The Nashville Predators have made a lot of history this year.  They have reached their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history, and they accomplished this as the NHL’s #16 seed.

The city of Nashville is not known for celebrating professional sports championships.  The Tennessee Titans have not been in the NFL playoffs since 2008, so the city of Nashville has had to rally around the Predators for championship hopes the last few years.

While the Predators have had competitive teams and non-playoff teams since then, they have built up a fan base that is passionate and loyal.  While the fan base has grown, the Predators traditions have grown too.

Check out all the catfish:

The guy who threw the catfish should challenge his expulsion from the rink, it didn’t even fully cross the blue line pic.twitter.com/MgwrOJZjro

— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) May 30, 2017

The catfish is ready for its closeup.

(📷 Frederick Breedon/Getty) pic.twitter.com/58LINv30Zo

— SB Nation (@SBNation) June 6, 2017

In addition to catfish tossing, fans can even use Triple H’s specialty sledgehammer to put dents in a junk vehicle that has the opposition’s logo on the hood.

Cars. Crushed and soon to be crushed. pic.twitter.com/q6q4cZ2Xz9

— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) June 3, 2017

HOME ICE ADVANTAGE

I am not a big believer in home ice advantage in the playoffs.  I believe teams still must go out and execute and perform well if they want to achieve their goals.  However, the Predators fans have challenged this home ice narrative with their crazy atmosphere inside and outside of Bridgestone Arena.

Inside Bridgestone Arena, the crowd will stand at various points in the game and just cheer.  The crowd is very active with chants throughout the game, especially if there is a Predators goal scored.  The crowd knows how to agitate the opposition and they know how to get under their skin.

Since Nashville is a non-traditional hockey market, it is extra special to see the traditions they have built.  They have built a crazy and hostile environment and I absolutely love this.

If you would like to read more about the Predators crowd chants, read this article from Section 303.com.  If you want to see the Predators fans in action with their chants, watch the video below:

THE CRAZY ATMOSPHERE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE

With a non-traditional market like Nashville turning the Stanley Cup Final into a celebration, the corporate crowd has not been able to accept the new traditions in the hockey world.

This Yinzer/Pittsburgh-based Chief Meteorologist voiced his opinion about Nashville on Monday evening.  He criticized the Predators for having poor fan support and for not being a traditional hockey market.

I’m really getting tired of hearing about Nashville’s fans…supporting a team in one Stanley Cup Playoffs does not make a Hockey Town

— Jeff Verszyla (@Verz) June 6, 2017

didn’t start selling out games until recently…good seats were always available

— Jeff Verszyla (@Verz) June 6, 2017

483 consecutive sell outs certainly qualifies…how many consecutive has Nashville had?? 20??

— Jeff Verszyla (@Verz) June 6, 2017

While Nashville has done things differently in the Final, there is no need to put down the things that they have created.  They have also shown consistent fan support over the last number of years:

For the dummies saying Preds fan support is new — Nashville season attendance %:

17: 100%
16: 99.2%
15: 98.5%
14: 97%
13: 99%
12: 97.5%

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 6, 2017

NHL fans love to complain that league isnt more popular, yet when non-traditional market goes all-in some fans jump to try & knock them down

— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) June 6, 2017

THE NHL NEEDS MORE NASHVILLE ENVIRONMENTS AROUND THE NHL

It has been fun to watch the Predators crowd take over the Stanley Cup Final. To see a non-traditional market celebrate hockey in this fashion is a tremendous step forward for the NHL.

Predators fans have waited a long time for a chance at a championship.  Now that they are officially in the spotlight, they are well deserving of this chance with how they have built up their own traditions.  In a market where ice-hockey never used to exist, it is good to see how the city has embraced this Stanley Cup Final run.

Win or lose, the Predators fans have injected new life into the Stanley Cup Final.  The fans in Nashville have shown what a non-traditional hockey market can do on the big stage.  It has taken the club some time, but the Predators fan base is as strong as ever.

It does not matter whether a hockey fan lives in a traditional Original 6 market like Montreal or a non-traditional market like Florida.  Any diehard hockey fan should hope that the sport continues to grow in popularity.

There is nothing wrong with having traditions in hockey.  More hockey markets should embrace the celebration of hockey and come up with new and wild traditions. Traditions bring life to the sport and bring energy to the home crowd.

By: George Foussekis