The Bizarre Reason Why Keith Urban Brought A Real Catfish To A Hockey Game

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At Tuesday night’s (May 17) Nashville Predators hockey game, Keith Urban sang the National Anthem for the very first time in his career. He also took part in a long-standing tradition that involves a real catfish.

NewsChannel5.com’s Facebook shared a video of Urban holding a catfish in the stands while fans cheered loudly. If some of you are confused by this, we’ll explain it for ya!

The Predators’ tradition of the catfish is an ode to the octopus-throwing tradition of the Detroit Red Wings. Back in the 1950s, to win the Stanley Cup, a team had to win two best-of-seven series to be named the champions. Because the octopus has eight arms, fans began bringing them to games to symbolize how many wins a team had to win to be champions.

In 1952, the Detroit Red Wings swept the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup, and a pair of fans hurled an octopus onto the ice to celebrate.

The Tennessean reported that the first instance of a Predators fan throwing a catfish on the ice was on October 30, 2003. Since then, it has been a huge tradition with fans saran wrapping the catfish to their bodies, covering it up with oversized jerseys, and holding them up during the game. 

“Fans love it; the players love it,” fan Wes Collins told The Tennesseean last month after he himself threw a catfish on the ice. “I love traditions.”

According to the publication, there were five catfish thrown onto the ice that game, including Collins’.

Urban was able to partake in the tradition during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. He was shown on the jumbotron holding up a catfish, as the crowd went wild! 

Watch the video below.