FANS SWITCH IT UP, CHEER FOR REFEREES

FANS SWITCH IT UP, CHEER FOR REFEREES

By: Matthew Blittner
When going to an NHL game, it’s a good idea to expect the unexpected. Perhaps one of the most unexpected sights of all took place, in February when the Avalanche played the Islanders in Brooklyn, the game ended in a 5-1 win for the Isles.
So what was unexpected?
In the stands, there sat a group of fans, who were dressed as referees and line judges no it wasn’t Halloween.

Yours truly ventured up their seats to get an on-the-spot interview with these fans.

Upon arriving at their seats, two gentlemen identified themselves as the, “brains behind the operation,” and gladly told their tale.

Max Gershwin, 28, from Long Island, and Chris King, 26, from New Jersey, organized a group of their friends and put together this funny, yet bizarre trip to Barclays Center.

According to Max, their group is intrigued by two specific NHL referees: Chris Lee and Eric Furlatt. Both zebras are approaching their 1,000th NHL games, and, as such, Max, Chris, and their group of 24 people wanted to create their own celebration of these referees, as they are normally overlooked on the ice.

“Referees (and linesmen) are the only people on the ice who never have a shift change; they are out there for the entirety of the game,” Chris pointed out. “They are never celebrated for their work, and only get negative responses from the crowd. You never see a crowd cheer a correct call; rather, they only boo an incorrect call.”

When questioned about how they got the group together, and why for that specific game, Max stated, “We looked up when Chris Lee and Eric Furlatt were going to be working an Islanders’ home game and after seeing that the tickets were cheap we decided to buy a group of 16 for this game. Within 24 hours we had to buy eight more tickets because of the popularity of the idea.”

Their group of 24 is comprised of women and men in their mid-20s who are dedicated hockey fans. Max identifies himself as a Rangers fan, while Chris roots for the Devils.

The group prepared for this game all week, and Max’s girlfriend Tori bought their referee outfits, as well as drew the cakes on their signs.

Among the group’s ideals and agendas is to establish a fan following for NHL referees, as well as to promote fair play, consistency in the action on the ice, and for more rules that would slow down the game to make it safer.


P.S. Max and Chris promised to return for every game in Brooklyn that Eric Furlatt and Chris Lee work on the ice.

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