(by Josh Cooper yahoo.com 10-25-16)
A New York Islanders game will have a bobblehead night featuring team celebrity fan Ralph Macchio.
The contest will be played on Dec. 23 against the Buffalo Sabres and the bobblehead is in the pose of Macchio doing the crane kick – from his iconic film “The Karate Kid” while wearing an Islanders jersey. Macchio’s leg has the capability to swing back and forth in the below photo. The bobblehead idea was done by Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, which manages the business operations of the Islanders including ticket sales, sponsorship sales and marketing.
The 54-year-old actor, who also was in two “Karate Kid” sequels along with the comedy “My Cousin Vinny” unveiled the bobblehead on the Boomer and Carton radio show in New York.
“I’m more impressed with the Krazy Glue job,” he said about the doll.
Macchio also said his daughter will sing the national anthem that night. He added “at least 10,000” dolls will be made for the evening’s game. The doll will wear No. 4 in honor of Macchio’s wife and two children.
In a 2015 interview with NHL.com, Macchio explained his love of the Islanders and the impact they had on the Long Island community.
“They were the Islanders. We were Islanders,” Macchio said. “It wasn’t the city’s team. It wasn’t a corporate franchise team. It was the people’s team.”
In a 2012 interview with ESPN, Macchio said he has hockey sticks signed by Islanders legends Bryan Trottier, Billy Smith and Denis Potvin. He added he was at Nassau Coliseum when the Islanders won their first Stanley Cup.
Overall, this is a fun idea to try to incorporate one of the team’s more famous fans into the game entertainment.
This just adds to the solid year for hockey bobbleheads. The Florida Panthers’ Jaromir Jagr bobblehead accurately portrayed the legend’s re-grown mullet. The Milwaukee Admirals’ Presidential election bobbleheads also struck a nerve with fans.
--------------------
