LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — When the Vegas Golden Knights win, we sometimes see a flock of flamingos go out on the ice and it's all thanks to one superfan.
Hockey fans know the sport is steeped in tradition. The National Hockey League has been around for 100 years and even a relatively new franchise like the Golden Knights has its own traditions.
The last time we talked to Drew Johnson, hockey had just arrived in Las Vegas and no one had ever heard of COVID-19.
The Golden Knights were gaining popularity, but the team lacked tradition. That all changed in March 2018.
During a home game against the Calgary Flames, Johnson introduced the fortress to its first flamingo.
The game was really close, and Colin Miller scored and I threw the flamingo, hoping that it would create some more good vibes and kind of rally the team. And after that, we went on to just dominate the rest of the game. Fleury had a shutout and Karlsson had a hat trick, so it ended up being one of the best ones of the year, and I like to think that throwing a plastic Flamingo on the ice had a little something to do with that.
Almost immediately the city and social media fell in love with the flamingo. But the question still remained — why the plastic bird?
"It's kitschy, it's fun," explained Johnson. "We've got the Flamingo Road, The Flamingo Hotel and Casino, but more than anything, it's just bright, it's easy to throw, it's fun. It's something that kids can bring to the arena and throw on ice. And so I thought it really encapsulated Vegas in a cool way, without throwing a dead animal on the ice."
Soon the victory flamingo became a flock of flamingos raining down on the ice after every VGK win, including on the road.
"To see a flamingo in Ottawa or some of these places I've never seen a game at, it's really, really neat to know that it sort of extends so much further than just some dopey middle-aged guy throwing a plastic Flamingo on the ice," Johnson said.
Even the players will get in on the flamingo fun, often tapping them in the net or parading off the ice with them after a big win.
"It's great seeing people dress up like flamingos. It's awesome to see merchandise that the team sells with the flamingo on it, but my favorite moments are the players interacting and giving back to the fans a little bit by playing with a pink, plastic flamingo," Johnson tells us.
With fans back in the Fortress for season 6, Johnson says he's excited to see the team and the flamingos fly to new heights.
"I think the sky's the limit with how many flamingos we can get on the ice and how the team and the players embraced the flamingo tradition so yeah it continues to grow and it's certainly gone beyond what I ever imagined it would be."
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Johnson says his ultimate dream is to one day see the victory flamingo take a bath in the bowl of the Stanley Cup, he tells me he has a good feeling this is the year.
