As you're probably aware, Nashville Predators fans have made a tradition of throwing catfish on the ice. We don't have time to get into it right now, but trust us, it's a thing.
Catfish hurling was a particularly memorable part of the team's 2017 run to the Stanley Cup Finals, during which a hero named Jake Waddell managed to smuggle a catfish into the Pittsburgh Penguins' arena. He chucked it over the glass and onto the ice before he was ejected from the game and charged with "disorderly conduct, disrupting a meeting and possessing instruments of a crime." (Those charges were later dropped, but the Penguins still suck.)
Anyhow, the Preds are headed to the playoffs again this year, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is hoping to preempt the tossing of catfish corpses. Several staffers here at our office have received a letter from the organization, along with the small foam fish that you see pictured above. (It looks more like a bass to us, but we're not ichthyologists around here.) We'll leave this one up to you and your conscience — and we're wondering what the team at Bridgestone Arena is going to think about the prospect of these little fish everywhere — but here's what the letter says:
Greetings from PETA,The Nashville Predators are gearing up for the playoffs — and so is PETA! We'll be at the first home playoff game with boxes full of free squeezable catfish toys, and enclosed you'll find a sneak peek.
We'll be giving these toys away to encourage fans to leave real catfish off the ice. Fish are smart, social animals, and just like dogs, cats, and humans they feel pain. They have distinct personalities, and they communicate with each other, form bonds, and can even recognize individual fish and remember past social interactions with them. We hope that going forward, "Smashville" will smash not just the competition but also cruelty to animals.
Here's to a successful playoff season for fans and fish alike!
