SB Nation blogs are running a series of posts sponsored by Samsung on ways to enhance fan experience during games.
Well, here’s my take…
As we all know by now, Vancouver Canuck Rick Rypien takes his scrums to the stands as he tussled with a Minnesota Wild fan.
It’s certainly frustrating when your team isn’t playing well, and who knows that better than a Blue Jackets fan? So, I was working on an idea to improve the experience of fan’s loyally supporting a bad team.
My suggestion on enhancing the fan experience: put Rick Rypien on the roster of the last place team in the league, currently the Buffalo Sabres. Instead of the same old “Family Fun Night” or “All You Can Eat Night,” I am proposing “Rumbling with Rick Rypien Night.”
Fans will get an opportunity sit behind Rypien on the bench and chirp into his ear about the team’s poor play, and one lucky fan will get the drop the gloves with Rypien during each intermission. There will also be the Rick Rypien Roulette Wheel, where a fan spins the wheel for the chance to win prizes ranging from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman taking you out to dinner to a Rypien bobblehead clutching a jersey of your most hated rival.
All in all, this would also serve as anger management treatment for Rypien, as he can do nothing but take the abuse as part of his road to recovery.
Good luck in Buffalo, Rick!