曲棍球粉丝向球员扔泰迪熊

AS IT IS 2015-12-25 Hockey Fans Throw Teddy Bears at Players 曲棍球粉丝向球员扔泰迪熊

It is exciting enough to score a goal in a hockey game.

But it is another thing to trigger a cascade¹ of 28,000 teddy bears from the stands onto the ice.

That is what happened when Jordy Stallard scored a goal for the Calgary Hitmen hockey team in early December. When the puck entered the net, all those teddy bears flew from the stands onto the rink.

Stallard’s goal came on Teddy Bear Toss night against the Swift Current Broncos.

The toss is a tradition for Canadian minor² league hockey teams like the Hitmen. All the bears are collected and donated to charity.

Stallard is an 18-year-old player who can be drafted by an NHL team in 2016.

“Yeah, it felt incredible to get it. The fans were absolutely outstanding out there. And to top it off, it’s for a great cause, so it felt good.”

The cascade of bears caused a 37-minute delay as players celebrated³ and rink attendants gathered up the toys.

There were almost 20,000 fans at the game, and they threw 28,815 bears, which broke the record from 2007.

Mark French is the Hitmen coach.

“I mean, it’s funny. You hear the older guys trying to explain it to the first-year players. What to expect. And it’s always understated, because you know the magnitude is hard to explain. So, I think the event has taken a life upon itself. It’s my second. And it’s certainly something we highlight on the calendar.”

The first Teddy Bear Toss came in 1995 and almost 300,000 bears have been collected by the Calgary team alone.

Some of the players took bears to a local children’s hospital after they returned from a road trip.

Words in This Story

cascade – v. to flow or hang down in large amounts

understated – v. to say that (something) is smaller, less important, etc., than it really is

magnitude – n. the size, extent, or importance of something

drafted – v. to choose (someone) to play on a professional sports team

1 cascade   

n.小瀑布，喷流；层叠；vi.成瀑布落下

参考例句：

• She watched the magnificent waterfall cascade down the mountainside.她看着壮观的瀑布从山坡上倾泻而下。
• Her hair fell over her shoulders in a cascade of curls.她的卷发像瀑布一样垂在肩上。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。