ICYMI: Hockey fans set a world record in epic Teddy Bear Toss.

It is one of the many reminders that you will get that hockey fans are simply the best fans in the sports world. 

On Sunday night we witnessed an incredible moment in Hershey, Pennsylvania during an American Hockey League match up between the Binghamton Devils and the Hershey Bears. The Bears were hosting the Devils for what would have otherwise been your run of the mill regular season game during the 2018 - 2019 AHL regular season, but this time the fans in attendance came loaded with some very special cargo.

 Sunday night marked the annual Teddy Bear Toss in Hershey, a celebration in which fans of the team gather up stuffed animals and throw them out onto the ice after the first goal is scored by a member of the home team. It may sound ridiculous but the entire thing is for a very good cause, a way to provide less fortunate children with a reason to be joyful and happy on Christmas and who does not want more of that in the world? The answer certainly is not the people of Hershey because they want so far and above the call of duty on Sunday night that I was left speechless when watching the stuffed animals flow onto the ice in what seemed like a tidal wave of generosity from the Bears fans.

As you will be able to see in the video below even well after the toss has begun the stuffed animals just keep coming in an endless wave that fills the playing surface on either side of the ice with mounds of bears. That may sound ridiculous as well but I do literally mean mounds of bears, in some cases stacked higher than the personal sent out on the ice to collect the precious cargo. It reportedly took over 30 minutes for the crew to simply pick them all up and get them on their way to their destination so that the game could begin anew. 

In spite of the fact that there were only just over 10,000 people in attendance on Sunday the Bears collected a stunning 34,798 stuffed animals, establishing a new world record for a celebration of it's kind. Here's to hoping it won't be long before more generous hockey fans attempt to break it. 

[pub]