Smashville Engulfs Downtown for Game 4

Raindrops landed sparingly across Nashville early Monday afternoon, causing some hopeful Smashville participants to wonder about the status of the party that was supposed to take place. While the rain never came, a sea of gold flooded the streets downtown and did not relent until the Preds tied their series with the Penguins at 2-2.

It began with a concert on Broadway, right outside Bridgestone Arena. Rodney Atkins and Kip Moore took the stage to play for fans who were in the street, lined along the sidewalks and watching from rooftop bars. While the crowd was overwhelmingly adorned in their Predators gold, there were a few Penguins fans that crept into the crowd and danced along.  

Police were stationed at the intersections along Broadway and at the borders of the crowd in order to help organize the massive golden herd. Most of them could be seen with golden rally towels in their pockets.

There was no shortage of screens on Monday. Three of them were set up on Broadway, one outside Bridgestone Plaza served both those in the plaza and along 5th Avenue and a final one broadcasted the game for fans in Ascend Amphitheater. Eruptions of screaming and applause after each of the four goals could be heard from most every direction.

As fans remained standing after Dierks Bentley’s national anthem, cheers were shared for the “instruments of crime” that hit the ice before the game. One fan hoisted a stuffed fish over his head in the middle of the amphitheater crowd, earning even more cheers from an excited mass that continued to grow as the game got started. 

The cheers after each goal were unimaginably loud, headlined by the opening goal from Calle Jarnkrok. The only times fans weren't cheering in some form or fashion was after the Penguins’ lone goal and after P.K. Subban limped off the ice. The latter earned sporadic shouts of disbelief and concern.

Incredible play from Pekka Rinne and the remaining time disappearing from the clock momentarily took everyone’s mind off the injury. Finally, long after the threat of rain was dismissed and the pink sunset over the Cumberland River turned into a night illuminated primarily by television screens, the Predators secured the victory.

People cheered out of car windows, waving rally towels as they passed other fans on the street. Flags waved back and forth above stationary crowds. Buildings lit up the Nashville skyline with bright yellow and blue lights. Smashville continued its enormous party.

The only thing that excited them more than the game itself was the prospect of getting to do it all over again for Game 6.