The "Happy Trumpeter"

The following is taken from a review written by Knights fan Brent Anthonisen of the special 25th anniversary edition of the hockey classic Slap Shot.

On a personal note, in 1994 the Atlanta Knights (now sadly defunct) were winning the International Hockey League's (ALSO sadly defunct) Turner Cup Championship in their home arena, The Omni (yes, this is gone, too). Richard Adler, Knights VP, had hired this guy "Claude the Happy Trumpeter" (from Quebec, I think) to wear a Knights jersey, blow his horn, and lead cheers during the Playoffs. Early in the 2nd period of the clinching game, he announces himself with a fanfare, runs down the aisle to the plexiglass, throws himself up against it...and crashes through to the ice below, knocking himself out. The game was delayed about twenty minutes as they collected him off the ice and replaced the panel he'd shattered (he was okay...he came back near the end of the game wearing a neckbrace; it was hilarious). All I could think of, other than trying to keep from spilling my beer and pissing myself with laughter, was that the whole thing was just so utterly "Slap Shot"-esque...and that somewhere Up There, Strother Martin had to be smiling.

You can see the original article containing the above paragraph by clicking here.