All in good fun for Oshawa Generals fans who ‘showered’ up to wash off viral ‘Stink Gate’

If there’s one thing we learned in the aftermath of the ‘Stink Gate’ email that went viral around the world, it’s that Oshawa Generals’ fans can take a joke.

The fans showed up Friday night in shower caps and bath robes, brandishing signs that said, ‘I’m with Smelly’ and ‘Power Play? More like Shower Play’ and filled the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa with rubber duckies and plenty of good spirits, turning what could have easily been a public relations disaster into a chance to laugh at both themselves and the often absurd nature of sport – and especially social media.

The aroma of some of the fans at the games had the club trending on the socials all day Thursday after the team issued an email to season ticket subscribers asking them to “please shower before attending” after complaints about body odours at home games at the downtown arena.

“We’re thrilled to have you hang with us each and every game and appreciate the energy you bring to the arena. To help ensure a clean, comfortable and enjoyable experience for everyone, we kindly ask for you co-operation with a few simple hygiene practices.

Please make use of the hand sanitizing locations located throughout the arena, cover coughs and sneezes and be mindful of personal cleanliness while sharing our space with fellow fans.”

The club also asked that fans who are feeling “unwell” to “cheer us on from home” and for those who had visited the gym to “please shower before attending the game.”

There were the usual jokes about the ‘Dirty Shwa’ and a handful of off-colour and even racist comments making the rounds, while some fans took a more light-hearted approach to the letter.

The fallout beyond the team’s fan base was swift, however, with the email finding its way to websites, podcast and newscasts around the world, with even the influential American hockey podcast Spittin’ Chiclets weighing in on the aromas in the Oshawa arena.

With the mostly negative feedback not exactly good for team branding, the club quickly sent out an apology before the day was out.

“Hey Gens Nation. We took a penalty on that last one. It’s not our place to overstep like we did.

We are sorry and hopefully we can wash this one off.”

Some called the mea culpa evidence of a “failure” of the team’s public relations department, with one noting the team “only apologized because it went viral.”

Most comments on Facebook, however, were in support of the original email, with many fans believing the club shouldn’t have apologized at all.

• “You’re not wrong.”
• “The email was fine. Stinky people are not.”

One fan thought the fans should not take everything so serious, calling the whole experience bit of fun.

• “This is awesome.”

That was the spirit the fans took into the home game the next night against arch-rival Peterborough, with the Petes even getting in on the fun on their own socials, offering ‘Stinking good deals’ on Petes’ branded shower bags.

Oshawa fans took it all in stride and showed up at the rink sales in full ‘shower mode’ and ready to have some fun.

“Ha ha, it was great! The fans definitely didn’t disappoint,” said season ticket holder Joanne McKnight-Antoniak. “The signs and outfits were awesome.”

Perhaps the team, losers of three straight and mired in dead last in the Ontario Hockey League, took its cues from their chill fanbase because they put a beating on the Petes, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and doubling up Peterborough, 8-4.

That prompted the Peterborough fans to have some fun as well and poke a little fun at their own team, with messages on the club socials such as “Bit of a stinker- but we’ll wash this one away,” and “Better hit the showers, Petes.”

It’s all in good fun at junior hockey games, and the fans of the Oshawa Generals, who look to make it two in a row at Monday’s annual matinee Family Day game (puck drop 2:30), seem to be having the most fun of all.

Photos courtesy of GensNation and Our Oshawa Facebook groups