Hockey Returns to the Sitcom World As the Season Begins

October 8, 2010 by Stephen M. Lepore

It’s good for the sport to get hockey mentioned in TV, movies and other forms of media. I’m sure I’ve made this point in this space before, but hockey’s inclusion in popular entertainment is a way of letting people know that hockey is something that people do, as silly as that sounds. If an everyday sitcom character (or guest star) plays or watches hockey, it can serve as a reminder that “Oh, hey, that’s on. I like that, I should remember to watch that.”

Now, not that it featured any actual players, but last night’s episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia should definitely encourage someone to tune into an NHL game, if only to see if “jabroni” truly is a hockey word. The show, which features Flyers gear in the background of Paddy’s Bar, the main setting, checked off the Flyers as their third Philly sports team (episodes have been done about the Flyers and, tangentially, the Eagles) on the show. Creator Rob McElhenney is from the city and a known Flyers fan, and co-creator/star Charlie Day … is apparently a fantastic skater.

McElhenney’s character, Mac, calls into a radio show and luckily guesses Reggie Leach as the Flyers single-season goal scoring record holder, and wins a chance at a shot from center ice to win a weekend at a radio beach house with athletes. Cue the hilariously wonderful mock-up of cheesy sports montages, as Charlie helps Mac with his training, including the inspired notion that he should carry the puck like a dish of cream (a poke at the first Mighty Ducks film, which had the characters handling pucks like eggs).

At the end of the episode, the scene shifted to the actual Wells Fargo Center (I can’t be certain if the gang was green screened in or actually filmed there) with Charlie in a Flyers jersey (how can he afford it?) featuring Mac falling flat on the ice the second he stepped out there. It was a great moment for comedy, and a great pop culture moment for hockey. I hope to hear fans at games over-using the word “jabroni” for years to come. Between this and Paul Giamatti’s crazed, mole-person of an Islander fan who can’t stand Matt Moulson on 30 Rock (I found it funny that Moulson scored two goals in the pre-season game the night after the episode aired, and saw it as a response), hockey is getting it’s brand and it’s colors on the right kind of shows this Fall. Just, you know, avoid Outsourced.