Why do Predators fans throw catfish on the ice?

The gift that keeps on giving is Nashville Predators fans throwing catfish on the ice and everyone getting hyped, but why do they do it?

There’s not much better in the NHL than the weird traditions that fans have for various things. And perhaps the most enjoyable in the 2017 NHL Playoffs became the Nashville Predators fans throwing catfish onto the ice. It’s something that fans have been doing for over a decade, but with Tennessee Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan getting involved, it’s been getting huge national buzz.

But when you think about it, the whole tradition that’s developed doesn’t make all that much sense. After all, they’re the Predators — not the catfish. And Nashville isn’t exactly known as the catfish capital of the world. So why then have Predators picked up this strange tradition of throwing the mud-dwelling fish onto the ice at games?

For the most part, fans in Nashville and Bridgestone Arena have really been mimicking the antics of the Detroit Red Wings. Fans in the Motor City have been throwing rally octopi onto the ice since the 1950s. So, early in the 2000s, Predators fans decided to take a page out of their Western Conference foes’ handbooks by throwing their own animal onto the ice.

The reason for catfish is somewhat loosely based — but then again, octopi aren’t exactly associated with Detroit. The fish is popular cuisine in the south and there are certainly a variety of the species in Nashville. So though it’s not tightly associated with the city, it’s at least geographically associated.

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Ultimately, there’s no great reasoning as to why Predators fans throw catfish onto the ice at games. However, what we do know is that it’s awesome and we hope that they don’t stop. Keep the bottom-dwelling beasts flying, Nashville, and make sure the clean-up crew have their shovels on hand.