Tuesday saw the NHL kick off the 2022-2023 season with intriguing Opening Night games in New York and Los Angeles. One referee, Chris Rooney, decided to (or was forced?) mark the occasion with a little bit of an extra unnecessary something before the start of the Rangers (-1.5) and Lightning’s matchup.
Before Rooney dropped the puck to let New York and Tampa Bay get officially rolling, he delivered a welcome speech. Actually, saying it was just a “speech” would be underselling the stunt. Rooney delivered a stilted welcome speech that felt as if he was reading directly off a teleprompter script without changing much of his tone or enunciation.
Regardless of any Opening Night festivities, it was as awkward and unnecessary as it sounds:
I can't stop laughing this was so unnecessary pic.twitter.com/EkXmJtvfuD
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) October 11, 2022
“What’s better than this?” he said with no change to voice whatsoever.
Honestly, Rooney is delivering less of a “speech” and more of a “press release” that he may or may not have practiced much, too.
Why Rooney or the NHL powers that be felt this had to be included, I don’t know. What I do know is that it was positively hilarious for the sheer awkwardness alone — especially as the surrounding Rangers and Lightning players stared on in silence, waiting for him to finish.