Wow. I guess when you're as much a laughingstock as the Phoenix Coyotes, it doesn't take much to get the hackles up.
Out in the desert, the Coyotes are barking at Penn State University barring the term "White Out" during Nittany Lions' football games.
For real.
Apparently, the ‘Yotes are adamant the term, which they copyrighted before the team moved from Winnipeg more than a decade ago, is sole property of the hockey team, to be used during any future playoff runs.
Yes, I laughed as well. It's not every day you hear the words "Coyotes" and "playoffs" in the same paragraph.
Uh, memo to those in Phoenix: THERE HASN'T BEEN A PLAYOFF GAME IN PHOENIX IN FIVE YEARS and that doesn't look to be a-changin' anytime soon.
Instead of arguing with a renowned university about something so trivial, hang up the phone and work on things that might actually matter to your fans. Like, I don't know, getting some talented players.
For a franchise that ranked 24th in attendance last year, there may not be enough fans to call anything a "White Out" anyway.
It worked in Winnipeg, where people actually care about hockey. The original White Out was clever and, some would say, innovative.
It doesn't work in Phoenix. I've been there. When you have to urge the crowd to howl in unison after a goal like a bunch of idiots, it's cheesy.
What those idiots happen to be wearing is moot.
As for Penn State, brush aside the Coyotes missives and go with something a little more creative.
White Lion. You know, for Nittany Lions.
That better?