Teddy bear toss in Calgary a few nights ago

[pokerfan]

Total count: 22,871 bears: http://www.youtube.com/v/qm0M2kGpN1s

A http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear_toss">Teddy bear toss is a popular Christmas season promotion at many minor and junior hockey arenas throughout North America. Fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears to the game, and to throw them onto the ice when the home team scores its first goal. The toys are then gathered up to be donated as Christmas presents to hospitals and charities. In many cases, the players themselves personally donate some of the bears to children at area hospitals. (wiki)

[hughee99]

1. With god as my witness, I thought Teddy Bears could fly... n/t

:)

[pokerfan]

2. LOL

A friend of mine has tickets right behind the glass (another team, not Calgary's) and reports that it's a lot of fun because sitting down there you're getting pelted by the bears that didn't quite have the trajectory to make it to the ice. It then falls to them to give them the final toss.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. ...

http://www.wikiality.com/Stephen_Colbert%27s_Sports_Update#Sport_Report_from__01-16-2007

[pokerfan]

4. Awesome

[ColbertWatcher]

5. Stephen is not going to like this news. n/t

[pokerfan]

7. Not to mention Papa Bear. n/t

[IndyOp]

6. You made me smile. Thank You! What an incredibly sweet tradition. (n/t)

:hi:

[Berry Cool]

8. Flowers and toys get thrown on the ice at every figure skating event

at any time of year, and the vast majority of them go to local hospitals. Sometimes the skaters even take them there. I mean, it's not like the most popular of them can possibly keep all the stuff that gets tossed at them anyway.

My favorite story about that is Debi Thomas saying years ago that she didn't get why skating fans throw stuffed animals and flowers--why didn't they throw something she could really use, like a pizza? Sure enough, she competed at the world championships one year and when she went around collecting stuff the fans were holding out to her, someone handed her a pizza.