That, of course is in addition to the mascot.
Ugh. That's a pretty bad looking mascot in my opinion. Why is he green with a yellow and black tail? The name "Blue Jackets" was chosen to celebrate patriotism, pride, and the rich Civil War history in the state of Ohio and city of Columbus. Ohio regiments were called "Blue Jackets". So why is the mascot a green bug? Makes no sense to me. Let's move away from the bug and get to some other entertainment aspects.
We'll start with the Cannon Crew. This crew mans the actual cannon the Blue Jackets use to signal wins and goals at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The crew is in Civil War attire. Pictured below are some players, not the Cannon Crew.
Facts:
» Handcrafted
» Full Scale Barrel
» The wall at the breech is 2.5 inches thick and is made of a heavy walled steel seamless tubing
» Eight ounces of black powder is usual charge when firing outdoors
» Bore = 4.5 inches
» Length = 11 feet, 10 inches
» Width = 5 feet, 8 inches
» Weight = 1,564 pounds
» The main carriage consists of two 4" x 9" x 8" solid red oak timbers
» 57 inch wheels hand-carved from white oak
The man who built the cannon, Chris Olson, designed and built authentic, working reproductions of Civil War era cannons. After traveling over 500 miles to personally inspect his craft, a deal was made and Nationwide Arena became home to a hand-crafted 12-pounder 1857 Napoleon cannon. Built in 2005, this real working cannon had been fired approximately 120 times before making its way to its new home. Since then the Blue Jackets Goal Cannon has seen plenty of action firing as the team take the ice and after every home team goal.
Chris passed away in June of 2011.
Let's see his work in action.
That is a really neat thing to see in the NHL. Many colleges use cannons, but this is the only one I know of in the National Hockey League. Hopefully, they won't do something silly by making this iconic and regal symbol into something frivolous. Like a mascot.
Ha, ha! Just kidding. That didn't really happen.
Wait...it did? That's an actual mascot for the team? With the inflatable wheels attached to him and everything?
That's not an artist concept as a joke? And there's video of it at the unveiling of the Blue Jackets third jerseys?
Oh dear. That may explain why there are many promotion squads. To deflect attention away from the two not-so-good mascots.
Let's have a look at some of the other crews, starting with the Pepsi Power Patrol. These girls (and a few guys) are in the stands and around town cheering on the Blue Jackets. Here are some of the girls from the past.
The Ice Crew is female only and currently sponsored by Kia. Last year, they were sponsored by Miller Lite. So here's a handful of pics from last year.
Last year also saw the girls of both squads take part in a photo shoot. Here's a mix of the squads in the studio shoot.
Now, there's not a lot up on the website about this year's crew yet. But they have released the roster. Here is a mix of the Power Patrol and the Ice Crew as they appeared in their auditions.
Before I leave, I have to say something about Pepsi. And how it fails in comparison to Coca-Cola.
Part of that is because I was born on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. I was raised in Atlanta. Everywhere I've ever worked was sponsored by Coke.
I love the taste. I can tell the difference and I much much much prefer the delicious taste of Coca-Cola. I also prefer many of their fine products.
Now I'm not saying PepsiCo doesn't have some good products.
Mountain Dew is an amazing beverage, but I'd still take Coke over Dew almost any day. Coke is just better in general.
Don't believe me? Would you believe it if Taylor Swift said it?
Or how about this amazing endorsement?
Great, now I'm all thirsty. But that's okay. Because I can collect the points and enter them at MyCokeRewards to get free stuff. Stuff I actually like and use, like Snapfish calendars. Or t-shirts. Or World of Coke admissions.
But I suppose some thanks to Pepsi is in order for sponsoring this team. But being from Atlanta, it's sorta a requirement to defend Coke.
-A full list of ice crews can be found here.-
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