Panthers fans — and one dog with a front-row seat — rejoice for team’s first Stanley Cup
SUNRISE — As the Florida Panthers won their first Stanley Cup, 19,939 fans watched with bated breath and eventual bliss — and so did one Goldendoodle named Brodie.
His presence in the front row by the ice made the rounds on social media and could be seen on the ABC telecast as the Panthers made franchise history with a 2-1 Game 7 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
Brodie’s owner, 34-year-old Cliff Brush of Fort Lauderdale, kept his pet fully emerged in the action. He lifted Brodie up to the glass every time the puck came near. Brodie has gained his fair share of popularity from attending sporting events, collecting 1.2 million Instagram followers as @BrodieThatDood.
“He goes everywhere with me,” Brush said “He sat courtside at a Lakers game. We do everything together.”
Brodie is a service dog that helps mitigate symptoms of Brush’s autoimmune disease. Brush said he’s willing to spend the extra money to bring Brodie up close at games.
“He’s my best friend,” Brush said. “We do everything together as you can see. I don’t leave the house without him. It’s awesome to be able to hang out with your best friend as a full-time job.”
Although Brodie’s been to many major events, Brush said Game 7 was the biggest of all.
Upon completion of the on-ice festivities with the Cup, chants of “We want the Cup!” in the seats turned to “We got the Cup!” on the concourse as fans made their exit in jubilation.
Outside Amerant Bank Arena, Hector Suco of Miami had a pseudo-Stanley Cup fans lifted and took pictures with. He made the replica trophy out of a cylindrical plastic water cooler at its base, stacks of paper plates for its layers and a bowl on top, all wrapped with duct tape to give it the silver touch.
“After 10 years of no championship, this is a phenomenal event for South Florida,” said Suco, who didn’t have a ticket to Game 7 but was ready for a celebration right outside. “To have it here in Sunrise, you have West Palm Beach and Miami celebrating this magnificent feat, which is the hardest trophy in sports to win.”
Panthers fans were relieved their team wasn’t the first to blow a 3-0 series advantage in the Stanley Cup Final in 82 years.
“It’s the Miami style to win with fashion,” said Nicholas Oltmann of Sunrise, who lit a victory cigar outside as he reminisced on attending Panthers games at the old Miami Arena in the 1990s. “We just got to make it suspenseful. The Heat like to do it. (The Panthers) like to do it. It’s in our culture.”
Said Michael Gaffey of Fort Lauderdale, holding an unlit cigar in the concourse: “The first three games felt like you had it on autopilot, and then the last three was gut wrenching. To be here for the final one and watch them raise the cup, amazing.”
South Florida hockey fans also felt redemption after the team reached the Stanley Cup Final last season but fell in five games to the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
“Last year, it was a surprise to get there and maybe sobering to think we could win it,” said Andrew Greiner of Weston, who moved there from Great Britain in recent years. “This year, you could see things were different. … I’m not an emotional guy, but I was in tears upstairs.”
South Florida’s hockey team was victorious over a Canadian team in a game played on ice.
“We just beat someone that they only know ice and snow,” Oltmann said. “We just took the hottest climate and beat the coldest climate.”
The Panthers join the 2013 Miami Heat and 1997 Florida Marlins to win a decisive Game 7 of a championship series in front of their home fans. South Florida professional sports teams have now won in the four major sports. The Heat also won NBA Finals in 2006 and 2012, the Marlins had their second World Series title in 2003, and the Miami Dolphins won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1972 and 1973.