The Panthers had heavily hyped their Hanukkah celebrations last night, including promising a Panther yarmulke to all in attendance. Only a few thousand walked away with one. Who would have thought there would be so many Jews in South Florida?
Hanukkah, or "Jewish Kwanzaa," is an ancient celebration of the NHL expanding to the Sun Belt. To commemorate it, the Panthers announced "the biggest Hanukkah party in South Florida," complete with food, music, and the crown jewel of the evening: the Panthers yarmulke. Wise marketing: no one was going to show up unless there were giveaways and discounted tickets. For the record, that's a "Panthers are crappy" joke, not a Jewish joke.
The promotion promised the yarmulke to "all ticket buyers." But when fans showed up, they only received the kippah-sakes if they had purchased special discounted tickets for the night. This greatly disappointed the thousands of people who know God is only pleased if you cover your head in his presence with something with a Panthers logo on it. He works in mysterious ways.
The Panthers claim the giveaway was never intended to be for everyone, and changed the wording on the site. (Puck Daddy believes they changed it during last night's game.)
It's a shame, because the screw-up overshadowed a barn-burner of a game, featuring an OT winner by Stephen Weiss, who sounds like he might be a nice Jewish boy.
Oy vey! Panthers fans outraged over yarmulke giveaway confusion [Puck Daddy]