'Out cold as a mackerel'
Saturday, October 19, 2002
Reaction at Calgary's Pengrowth Saddledome went from surprise, to amusement, to concern before finally settling on disgust after a streaker climbed the glass and cracked his head on the ice during Thursday's Flames-Bruins game. "Once they realized he was a drunk and a fool, they gave him what's for," said Calgary columnist Bruce Dowbiggin of the crowd.
A Calgary hockey fan hoping for a moment of naked notoriety got more than he planned when he cracked his head on the ice and ended up unconscious, face up on the ice for several minutes, clothed only in a pair of red socks.
The 20-year-old man's attempt at streaking forced a six-minute delay in Thursday night's game between the Calgary Flames and Boston Bruins as he was tended to by the Flames trainer and paramedics. He was taken to Foothills Hospital with what an Emergency Services spokesman called a "serious, not life-threatening" head injury.
With five minutes to play and the score tied 3-3, the man, whose name has not been released, took advantage of a break in play to shed his clothes, rush down an aisle and clamber over five-foot high plexiglass next to the penalty box. But, as he landed, his feet slipped and the back of his head slammed against the ice.
"He didn't move. He was out cold as a mackerel, lying on his back on the ice with everything out there, his Johnson hanging out there in the breeze" said Bruce Dowbiggin, a sports columnist for the Calgary Herald who was at the game.
As the medics worked, a hush descended of the type that usually greets a serious injury to a player. "Everyone was stunned. You wanted to react to it, but, on the other hand, there's a good chance this guy has fractured his skull or even killed himself, he hit his head that hard," Dowbiggin said.
Someone found a towel to cover his midsection, his neck was braced and he was slipped onto a board to guard against spinal injury. As the gurney was wheeled off, the fans instinctively responded with applause. But then the failed streaker pumped his hands in the air in a salute to the crowd, and the cheers turned to boos.
"Once they realized he was a drunk and a fool, they gave him what's for," Dowbiggin said.
The game was being carried live on radio in Calgary and on television in Boston, and the interruption posed a challenge to broadcasters.
"We basically talked about a naked jerk lying on the ice. That's the job, to paint the picture of whatever is happening in front of you," said Mitch Peacock, who was in the studio preparing to host the post-game radio show on The Fan 960 when the incident occurred.
Said Flames defenceman Bob Boughner: "Well, that's the shame. It's never a girl. It's always a guy."
The mishap was still on players' minds yesterday as the Flames attended practice. Goalie Jamie McLennan said he was initially worried about the streaker's health.
"Once he started acting like a jackass on the way off, you really didn't feel that bad for him," he said. Greg Gilbert, the Flames' coach, was not amused at how easily a fan made it onto the ice.
"Security around the National Hockey League's been bolstered, and it's a rare occurrence, but it's something we don't condone," he said. "It's not only silly, but it's dangerous, as was proved last night."
Management at the Pengrowth Saddledome is reviewing what happened, said Libby Raines, vice-president of building operations. She said it's difficult for 160 ushers and security staff to guard against the antics of 16,000 fans.
"Short of assigning one person to every individual in the building, it's difficult to protect against everything that people can come up with," Raines said.
"We check people coming through the doors for bags and things like that, but clothing is something we do expect people to have on when they come to the building."
A spokesman for the Calgary police said the man is likely to be charged.
"I can imagine the only one you'd really have is public nudity -- indecent exposure," said Inspector Peter Jackson of the Calgary Police Service.
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