What so proudly they wave

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The traditional waving of towels by fans at NHL arenas was born here.

Actually, it got its start at Chicago Stadium during the 1982 conference finals series between the Blackhawks and Canucks, which was the first time they ever met in the playoffs.

The Hawks upset Minnesota and St. Louis in the first two rounds and advanced to face the Canucks.

The Hawks lost Game 1 to the Canucks and red-hot goalie (King) Richard Brodeur, but they took a 3-1 lead in the third period of Game 2 when all heck broke loose at the Stadium.

Angered at numerous penalties called against his team by referee Bob Myers, who also disallowed a Vancouver goal, Canucks coach, the late Roger Neilson, put a white towel on the end of a hockey stick and waved it at Myers in mock surrender along with two of his players.

Neilson was ejected and the Canucks went on to lose 4-1, but when they returned home for Game 3 at Pacific Coliseum, more than 16,000 showed up and were given white towels to wave. The rest is history.

The Canucks won the series in five games behind Brodeur and went on to lose to the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals.

They wave the white towels to this day at GM Place. Many NHL teams have taken up the tradition, including the Hawks, who handed out red towels in the first round against Calgary.