Theory: A beer-chugging hometown tight end helps win hockey games.
The NHL Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing and one of the first round matchups is the Minnesota Wild versus the Dallas Stars.
In Game 3 at Minnesota, we saw TJ Hockenson of the Vikings buy his entire row a beer and then he, along with other Vikings tight ends, slammed a cold one on the stadium camera. The Wild would go on to win the game and take a 2-1 series lead.
But fast forward a few days and the Dallas Stars have taken control of the series, and while some may chalk this up to tough play or good coaching, I have another take.
Last night, the game was in Dallas and of course the stars (pun intended) were out in full force, including members of the Dallas Cowboys.
When the camera turned the Cowboys’ way, tight end Jake Ferguson stepped up big time to show TJ and the Vikings how it’s done.
He and offensive tackle Terrance Steele were neck and neck finishing the first cup, but the former Wisconsin Badger kicked into second gear and took his place as top beer chugging tight end, after a little encouragement from Dak Prescott.
He grabbed his teammates cup and erased a second one as fast as the first and the crowd went absolutely bananas.
But maybe the best part of this whole thing is the camera panning to Troy Aikman after this testosterone filled display. He was pretty stunned by what he just witnessed and had no clue how to respond other than with a meek little wave.
Can’t really blame him, it’s hard to follow up a guy who slammed two beers in under 10 seconds.
The team and crowd rode this energy to a 4-0 win, which leaves them one away from advancing.
So is the secret to winning NHL playoff game getting a tight end to chug beer on camera? I think so – and so far the theory hasn’t been wrong, so it has to be right, right?
If the series goes to game 7, they have to get TJ and Jake to meet at center ice for a winner take all chug off. That would be absolutely electric.
