The Cincinnati Cyclones held their 8th annual teddy bear toss over the weekend. Fans donated over 4000 stuffed animals and the team won the game. So it was a great weekend for everyone.
Well, maybe not for the Wheeling Nailers who lost the game 4-2. But it’s a part of the game. And it was an interesting game since the Nailers scored first.
Swan O’Donnell scored off the post four minutes into the second period. This prompted the fans to start throwing the stuffed animals they had brought.
In the end, fans threw over 4000 stuffed animals onto the ice. All donated animals went to the Cincinnati Police Department. They will distribute them to children in the city who’ve been involved in anything from a car crash to being the victim of a crime, Cincinnati.com reported.
“Some toys made it to ice instantly. Others took a little longer as fans in the upper bowl overestimated their arm strength and threw them onto the crowd below. One fan threw a bear, then had a massive panda fall into his arms seconds later from a dozen rows above. He threw the panda on the ice. On the other side of the rink, one Cyclone nearly got his stick stuck in the safety net when he tried shaking a stuffed animal tangled 10 feet above”, the site also reports.
“This is a prime example of how great this city is,” said Cincinnati Police Department Sgt. Tim Fritz. “You saw the amount of teddy bears that were donated. We’re doing something right in our community engagement. And we have to keep working on that to get better and better. As it improves, this is what you get.”
Fritz was also the man behind the wheel of the police car that got out onto the ice. He does that every year after the teddy bear toss. This time it was to the tune of “Bad Boys” by Inner Circle. It was definitely a great time for everyone. And a time which will help kids in need.
