Video: Where did Stampede's Cotton-Eye Joe come from?

When duty calls, Max Honke always answers.

As the opening twang of "Cotton-Eye Joe" cues, the 68-year-old grandfather of seven rises from his seat, sets a chorus step and twirls his hat in the air.

Thousands of spectators cheer. Some kids even join in the fun.

The longer Honke dances, the more clothes he takes off. His hat, jersey and shirt eventually spin in the air like a lasso as he stomps along to the beat. It's a one-man show worthy of center ice.

But then the song ends, the third period begins and Honke, better known as "Cotton-Eye Joe," sits back down and ends his stint as the unofficial mascot for the Sioux Falls Stampede.

Honke and his wife, Sheila, can count on one hand the number of Stampede home games they've missed since the franchise was founded in 1999.

They watched as future NHL stars Thomas Vanek and Chad LaRose honed their skills in Herd uniforms. They celebrated the team's Anderson Cup — awarded for finishing with the best regular season record — in 2006, a year before the Stampede won it all. They've traveled to watch the team play at neighboring Sioux City, Iowa, Lincoln, Neb., and Omaha — and soon plan to add Fargo and Tri-City to the list.

They're super fans in an emerging hockey town, and to other patrons they're a mainstay of the live Stampede experience. At least, Max is.

"I feel like he makes it more of a hometown experience," said Stampede fan Andrew Fluth. "It's a tradition."

The tradition started when Honke got his seats. The women behind him didn't like the last dancing fan because he missed a lot of games, Honke said.

"They dared me to do a better job," he said. "They offered to buy me a hot dog one night, and it was a night where I was getting kind of hungry."

That was five years and many shirt-twirls ago.

Honke has become such a tradition that the team awarded him an official jersey with "C.E. Joe" on the back. His support for hockey extends all the way down to the littlest fans. At a recent game, he bragged about his grandson.

"He's going to be the next great Stampede goalie," Honke said as video of 9-year-old Joe played on his smartphone. Joe and his younger sister Avalea, 4, both play for Sioux Falls Flyers youth teams. Max and Sheila Honke attend all of those games as well, only there's no hoedown. Cotton-Eye Joe gets some needed rest.

Honke is proud to see "a lot more kids going out for hockey," an opportunity he missed out on growing up in Wadena, Minn., before moving to Sioux Falls in 1955. As a child, he listened to the Canadiens and Red Wings on the radio with his dad. Still, he prefers junior hockey, making the USHL a perfect fit. For Honke, there's no equal to watching up-and-coming players make strides in the sport.

"That's why I watch it," Honke says. "I like watching the kids advance."

Family has always been at the heart of the Honkes' Stampede patronage. At the Lincoln game, Joe and Avalea are the lucky grandchildren in attendance. That's how it is most home games, the family this season trading their old spot at the Arena for a new one under the bright lights of the Denny Sanford Premier Center.

The new complex is proof to Honke that some change is good. "I would think opposing teams would be intimidated coming here," he said.

Honke might be on to something. The Herd have a decided home-ice advantage, leading the USHL in attendance. Cowbells ring throughout the stadium, the jumbotron looms large, and between the second and third periods — when the Rednex's classic "Cotton Eye Joe" begins to play — Honke assumes his alter ego.

Honke has even taken the act on the road, responding in Pavlovian style at a game in Sioux City when the music started playing.

"Yeah, I had a few people turn around and wonder why I was there," Honke said.

Fans in Sioux Falls, on the other hand, don't question Honke's motives. He's there to cheer on his team and enjoy time with his family. The fancy jig is tertiary.

"It's just a dance," Honke says.

Max and Sheila will celebrate 39 years of marriage on April 10, the Stampede's final home game of the season. Rest assured that Honke will be there once again to answer the call, to wrestle with the big questions in life: "Where did you come from? Where did you go?"