the many other hockey trophies. A great day that was. I know that superstition means that I will now never win the Cup, but that was something I was willing to risk.



A Strange Trip — During a 1962 playoff game between the Canadiens and the Chicago Blackhawks, a fan took the cup out of the Chicago stadium display case, telling police outside that he was merely returning it to Montreal, "where it belonged." [/B]

Now that was funny! :heh: :heh: :heh:

gear02
08-04-2002, 12:53 PM
umm...shower with the cup?

ewwwwwwwwww

Grimm
08-05-2002, 03:29 AM
Hellllooooo!!! It's not the Holy Grail! It's a friggin sports trophy. I will add this to my "who cares" list. The most real use the cup ever really got was as a planter. While I applaud the personal acheivement of the atheletes, their record is the symbol of their achievement (and their paycheck), not a cup that they get to keep for a day.

ribitch
08-05-2002, 03:34 PM
i have lifted it above my head before, and partied with it a few years back when Darren McCarty had his day with it. It was pretty cool.

WRIF had a list of "misadventures" of the cup. The one i remember the most was the fact that a player took it tubing.