Hockey’s heyday occurred in the 1990s, with battles between our Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils top of mind. The Devils’ clout during the decade, which included the franchise’s first Stanley Cup title in 1995, inspired a mention on another favorite element of that period of time—namely, “Seinfeld,” whose David Puddy famously donned face paint to proclaim his love for the Devils. That moment has, much like the sitcom, certainly not gone to hell in a handbasket, leading the organization to, finally, distribute a bobblehead in the character’s likeness.
The display of promotional genius will occur Feb. 19, when the club welcomes the Pittsburgh Penguins for a Prudential Center tilt. In terms of the matchup, the home fans will be looking for an upset, as their hockey heroes sit 13 points behind their foes for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but even if the Devils flame out and fail to pull off a shocker, the first 9,000 fans through the gates will have an excellent night regardless, as the team is giving away the collectible as a component of its 1990s theme night.
Yea that’s right #devils #njdevils @NJDevils pic.twitter.com/eQVYw2c6gW
— patrick warburton (@paddywarbucks) February 7, 2019
We have always enjoyed reflecting on the role that actor Patrick Warburton played on “the show about nothing,” finding his personality an interesting blend of cluelessness and cocksure bravado. On the May 11, 1995 episode dubbed “The Face Painter,” his character goes all out to prove his allegiance, supporting the team through the aforementioned facial alteration. Donning the makeup upon watching a playoff game between the Devils and the New York Rangers, he still leaves us in stitches, with his comedic delivery upon scolding a priest, who is sitting as a passenger in a car that nearly hits him, making us even more hellbent for the cast and crew of “Seinfeld” to come back 21 years after their swan song.
The Devils are appealing to similar nostalgic infatuation among their supporters through the promotion that will feature Puddy in the Martin Brodeur jersey and paint that he used to pledge his fandom and scare the bejesus out of the aforementioned man of God. We dearly hope that Warburton will be present come next Tuesday, as the Devils, given their place in the standings, could use a little diabolical inspiration to make a playoff push.
From a promotional products point of view, while we commend the organization for unveiling this bobblehead idea, we wonder what took it so long to do. We know that there is nothing wrong with celebrating a moment years after its occurrence, but Warburton’s antics on that episode are so brilliant that someone really should have implemented the idea way earlier.
The timing will not stop us from envying the 9,000 ticket-holders who will find themselves blessed to go home with a little token of the actor’s genius and the sports world’s talent for meshing with the entertainment field. Maybe we might look to be among those fans because, well, if you can’t beat them—our Flyers have lost two out of three to the Devils this season—we should consider joining them, if only for a couple hours.
