The main question that’s been popping up throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs hasn’t had to do with the play on the ice. No, instead, it has to do with how on earth Predators fans have been able to smuggle giant catfish into arenas in the past few weeks.
Well, one Predators fan addressed that very question, and opened up about how he managed to sneak a catfish into PPG Paints Arena for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday night.
Jacob Waddell, who threw a catfish onto the ice, and was subsequently charged with possessing an instrument of crime, disrupting a meeting and disorderly conduct, later called himself a “dumb redneck with a bad idea.”
But judging how he was able to smuggle the catfish into the arena, it seemed to be a pretty clever, elaborate idea, actually. He told Sean Gentille of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about his plan, step by step.
1) Acquire supplies. Waddell bought a pair of $350 upper-bowl tickets and an “entirely too big” catfish from a market in Tennessee. He said he had no idea that Wholey’s had restricted catfish sales — he just “wanted to take a Nashville catfish, because it’s more original to throw one of our catfish.”
2) Garner support. Waddell told the radio station about his plans and floated the idea on Twitter. That’s why he was wearing the Midday 180 T-shirt. The original idea, though, was his. Also relevant: His wife was “tentatively OK with it.”
3) Secure transportation. Need to move a gigantic, rotting fish 1/7 of the way across the country? Spray it down with Old Spice cologne and throw it in a cooler. That’s what Waddell did.
4) Consolidate. This was where he really started to shine. On game night, he took the fish to his cousin’s house, filleted it, cut out half the spine and ran it over with his truck. That made it easier to vacuum-pack and conceal … but not that easy.
“The head was too damn big,” Waddell said. “No matter how much I ran it over with my truck, the head was too big.”
5) Choose your placement. Originally, Waddell planned to stash the fish in his boots. The head made that impossible. So, he created a catfish-underwear sandwich. Regular drawers went on first. Then, the catfish. Then, a pair of compression shorts. Then, a pair of baggy pants. Waddell said he was lucky that he’s “a bigger guy.”
That move took some serious dedication.
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