Each NHL team’s most famous superfan
By Cody Rivera
Florida Panthers: Ariana Grande
When I think of Ariana Grande, I don’t really think of much else other than ordering a medium-sized drink from Starbucks. She certainly doesn’t seem like the type of celebrity that you would expect to see at a hockey game.
But, Ariana Grande-Butera grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, part of the Miami metropolitan area. She was born in 1993, right around the same time the Miami area was granted an expansion NHL franchise, which would become the Florida Panthers. Grande spent much of her childhood attending Panthers games, but she actually has an interesting story that happened at a Panthers home game, long before she became the singing sensation she is today.
When Ariana was just five years old, she attended the very first Panthers home game at their new arena in Sunrise, Florida. At the time, it was called the National Car Rental Center; now it’s the BB&T Center. A loose puck flew from the ice and struck the child in the left wrist, making Grande the first fan to be hit by a puck at the arena. Fortunately, she was left with nothing more than a bruise.
Three years later, Grande got her first opportunity to perform on national television, when she sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at a Panthers home game at the age of eight. Now 24 years old, Grande has gone on to release a handful of albums, as well as making numerous appearances on television. But she still remains a Panthers fan to this day, often seen wearing Panthers sweaters and sharing love for the team on social media.
No matter how you start being a fan, you never stop being a fan.