Roger Neilson statue fenced off after Canucks fans climbed it
Good Co. Bars is your home for the playoffs! Enjoy $5 beers, prizes, a full game-day experience, and the best atmosphere to catch the game. Join us at any of our five locations.
The Roger Neilson statue at Rogers Arena now sits behind a fence, days after a Vancouver Canucks fan was filmed climbing it.
Following the Canucks’ Game 1 win over the Nashville Predators, a fan climbed the statue to put a 2024 playoff towel on it. Others have been seen climbing the statue, fans say on social media.
This was the funniest thing ever pic.twitter.com/DDSIclEY2f
ā y – Liv āØļøš·š (@HuggyxHoggy) April 22, 2024
A fan attending last night’s viewing party uploaded a photo to social media showing that the statue had been fenced off, with a Canucks spokesperson confirming in an email to Daily Hive that they did so due to safety concerns. They did, however, choose to leave a 2024 playoff towel on it.
Taking no chances. Nielsen statue now fenced off and towel made permanent. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/Kfrdg1u0bO
ā X- Justin Credible (@JustinLai01) April 27, 2024
Towel power was born during the Canucks’ Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1982. Neilson put a towel on the end of a hockey stick in Chicago during Game 2 of the conference final — a sarcastic gesture to mock the referee who had called a string of penalties against Vancouver. Tiger Williams and some other Canucks players joined in.
Neilson was ejected from the game and Vancouver lost 4-1.
But when the Canucks returned home for Game 3, fans at the Pacific Coliseum were waving white towels. They won the next three games in a row and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.
- You might also like:
- "We're desperate too": Canucks preparing for Predators' all-out effort