May 25, 2023 • 32 mins
It’s opening night for the Danbury Trashers and everyone has congregated downtown to see the spectacle unfold. But as the game gets underway, no one is prepared for the chaos that is about to explode.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Novel.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
When I started reporting this story, to be perfectly honest,
I knew fuck all about hockey. Luckily, AJ and some
of the players patiently took me through the basics.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Hocky, you know, is a sport that's played in an
ice arena.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Okay, got it.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
And each team has a goalie defending a net and
is a little rubber.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Puck goalie net puck. Sounds simple enough.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Basically your object is to get this puck in your
opponent's net.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Understood, But there was one core element of the game
that still perplexed me. The violence. The ones you put
this skato on and you step on the ice beast,
because hockey is really violent.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Yeah, does he leave his feet?
Speaker 5 (01:05):
Oh boy, that's closed.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
You know, a lot of this is an absolute carnage, devision,
barbaric watch this.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
In fact, aggression is such an integral part of the game.
There's a whole language to go with it, a language
I needed to learn. What is a sucker punch when
you'll fight with other guys and the guy just games
from nowhere and just gonna punch.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Listen, that hockey stick you're carrying a weapon?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
What is a truck? Can you describe it for anyone
that doesn't understand hockey.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
A chop is a slash.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
You grab your stick, you're skating by someone. You slash
someone over the wrists. You know you're gonna either break
their wrists or you're gonna make that person stay away
from you when they're trying to be too rough. And
then if they don't stay away from you, you're gotta
drop the gloves.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Drop the gloves. That's when players literally take off their
protective gloves, throw them on the ice and prepare to fight.
And this is a really weird part. It's totally legal.
This fighting in hockey is all part of the game.
Speaker 6 (02:10):
To drop the drops. They both have smiles on their face.
They're going to drop the gloss and I'm gonna have
a live.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
They take down they But if it was a complete
free for all, there'd be virtually no players left alive.
Some types of fighting are allowed, other types of violence
are strictly off the table. Ultimately, someone has to say
what qualifies as a rule abiding us whipping and what's
an illegal one.
Speaker 7 (02:39):
If you want to fight and drop your gloves, fight
all you want, that's part of the game of hockey.
If you take a player and you take your hockey
stick and swing it at the head of an opposing
player and connect with it. That's not fighting. That's malicious
intent to injure or to mane in that situation. I
(02:59):
don't want you in my league.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
That's United Hockey League Commissioner Richard Broussel. In April two
thousand and four, he signed off on the Trashes joining
his league, and now he's wondering if it's a decision
he'll live to regret. Jimmy Glante has presented an impressive
marketing plan, which Brissel has no doubt will bring his
league a much needed publicity boost, but with a teenage president,
(03:24):
it's not clear if it's the kind of publicity he wants.
And now the Glantes are part of the league, the
commissioner has to make sure their team play within the
rules of the game. The Trashers will have to respect
that fine line between permitted fighting and forbidden violence.
Speaker 7 (03:40):
It's the commissioner's job to ensure that these rules, regulations,
and by laws are followed to the letter.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
Of the law.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
In short, Commissioner Broussel is responsible for keeping AJ and
Jimmy's team in check. He can suspend or even expel
players from the league if they behave like thugs or
in hockey speak, goons.
Speaker 7 (04:02):
A lot of people called me the till of the
Hunt because I didn't think twice about banning a player.
If a player threw somebody into the ice and banged
his head on the ice, that's not fighting, that's gooonery,
and I won't have it. You're gone.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Commissioner Brossall can issue huge fines. We're talking thousands of
dollars every time the rules are broken. And if the
Trashers still don't respect the rules, if they make a
mockery of the league, Brosseau has a power to chuck
them out altogether.
Speaker 7 (04:34):
It's my decision to make. There is no way to
over rule a decision that I make.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
The Trashes are about to start their debut season. Jimmy
and aj have invested time and money into building this
team from nothing, but if they're not careful, it could
be game over before it's even begun. I'm plaid crofton
from the teams at Novel and iHeartRadio. This is the
(05:06):
fighty Pucks Game three, Drop the Gloves.
Speaker 8 (05:26):
Entering its fourteenth season, the United Hockey League has attracted
more than sixteen million fans. The uhl's fan base has
grown over four hundred percent. Is opening its doors in
nineteen ninety one. The upcoming two thousand and four two
thousand and five season welcomes to fourteen member clubs in
seven states, including expansion danbur Attractors, Kansas City Outlaws, and
Moltor City Mechanics. The UHL continues to provide an exciting
(05:47):
brand of hockey with rosters comprised of the midst of
young development players and established veterans. UHL hockey action packed
entertainment at family affordable crisis.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
It's October fifteenth, two thousand and four, the day of
the Trash's inaugural game. Commissioner Brisseil is headed to Danbury.
He usually attends the first game of a new team,
but he's a little nervous about this one. Jimmy and
aj have promised a lot, a shining arena, a full
professional team, and they've only had six months to do it.
(06:21):
On top of that, Danburry's never been a hockey city.
Will anyone even show up? Brassel lands in New Haven,
and less than an hour later he's driving into Danbury.
As he pulls into town, the scene rolling past his
car window gives him the answer.
Speaker 7 (06:40):
There were banners everywhere in people's yards, Danbury trashers. They
had media paparazzi out there like you can't imagine. Roads
were closed off because of how much traffic there was. Okay,
very impressive to see that.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Brissel parks up his way through the crowds towards Serena.
He steps through the big glass doors into the shiny
new lobby. The smell of beer is almost as intense
as the noise. The game isn't for a few hours,
but the place is already heaving.
Speaker 7 (07:15):
You couldn't even get into the merchandise area, that's how
crowded it was. And all the fans that are coming
in are wearing Danbury trash or jerseys, T shirts, hats,
all of that. I mean, this is unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
People spending their hard earned cash on merch for team
who have never even played a game before. Prisca's first
impression was right. Jimmy and AJ's marketing plan is a
total winner. He wants to find them congratulate them on
doing such a great job, but as he heads to
Jimmy's newly built owners suite above the rink, his path
is blocked.
Speaker 7 (07:47):
I am accosted by a group of the rowdiest fans
you could ever want in the world.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
There's about forty of them in total.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
They immediately surrounded me to welcome me to dan Berry.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
These guys are dressed head to toe in Trasha's colors
black blue and silver. The team name and logo gleans
from brand new hats and T shirts. They wreak of
beer and they're shouting obnoxiously. It's clear to Bressle exactly
what they're here for.
Speaker 7 (08:20):
They were gonna be rowdy assholes. Im gonna make it
miserable for opposing teams every time they were in dan
Berry Arena, so you know, shook their hands, took a
couple of pictures with them.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
After posing for a few Sophies, Brissell heads upstairs.
Speaker 7 (08:37):
I go into Jimmy's sweet He's got a big spread
of food there and his wife is there. Jimmy goes, hey,
what do you think Commish said Jimmy, It looks fantastic.
He goes, yeah, We're gonna fucking kill it here. We're
gonna fucking kill it here. You mark my words.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Sounds like Jimmy's riding high on adrenaline. He and aj
A putting a hell of a lot of effort to
get to this point, and it's worked. The arena is
full and the fans are already going wild. Why wouldn't
there might be anything but a success. But in this moment,
just two hours before the game starts, not everyone in
the arena is feeling quite so confident.
Speaker 6 (09:17):
I was terrified.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Every team in the league has their own commentator at
the mic for the trashs is filled ubileo.
Speaker 6 (09:28):
I don't know what it was, but for some reason,
my exterior did not appear nervous, but I was definitely nervous.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
He's arrived early for this opening night to familiarize himself
with the place before the game starts. But when he
makes his way through the fan field lobby and into
the rink itself.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
Guys are still painting in the building, like the railings
to the seats.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
The scene around him is sheer chaos.
Speaker 6 (09:54):
The paint was still wet, like if you put your
hand on a rail, you'd have like a blue hand.
And I'm like, how is this place going to be
ready to host three thousand people?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Phill looks up at the spot he's meant to be
broadcasting from this platform.
Speaker 6 (10:08):
There was no table, there was nothing there. They're like,
don't worry, it's going to be ready for you, okay,
So I put my stuff down. All of a sudden,
these two guys show up and literally around me, they're
building a booth as I just stand there, and they
have their power drills and they drill everything together, and
then all of a sudden they mount this like marble
(10:28):
table and they're like, here you go, here's your broadcast table.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
That's not all that's stressing fit out. On another microphone.
Down by the edge of the ice, there's a man screaming.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Number forty nine Well Ontario.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
The Glantes have hired a rowdy guy from the local
radio station to come and hype up the players as
they skate out into the ice. He looks like he
may have had one too many beers on the way over,
But to give the guy credit, he's taking the job
seriously and practicing hot.
Speaker 6 (11:00):
It's one thing you're testing at the microphone and you
go through the roster once, but like there was several
hours of this, like NonStop.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
It's thirty minutes until the puck drops and the game begins.
The crowd filters into the arena to watch the players
make their first appearance on the ice. It's our hype
guy's time to shine.
Speaker 6 (11:24):
However, it turned out he lost his voice before the
start of the game. He was screaming so much and
then he just kind of stumbled out.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Phil tries to keep his cool, but with all this mayhem,
he's finding it difficult to imagine that in a few
minutes a professional hockey game will begin, and he's not
the only one freaking out. As Phil shuffles his game
notes in the owner's box high above the ice is
(11:54):
aj Tonight. He swapped his baggy T shirt and shorts
out for a soup. He's looking very dapper, but also terrified.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I just couldn't believe, like this was happening and you're
about to play a legitimate game.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Ag is used to the eyes of Danbury being focused
on his family, but it's usually his dad in the limelight.
Now as a face of the trushas it's his time
to take center stage, He's beginning to feel the pressure.
His mind is racing with thoughts and prayers.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Oh God, please work, or at least halfway work or something.
You know, if people don't like it. You're screwed, and
a lot of people want to see you fail, frankly,
because when you start something new, there's a lot of
naysayers out there, and a lot of people doubted us.
So there was a lot on the line with pride
and money frankly, you know. But some of the worst
(12:48):
feelings in the world is sometimes when you think you
prove them right, you know what I mean. So we
can't let.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Them be right.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
After the break game on It's Friday night, October fifteenth,
two thousand and four, the Trash's debut game against the
(13:18):
Addie Rondack Frostbite, a well established team from Glen Falls,
about one hundred and sixty miles north of Danbury. In
the arena, the stands are packed and in homes all
across town, dial up internet connections are worring as they
tune into Danbury trashes dot com to catch Phil's live
stream time for a final mic.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
Check check check check.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
There we go, and then his voice fills thousands of
homes across Danbury.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
Where at the Danburry Arena here in Danbury, Connecticut. Inaugural game,
they're calling it a cloud of about a week thousand
here at Danbury.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
From his brand new, slightly makeshift broadcasting booth, Phil has
the best view in the house. He looks out to
see the ice glistening under the bright lights. He can
see right into the owner's suite. Jimmy looks confident, arms crossed,
a smile on his lips. AJ's fidgeting nervously. A lot of.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Folks watching the first ever modern professional word franchise city
history in.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Tears of freshly welded stands. Rows of fans and local
dignitaries sit packed tightly together. Even the mayor is here.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Gavia Dean very Trasher, have an NHL quality facility for
their locker room that is simply of hadaking old giant
locker's weight book facility. Coaches, officers all up there, all
brand new.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
The players leave the looker room and head to their benches,
preparing to go out on the ice.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Carabadan very trashure, is beginning to come out onto the
it as.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
A seconds take down to game time. The atmosphere is
reaching a.
Speaker 9 (15:01):
It was like an electrical field. You can feel coming
off the fans. You can almost feel the heat coming
over the glass from all the bodies in there.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
On the ring side bench, surrounded by other trashes, so
it's one of the team's top players. Brad Wingfield.
Speaker 9 (15:16):
The noise you can't even hear yourself talk, so it
was pretty wild and we wanted to get out there
and kick some ass.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Time for his pretty game ritual.
Speaker 5 (15:24):
I like the smelling salts.
Speaker 9 (15:26):
Those things wake you up, so you crack it da
you get fired up.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Each to their own. Brad's getting ready to skate out
too the ice, only seconds to go until the puck drops. Suddenly,
Brad's old enemy turns Scout is marching towards him. It's
Thomas t Bone Pompocello, and he's waving something in Brad's direction.
Speaker 9 (15:47):
There's a Motorola flip phone. Mike, are you fucking kidding me? Dude, Like,
I can't take a phone. I'm not a pro hockey game.
I can't answer the phone. And he's like, take the phone.
I'm like, I can't answer the phone, and he's like,
look over it Jimmy's box And I look up across
the way Jimmy's private box. He's got a Motorola phones
hold it like that. I'm like, oh, shure, it's Jimmy.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
And when Jimmy's on the phone, you take the.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Call, So I grabbed the phone.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Brad presses the phone underneath his helmet so he can
hear Jimmy's voice over the roaring crowd.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Hello.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
None of the other players on the bench next to
Brad can hear what's being discussed, but Brad is nodding.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
Oh interesting, Okay, you got it.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
He hands the phone back to t Bone and skates
out into the ice. He's a man on a mission.
The two teams line up, heads down, sticks at the ready.
The Mayor of Danbury walks out onto center Rice is
here for the ceremonial puck drop to mark the beginning
(16:53):
of the game. Then it's down to business. The Mayor
scurries off the ice to the safety of the stands
and leaves the referee to perform the real puck drop.
All eyes now on that little disc of rubber as
it slips from his fingertips towards the ice. The game
(17:18):
is in motion. Crop pairs s wall trying to gain
controlield and here comes Brad Wingfield, single minded what he
slams a rival player into the boards. Then he's trying
to instigate a fight, But for now, his rival isn't
having it. He skates away, but it's clear things are
(17:39):
going to get very violent, very quickly.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Even for hockey, will go through the penalty hot.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
After just two minutes, Brad sent straight into the penalty
box to cool off.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
They're at the ice arena.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
In hockey, minor altercations like these are known as scuffles.
The only last few seconds and players get sent to
the box, but the game continues. The team who landed
the penalty have to play on with a one man disadvantage,
and that's known as power play or five on four. Well,
Brad waits out his penalty minutes goaltender Scott Stirling and
(18:21):
team captain Brent Gretzky, little brother of superstar Wayne Glide,
towards the Frostbite goal. Brent may not have the international
fame of his brother, but as Aj promised to the
good people of Danbury, this Gretzky is still a great player.
He passes to Blake Belfay, the Trasher center, who fires
(18:43):
the puck into the net. As the Trashers celebrate their
first goal, Brad gets back on the ice. He doesn't
waste any time. He drops his gloves. He wants to
fight a rival player. This time it's got Paige Page
(19:09):
takes him up on the offer. The whistle blows and
the referee halts the game. It's time for what hockey
players have described to me as the game within the game,
aka illegal fist fight.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
We throw our gloves.
Speaker 9 (19:24):
Back and out of the way, we get rid of
the sticks, and then we swear off.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Brad and Scott grab each other. This is a fully
fledged fight of the crowd roars.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
Crowds will always get into hockey fights. They're gonna yell
and scream and get really excited. It's gonna get everybody
on their feet.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
From his position high above the ice, commentator Phil Giubileo
watches the trashes fans transform from Laura biding dwnburians to
bloodthirsty barbarians.
Speaker 6 (20:00):
I think even like if you were a family with
your kids in there as well. It's part of the sport.
You're gonna go kind of watch it and get real excited.
And the first night kind of got everybody into it.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Brad is throwing punches at his rival's head.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
Left ahead of the Adirondack player.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Other players move out of the way so the crowd
can soak up the spectacle. It seems bonkers that this
is all within the rules, but it.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Is the nixed it up a breed that left hand
and a bar circle for beginning to get a bit tired.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
This is no time for nothing. It looks like someone's
neck is about to get broken. Bending each other backwards,
tearing at each other's jerseys.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Left for the head.
Speaker 9 (20:45):
You have to be able to grab onto your oppotent's
jersey just because you're on ice.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
So one hand's got a hold.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Lot of one hand Swinging breaths in black and white
striped jerseys hover awkwardly around the fighting men. The players
are down on the ice, Wingfield is on top of
page and punching pod. It looks frantic, but Wingfield is
in the zone.
Speaker 9 (21:12):
Actually goes completely quiet. It's serene and calm. You like
a wave, like a giant wave. It's it's just bizarre.
You can't hear the crowd. Everything's quiet.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
A ref launches himself on top of the brawl. Another
ref comes in and pins the players to the ice.
The fight ends, and Brad pops out from under the
referee grip with a huge grin on his face.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
That's one waits flavor.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
No other sport do the referees facilitate mid game punch ups,
But here you have it, people, hockey. I'm not gonna lie.
I find this really strange. I'm the kind of person
who watches medical dramas from her fingers. Looking at blood
makes me feel sick. But luckily for Jimmy and AJ,
the crowd and Dewanburry that night and nothing like me,
(22:00):
there were so.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Many fans out there that just loved the fighting and
the toughness. So they just loved us because we were
giving them what they always dreamed about, just a team
that like a cake assembly line, Like every two minutes,
a tough guy was coming out. And for people, it's like.
Speaker 5 (22:16):
Wow, this is different. You know, we were different. We
were just different.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Breed, and Brad Wingfield is a different beast. As he
emerges from his trance like fight mode, he stirs up
at the screaming fans.
Speaker 9 (22:29):
The crowd goes into a frenzy. You see the way
your team reacts to it and the way the fans
react to it, and you're like, oh, that was pretty awesome.
I think I'll definitely be doing that again.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Brad Wingfield obviously gets a kickout fighting. But tonight he
wasn't simply following his violent instincts. He's been acting on
specific orders. Remember that phone call from Jimmy Galante before
the game, Well it turns out Jimmy was giving instructions.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
Basically calling someone ice hits. That's what was going on.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
A hockey hit man executing the instructions of Jimmy Galante,
who's looking down from the owner's box with the same
delight as all the other Trasher supporters in the arena.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
You know what, I'm having a great conjur at the
Tractors game. Well, I'm missing the hype right now because I.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Could again in a day, but not everyone has a
smile on their face.
Speaker 7 (23:28):
It was a fucking gong show at times.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Commissioner Brisselle is not happy.
Speaker 7 (23:34):
If you're going to do that, there's ramifications. Okay, for
every action, there's a reaction. They paid dearly for it.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
That's after the break. The Danbury Thrushes aren't killing it.
Just twenty minutes into their first game and they're winning
(24:06):
two to nothing. Tough guy Brad Wingfield is giving it
all he's got from the family's private suite above the
ice teenage team president AJ Galante is watching the Trashs
wipe the floor with their rivals, the Adirondack Frostbite a lot.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Of their poky is not expecting Danbury to come out
sharp to knife that they have that Adurondack hanging in there.
A very intense and heated rival ryl the developing between
the Trashers and Adirondack.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Commissioner Richard Brussel is watching the newest team in his
league playing rough, but so far it's mostly within the rules,
although as the game continues, it's not just the Honies
action Brussell's worried about. From his seat, he can hear
everything AJ's saying, and it's not pretty. You fucking suck
your piece of shit.
Speaker 7 (24:54):
Don't come in my fucking arena, you fucking puke. AJ's
heaven Phil Day yelling at all the opposing players, threatening
that we're gonna get your ass. You better look over
your fucking shoulder.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Just a few months earlier, a j was told he'd
never play hockey again, and now he's living the game
through his team, feeling every hit and loving every takedown.
It is hyped, but Brissel is not impressed. This teenager
is making his league look less than professional, but there's
nothing he can do about it. He's wedged in between
(25:29):
wild fans and the game is hotting up.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
And then a little richer he plucked out in through
a goal.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
It's a frostbite score back.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
With their first.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Goal, anxieties rise in the owner's box. They're closing in
on the Trash's lead. It's now two to one, but
then the Trash is quite back, delivering one final killer blow.
Speaker 4 (26:04):
That will throw up or whatever every.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
One.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
The final score is three one. The Danbrie Thrushes have won.
You can hear the emotion in Phil's voice, but he
could barely believe what he's just witnessed.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Their eyes went in their first ever.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Game because brand new team have dominated tonight. Not only
that they've put on a show.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
We've had a lot of physical play here tonight, and
I'm expecting we will see more of it as the season.
Speaker 6 (26:41):
All times, it was just such a great opening night.
You know, everyone kind of came out really kind of
like jazzed up over the experience and probably just let
out a big collective like sigh of relief that we
pulled it off.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Danbrie's on a high as fans leave the arena to
celebrate their victory in the downtown bars. Commissioner Broussel marches
straight over to the Glantes suite. AJ is grinning his
face off.
Speaker 7 (27:10):
Mister Brusso about the fucking game. I go, hey, the
game was really good. AJ. You're fined one thousand fucking dollars. Now,
keep in mind this is minor league hockey. Okay, thousand
dollars a lot of fricking money.
Speaker 5 (27:23):
What I fucking do?
Speaker 7 (27:25):
What did you fucking do? You're fucking threatening and yelling
the f bombs and telling them their fucking pieces of shit.
I'm a fucking fan. No, you're a fucking owner. You
have to be held to a higher fucking standard. Okay,
the whole arena could hear you, The players can hear you.
You have to hold yourself. You're you're a GM owner
of the team. Okay, you can't do shit like that.
(27:48):
You just can't.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
As general manager and president of this team, AJ is
meant to be the professional face of the Trashes.
Speaker 7 (27:56):
It's embarrassing. And you know what personally embarrassed most was himself.
Is that what you want to be viewed as a punk?
Just a punk? Because that's a punk action. And you
know what, AJ took it like a man. You and
mister Brucel, I hear you, I hear you, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
I hear you. The commissioner is feeling conflicted. Brussell's job
is to enforce the rules, but he also wants publicity
for the league. So on one level he's panicking like
how is he going to rain this kid in? But
on another level, since the fans seemed to be loving
it all so much, he's kind of excited.
Speaker 7 (28:35):
There is inside this this feeling quite frankly, that this
is going to fucking work. When you look at something
like that on game one, the very first game, okay,
and you see the passion, and you see how crazy
everybody is. I mean, they're going to pull this off.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
And as for AJ, at the end of the game,
you'd think he'd be feeling relieved. All those fears of failure,
fears of letting down his dad and his city, he
overcame them all. He pulled it off. A team of
misfits born from the minds of a garbage man and
his kid's son, and they might actually be pretty good,
a team the city of Danbury can get behind. But
(29:16):
in AJ's head.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
You know, it's funny. You would think it would make
you feel happy or comfortable, but really it just put
more pressure because now you're like, okay, well, now every
single time we go out, we have to be equal
or better to what we did.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
There's a lot of pressure.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
AJ's team might be on top right now, but he
knows staying on top isn't going to be easy. It's
going to take blood, sweat and tears. We'll do whatever
it takes to win, whatever it takes. But AJ and
Jimmy have to be careful because as their debut season
(29:54):
heats up, all eyes and ears are now firmly on
the thrushes, not only by the supporters and the stamps,
all the press and the galleries, the trashes and all
Jimmy Galante's business interests were being watched by the law.
Speaker 5 (30:20):
I'm counting.
Speaker 7 (30:23):
One and number two.
Speaker 9 (30:24):
If you want a problem, let me know.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Pop gap white apps were in place, undercover operatives installed.
Speaker 5 (30:32):
Just mind your business.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
I mind my business.
Speaker 9 (30:35):
It's a real simple posing day, no problem.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
I'm going to tell yourself in very nice Okay, No,
for every action, there's.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
A reaction.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
That's coming up next. On the fighty pucks.
Speaker 7 (30:57):
When I have a people given, I'm standing on the
one four of them?
Speaker 5 (31:02):
Will you Stella?
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Will you start?
Speaker 9 (31:05):
Donovan?
Speaker 2 (31:16):
The Fighting Fucks is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For
more from Novel, visit novel Dot Audio. The series is
hosted by me Claire Crofton and produced by me Joe
Wheeler and Amalia Sortland. The executive producer is David Waters.
Story editing from Max O'Brien, Mitherie Rawls and Austin Mitchell.
(31:40):
Our field producer is Bebette Thomas. Our fat checker is
Darnia Suleiman. Our hockey sensitivity reader is Nikhil Desais. Production
management from Scharie Houston and Charlotte Wolfe. Sound design, mixing
and scoring by Nicholas Alexander, Additional engineering by Daniel Kempson.
(32:02):
Music supervision by Nicholas Alexander and David Waters. Original music
composed by Eric Phillips. Willard Foxton is creative director of Development.
Special thanks to Sean Glynn, Katrina Novelle, David Vassman, Sean
ty Tone and beth Anne Macalouso. Navel
Novel.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
When I started reporting this story, to be perfectly honest,
I knew fuck all about hockey. Luckily, AJ and some
of the players patiently took me through the basics.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Hocky, you know, is a sport that's played in an
ice arena.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Okay, got it.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
And each team has a goalie defending a net and
is a little rubber.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Puck goalie net puck. Sounds simple enough.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Basically your object is to get this puck in your
opponent's net.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Understood, But there was one core element of the game
that still perplexed me. The violence. The ones you put
this skato on and you step on the ice beast,
because hockey is really violent.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Yeah, does he leave his feet?
Speaker 5 (01:05):
Oh boy, that's closed.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
You know, a lot of this is an absolute carnage, devision,
barbaric watch this.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
In fact, aggression is such an integral part of the game.
There's a whole language to go with it, a language
I needed to learn. What is a sucker punch when
you'll fight with other guys and the guy just games
from nowhere and just gonna punch.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Listen, that hockey stick you're carrying a weapon?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
What is a truck? Can you describe it for anyone
that doesn't understand hockey.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
A chop is a slash.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
You grab your stick, you're skating by someone. You slash
someone over the wrists. You know you're gonna either break
their wrists or you're gonna make that person stay away
from you when they're trying to be too rough. And
then if they don't stay away from you, you're gotta
drop the gloves.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Drop the gloves. That's when players literally take off their
protective gloves, throw them on the ice and prepare to fight.
And this is a really weird part. It's totally legal.
This fighting in hockey is all part of the game.
Speaker 6 (02:10):
To drop the drops. They both have smiles on their face.
They're going to drop the gloss and I'm gonna have
a live.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
They take down they But if it was a complete
free for all, there'd be virtually no players left alive.
Some types of fighting are allowed, other types of violence
are strictly off the table. Ultimately, someone has to say
what qualifies as a rule abiding us whipping and what's
an illegal one.
Speaker 7 (02:39):
If you want to fight and drop your gloves, fight
all you want, that's part of the game of hockey.
If you take a player and you take your hockey
stick and swing it at the head of an opposing
player and connect with it. That's not fighting. That's malicious
intent to injure or to mane in that situation. I
(02:59):
don't want you in my league.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
That's United Hockey League Commissioner Richard Broussel. In April two
thousand and four, he signed off on the Trashes joining
his league, and now he's wondering if it's a decision
he'll live to regret. Jimmy Glante has presented an impressive
marketing plan, which Brissel has no doubt will bring his
league a much needed publicity boost, but with a teenage president,
(03:24):
it's not clear if it's the kind of publicity he wants.
And now the Glantes are part of the league, the
commissioner has to make sure their team play within the
rules of the game. The Trashers will have to respect
that fine line between permitted fighting and forbidden violence.
Speaker 7 (03:40):
It's the commissioner's job to ensure that these rules, regulations,
and by laws are followed to the letter.
Speaker 5 (03:46):
Of the law.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
In short, Commissioner Broussel is responsible for keeping AJ and
Jimmy's team in check. He can suspend or even expel
players from the league if they behave like thugs or
in hockey speak, goons.
Speaker 7 (04:02):
A lot of people called me the till of the
Hunt because I didn't think twice about banning a player.
If a player threw somebody into the ice and banged
his head on the ice, that's not fighting, that's gooonery,
and I won't have it. You're gone.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Commissioner Brossall can issue huge fines. We're talking thousands of
dollars every time the rules are broken. And if the
Trashers still don't respect the rules, if they make a
mockery of the league, Brosseau has a power to chuck
them out altogether.
Speaker 7 (04:34):
It's my decision to make. There is no way to
over rule a decision that I make.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
The Trashes are about to start their debut season. Jimmy
and aj have invested time and money into building this
team from nothing, but if they're not careful, it could
be game over before it's even begun. I'm plaid crofton
from the teams at Novel and iHeartRadio. This is the
(05:06):
fighty Pucks Game three, Drop the Gloves.
Speaker 8 (05:26):
Entering its fourteenth season, the United Hockey League has attracted
more than sixteen million fans. The uhl's fan base has
grown over four hundred percent. Is opening its doors in
nineteen ninety one. The upcoming two thousand and four two
thousand and five season welcomes to fourteen member clubs in
seven states, including expansion danbur Attractors, Kansas City Outlaws, and
Moltor City Mechanics. The UHL continues to provide an exciting
(05:47):
brand of hockey with rosters comprised of the midst of
young development players and established veterans. UHL hockey action packed
entertainment at family affordable crisis.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
It's October fifteenth, two thousand and four, the day of
the Trash's inaugural game. Commissioner Brisseil is headed to Danbury.
He usually attends the first game of a new team,
but he's a little nervous about this one. Jimmy and
aj have promised a lot, a shining arena, a full
professional team, and they've only had six months to do it.
(06:21):
On top of that, Danburry's never been a hockey city.
Will anyone even show up? Brassel lands in New Haven,
and less than an hour later he's driving into Danbury.
As he pulls into town, the scene rolling past his
car window gives him the answer.
Speaker 7 (06:40):
There were banners everywhere in people's yards, Danbury trashers. They
had media paparazzi out there like you can't imagine. Roads
were closed off because of how much traffic there was. Okay,
very impressive to see that.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Brissel parks up his way through the crowds towards Serena.
He steps through the big glass doors into the shiny
new lobby. The smell of beer is almost as intense
as the noise. The game isn't for a few hours,
but the place is already heaving.
Speaker 7 (07:15):
You couldn't even get into the merchandise area, that's how
crowded it was. And all the fans that are coming
in are wearing Danbury trash or jerseys, T shirts, hats,
all of that. I mean, this is unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
People spending their hard earned cash on merch for team
who have never even played a game before. Prisca's first
impression was right. Jimmy and AJ's marketing plan is a
total winner. He wants to find them congratulate them on
doing such a great job, but as he heads to
Jimmy's newly built owners suite above the rink, his path
is blocked.
Speaker 7 (07:47):
I am accosted by a group of the rowdiest fans
you could ever want in the world.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
There's about forty of them in total.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
They immediately surrounded me to welcome me to dan Berry.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
These guys are dressed head to toe in Trasha's colors
black blue and silver. The team name and logo gleans
from brand new hats and T shirts. They wreak of
beer and they're shouting obnoxiously. It's clear to Bressle exactly
what they're here for.
Speaker 7 (08:20):
They were gonna be rowdy assholes. Im gonna make it
miserable for opposing teams every time they were in dan
Berry Arena, so you know, shook their hands, took a
couple of pictures with them.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
After posing for a few Sophies, Brissell heads upstairs.
Speaker 7 (08:37):
I go into Jimmy's sweet He's got a big spread
of food there and his wife is there. Jimmy goes, hey,
what do you think Commish said Jimmy, It looks fantastic.
He goes, yeah, We're gonna fucking kill it here. We're
gonna fucking kill it here. You mark my words.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Sounds like Jimmy's riding high on adrenaline. He and aj
A putting a hell of a lot of effort to
get to this point, and it's worked. The arena is
full and the fans are already going wild. Why wouldn't
there might be anything but a success. But in this moment,
just two hours before the game starts, not everyone in
the arena is feeling quite so confident.
Speaker 6 (09:17):
I was terrified.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Every team in the league has their own commentator at
the mic for the trashs is filled ubileo.
Speaker 6 (09:28):
I don't know what it was, but for some reason,
my exterior did not appear nervous, but I was definitely nervous.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
He's arrived early for this opening night to familiarize himself
with the place before the game starts. But when he
makes his way through the fan field lobby and into
the rink itself.
Speaker 6 (09:46):
Guys are still painting in the building, like the railings
to the seats.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
The scene around him is sheer chaos.
Speaker 6 (09:54):
The paint was still wet, like if you put your
hand on a rail, you'd have like a blue hand.
And I'm like, how is this place going to be
ready to host three thousand people?
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Phill looks up at the spot he's meant to be
broadcasting from this platform.
Speaker 6 (10:08):
There was no table, there was nothing there. They're like,
don't worry, it's going to be ready for you, okay,
So I put my stuff down. All of a sudden,
these two guys show up and literally around me, they're
building a booth as I just stand there, and they
have their power drills and they drill everything together, and
then all of a sudden they mount this like marble
(10:28):
table and they're like, here you go, here's your broadcast table.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
That's not all that's stressing fit out. On another microphone.
Down by the edge of the ice, there's a man screaming.
Speaker 5 (10:38):
Number forty nine Well Ontario.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
The Glantes have hired a rowdy guy from the local
radio station to come and hype up the players as
they skate out into the ice. He looks like he
may have had one too many beers on the way over,
But to give the guy credit, he's taking the job
seriously and practicing hot.
Speaker 6 (11:00):
It's one thing you're testing at the microphone and you
go through the roster once, but like there was several
hours of this, like NonStop.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
It's thirty minutes until the puck drops and the game begins.
The crowd filters into the arena to watch the players
make their first appearance on the ice. It's our hype
guy's time to shine.
Speaker 6 (11:24):
However, it turned out he lost his voice before the
start of the game. He was screaming so much and
then he just kind of stumbled out.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Phil tries to keep his cool, but with all this mayhem,
he's finding it difficult to imagine that in a few
minutes a professional hockey game will begin, and he's not
the only one freaking out. As Phil shuffles his game
notes in the owner's box high above the ice is
(11:54):
aj Tonight. He swapped his baggy T shirt and shorts
out for a soup. He's looking very dapper, but also terrified.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
I just couldn't believe, like this was happening and you're
about to play a legitimate game.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Ag is used to the eyes of Danbury being focused
on his family, but it's usually his dad in the limelight.
Now as a face of the trushas it's his time
to take center stage, He's beginning to feel the pressure.
His mind is racing with thoughts and prayers.
Speaker 3 (12:26):
Oh God, please work, or at least halfway work or something.
You know, if people don't like it. You're screwed, and
a lot of people want to see you fail, frankly,
because when you start something new, there's a lot of
naysayers out there, and a lot of people doubted us.
So there was a lot on the line with pride
and money frankly, you know. But some of the worst
(12:48):
feelings in the world is sometimes when you think you
prove them right, you know what I mean. So we
can't let.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Them be right.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
After the break game on It's Friday night, October fifteenth,
two thousand and four, the Trash's debut game against the
(13:18):
Addie Rondack Frostbite, a well established team from Glen Falls,
about one hundred and sixty miles north of Danbury. In
the arena, the stands are packed and in homes all
across town, dial up internet connections are worring as they
tune into Danbury trashes dot com to catch Phil's live
stream time for a final mic.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
Check check check check.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
There we go, and then his voice fills thousands of
homes across Danbury.
Speaker 4 (13:48):
Where at the Danburry Arena here in Danbury, Connecticut. Inaugural game,
they're calling it a cloud of about a week thousand
here at Danbury.
Speaker 2 (13:56):
From his brand new, slightly makeshift broadcasting booth, Phil has
the best view in the house. He looks out to
see the ice glistening under the bright lights. He can
see right into the owner's suite. Jimmy looks confident, arms crossed,
a smile on his lips. AJ's fidgeting nervously. A lot of.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
Folks watching the first ever modern professional word franchise city
history in.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Tears of freshly welded stands. Rows of fans and local
dignitaries sit packed tightly together. Even the mayor is here.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Gavia Dean very Trasher, have an NHL quality facility for
their locker room that is simply of hadaking old giant
locker's weight book facility. Coaches, officers all up there, all
brand new.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
The players leave the looker room and head to their benches,
preparing to go out on the ice.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Carabadan very trashure, is beginning to come out onto the
it as.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
A seconds take down to game time. The atmosphere is
reaching a.
Speaker 9 (15:01):
It was like an electrical field. You can feel coming
off the fans. You can almost feel the heat coming
over the glass from all the bodies in there.
Speaker 2 (15:08):
On the ring side bench, surrounded by other trashes, so
it's one of the team's top players. Brad Wingfield.
Speaker 9 (15:16):
The noise you can't even hear yourself talk, so it
was pretty wild and we wanted to get out there
and kick some ass.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
Time for his pretty game ritual.
Speaker 5 (15:24):
I like the smelling salts.
Speaker 9 (15:26):
Those things wake you up, so you crack it da
you get fired up.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
Each to their own. Brad's getting ready to skate out
too the ice, only seconds to go until the puck drops. Suddenly,
Brad's old enemy turns Scout is marching towards him. It's
Thomas t Bone Pompocello, and he's waving something in Brad's direction.
Speaker 9 (15:47):
There's a Motorola flip phone. Mike, are you fucking kidding me? Dude, Like,
I can't take a phone. I'm not a pro hockey game.
I can't answer the phone. And he's like, take the phone.
I'm like, I can't answer the phone, and he's like,
look over it Jimmy's box And I look up across
the way Jimmy's private box. He's got a Motorola phones
hold it like that. I'm like, oh, shure, it's Jimmy.
Speaker 2 (16:09):
And when Jimmy's on the phone, you take the.
Speaker 5 (16:12):
Call, So I grabbed the phone.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Brad presses the phone underneath his helmet so he can
hear Jimmy's voice over the roaring crowd.
Speaker 5 (16:21):
Hello.
Speaker 2 (16:22):
None of the other players on the bench next to
Brad can hear what's being discussed, but Brad is nodding.
Speaker 5 (16:28):
Oh interesting, Okay, you got it.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
He hands the phone back to t Bone and skates
out into the ice. He's a man on a mission.
The two teams line up, heads down, sticks at the ready.
The Mayor of Danbury walks out onto center Rice is
here for the ceremonial puck drop to mark the beginning
(16:53):
of the game. Then it's down to business. The Mayor
scurries off the ice to the safety of the stands
and leaves the referee to perform the real puck drop.
All eyes now on that little disc of rubber as
it slips from his fingertips towards the ice. The game
(17:18):
is in motion. Crop pairs s wall trying to gain
controlield and here comes Brad Wingfield, single minded what he
slams a rival player into the boards. Then he's trying
to instigate a fight, But for now, his rival isn't
having it. He skates away, but it's clear things are
(17:39):
going to get very violent, very quickly.
Speaker 4 (17:43):
Even for hockey, will go through the penalty hot.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
After just two minutes, Brad sent straight into the penalty
box to cool off.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
They're at the ice arena.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
In hockey, minor altercations like these are known as scuffles.
The only last few seconds and players get sent to
the box, but the game continues. The team who landed
the penalty have to play on with a one man disadvantage,
and that's known as power play or five on four. Well,
Brad waits out his penalty minutes goaltender Scott Stirling and
(18:21):
team captain Brent Gretzky, little brother of superstar Wayne Glide,
towards the Frostbite goal. Brent may not have the international
fame of his brother, but as Aj promised to the
good people of Danbury, this Gretzky is still a great player.
He passes to Blake Belfay, the Trasher center, who fires
(18:43):
the puck into the net. As the Trashers celebrate their
first goal, Brad gets back on the ice. He doesn't
waste any time. He drops his gloves. He wants to
fight a rival player. This time it's got Paige Page
(19:09):
takes him up on the offer. The whistle blows and
the referee halts the game. It's time for what hockey
players have described to me as the game within the game,
aka illegal fist fight.
Speaker 5 (19:23):
We throw our gloves.
Speaker 9 (19:24):
Back and out of the way, we get rid of
the sticks, and then we swear off.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Brad and Scott grab each other. This is a fully
fledged fight of the crowd roars.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
Crowds will always get into hockey fights. They're gonna yell
and scream and get really excited. It's gonna get everybody
on their feet.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
From his position high above the ice, commentator Phil Giubileo
watches the trashes fans transform from Laura biding dwnburians to
bloodthirsty barbarians.
Speaker 6 (20:00):
I think even like if you were a family with
your kids in there as well. It's part of the sport.
You're gonna go kind of watch it and get real excited.
And the first night kind of got everybody into it.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Brad is throwing punches at his rival's head.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
Left ahead of the Adirondack player.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Other players move out of the way so the crowd
can soak up the spectacle. It seems bonkers that this
is all within the rules, but it.
Speaker 4 (20:24):
Is the nixed it up a breed that left hand
and a bar circle for beginning to get a bit tired.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
This is no time for nothing. It looks like someone's
neck is about to get broken. Bending each other backwards,
tearing at each other's jerseys.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Left for the head.
Speaker 9 (20:45):
You have to be able to grab onto your oppotent's
jersey just because you're on ice.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
So one hand's got a hold.
Speaker 2 (20:52):
Lot of one hand Swinging breaths in black and white
striped jerseys hover awkwardly around the fighting men. The players
are down on the ice, Wingfield is on top of
page and punching pod. It looks frantic, but Wingfield is
in the zone.
Speaker 9 (21:12):
Actually goes completely quiet. It's serene and calm. You like
a wave, like a giant wave. It's it's just bizarre.
You can't hear the crowd. Everything's quiet.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
A ref launches himself on top of the brawl. Another
ref comes in and pins the players to the ice.
The fight ends, and Brad pops out from under the
referee grip with a huge grin on his face.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
That's one waits flavor.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
No other sport do the referees facilitate mid game punch ups,
But here you have it, people, hockey. I'm not gonna lie.
I find this really strange. I'm the kind of person
who watches medical dramas from her fingers. Looking at blood
makes me feel sick. But luckily for Jimmy and AJ,
the crowd and Dewanburry that night and nothing like me,
(22:00):
there were so.
Speaker 3 (22:01):
Many fans out there that just loved the fighting and
the toughness. So they just loved us because we were
giving them what they always dreamed about, just a team
that like a cake assembly line, Like every two minutes,
a tough guy was coming out. And for people, it's like.
Speaker 5 (22:16):
Wow, this is different. You know, we were different. We
were just different.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Breed, and Brad Wingfield is a different beast. As he
emerges from his trance like fight mode, he stirs up
at the screaming fans.
Speaker 9 (22:29):
The crowd goes into a frenzy. You see the way
your team reacts to it and the way the fans
react to it, and you're like, oh, that was pretty awesome.
I think I'll definitely be doing that again.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
Brad Wingfield obviously gets a kickout fighting. But tonight he
wasn't simply following his violent instincts. He's been acting on
specific orders. Remember that phone call from Jimmy Galante before
the game, Well it turns out Jimmy was giving instructions.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
Basically calling someone ice hits. That's what was going on.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
A hockey hit man executing the instructions of Jimmy Galante,
who's looking down from the owner's box with the same
delight as all the other Trasher supporters in the arena.
Speaker 4 (23:17):
You know what, I'm having a great conjur at the
Tractors game. Well, I'm missing the hype right now because I.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
Could again in a day, but not everyone has a
smile on their face.
Speaker 7 (23:28):
It was a fucking gong show at times.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Commissioner Brisselle is not happy.
Speaker 7 (23:34):
If you're going to do that, there's ramifications. Okay, for
every action, there's a reaction. They paid dearly for it.
Speaker 2 (23:44):
That's after the break. The Danbury Thrushes aren't killing it.
Just twenty minutes into their first game and they're winning
(24:06):
two to nothing. Tough guy Brad Wingfield is giving it
all he's got from the family's private suite above the
ice teenage team president AJ Galante is watching the Trashs
wipe the floor with their rivals, the Adirondack Frostbite a lot.
Speaker 4 (24:23):
Of their poky is not expecting Danbury to come out
sharp to knife that they have that Adurondack hanging in there.
A very intense and heated rival ryl the developing between
the Trashers and Adirondack.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Commissioner Richard Brussel is watching the newest team in his
league playing rough, but so far it's mostly within the rules,
although as the game continues, it's not just the Honies
action Brussell's worried about. From his seat, he can hear
everything AJ's saying, and it's not pretty. You fucking suck
your piece of shit.
Speaker 7 (24:54):
Don't come in my fucking arena, you fucking puke. AJ's
heaven Phil Day yelling at all the opposing players, threatening
that we're gonna get your ass. You better look over
your fucking shoulder.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Just a few months earlier, a j was told he'd
never play hockey again, and now he's living the game
through his team, feeling every hit and loving every takedown.
It is hyped, but Brissel is not impressed. This teenager
is making his league look less than professional, but there's
nothing he can do about it. He's wedged in between
(25:29):
wild fans and the game is hotting up.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
And then a little richer he plucked out in through
a goal.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
It's a frostbite score back.
Speaker 4 (25:40):
With their first.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Goal, anxieties rise in the owner's box. They're closing in
on the Trash's lead. It's now two to one, but
then the Trash is quite back, delivering one final killer blow.
Speaker 4 (26:04):
That will throw up or whatever every.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
One.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
The final score is three one. The Danbrie Thrushes have won.
You can hear the emotion in Phil's voice, but he
could barely believe what he's just witnessed.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Their eyes went in their first ever.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
Game because brand new team have dominated tonight. Not only
that they've put on a show.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
We've had a lot of physical play here tonight, and
I'm expecting we will see more of it as the season.
Speaker 6 (26:41):
All times, it was just such a great opening night.
You know, everyone kind of came out really kind of
like jazzed up over the experience and probably just let
out a big collective like sigh of relief that we
pulled it off.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Danbrie's on a high as fans leave the arena to
celebrate their victory in the downtown bars. Commissioner Broussel marches
straight over to the Glantes suite. AJ is grinning his
face off.
Speaker 7 (27:10):
Mister Brusso about the fucking game. I go, hey, the
game was really good. AJ. You're fined one thousand fucking dollars. Now,
keep in mind this is minor league hockey. Okay, thousand
dollars a lot of fricking money.
Speaker 5 (27:23):
What I fucking do?
Speaker 7 (27:25):
What did you fucking do? You're fucking threatening and yelling
the f bombs and telling them their fucking pieces of shit.
I'm a fucking fan. No, you're a fucking owner. You
have to be held to a higher fucking standard. Okay,
the whole arena could hear you, The players can hear you.
You have to hold yourself. You're you're a GM owner
of the team. Okay, you can't do shit like that.
(27:48):
You just can't.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
As general manager and president of this team, AJ is
meant to be the professional face of the Trashes.
Speaker 7 (27:56):
It's embarrassing. And you know what personally embarrassed most was himself.
Is that what you want to be viewed as a punk?
Just a punk? Because that's a punk action. And you
know what, AJ took it like a man. You and
mister Brucel, I hear you, I hear you, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
I hear you. The commissioner is feeling conflicted. Brussell's job
is to enforce the rules, but he also wants publicity
for the league. So on one level he's panicking like
how is he going to rain this kid in? But
on another level, since the fans seemed to be loving
it all so much, he's kind of excited.
Speaker 7 (28:35):
There is inside this this feeling quite frankly, that this
is going to fucking work. When you look at something
like that on game one, the very first game, okay,
and you see the passion, and you see how crazy
everybody is. I mean, they're going to pull this off.
Speaker 2 (28:54):
And as for AJ, at the end of the game,
you'd think he'd be feeling relieved. All those fears of failure,
fears of letting down his dad and his city, he
overcame them all. He pulled it off. A team of
misfits born from the minds of a garbage man and
his kid's son, and they might actually be pretty good,
a team the city of Danbury can get behind. But
(29:16):
in AJ's head.
Speaker 3 (29:17):
You know, it's funny. You would think it would make
you feel happy or comfortable, but really it just put
more pressure because now you're like, okay, well, now every
single time we go out, we have to be equal
or better to what we did.
Speaker 5 (29:31):
There's a lot of pressure.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
AJ's team might be on top right now, but he
knows staying on top isn't going to be easy. It's
going to take blood, sweat and tears. We'll do whatever
it takes to win, whatever it takes. But AJ and
Jimmy have to be careful because as their debut season
(29:54):
heats up, all eyes and ears are now firmly on
the thrushes, not only by the supporters and the stamps,
all the press and the galleries, the trashes and all
Jimmy Galante's business interests were being watched by the law.
Speaker 5 (30:20):
I'm counting.
Speaker 7 (30:23):
One and number two.
Speaker 9 (30:24):
If you want a problem, let me know.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
Pop gap white apps were in place, undercover operatives installed.
Speaker 5 (30:32):
Just mind your business.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
I mind my business.
Speaker 9 (30:35):
It's a real simple posing day, no problem.
Speaker 4 (30:41):
I'm going to tell yourself in very nice Okay, No,
for every action, there's.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
A reaction.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
That's coming up next. On the fighty pucks.
Speaker 7 (30:57):
When I have a people given, I'm standing on the
one four of them?
Speaker 5 (31:02):
Will you Stella?
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Will you start?
Speaker 9 (31:05):
Donovan?
Speaker 2 (31:16):
The Fighting Fucks is produced by Novel for iHeartRadio. For
more from Novel, visit novel Dot Audio. The series is
hosted by me Claire Crofton and produced by me Joe
Wheeler and Amalia Sortland. The executive producer is David Waters.
Story editing from Max O'Brien, Mitherie Rawls and Austin Mitchell.
(31:40):
Our field producer is Bebette Thomas. Our fat checker is
Darnia Suleiman. Our hockey sensitivity reader is Nikhil Desais. Production
management from Scharie Houston and Charlotte Wolfe. Sound design, mixing
and scoring by Nicholas Alexander, Additional engineering by Daniel Kempson.
(32:02):
Music supervision by Nicholas Alexander and David Waters. Original music
composed by Eric Phillips. Willard Foxton is creative director of Development.
Special thanks to Sean Glynn, Katrina Novelle, David Vassman, Sean
ty Tone and beth Anne Macalouso. Navel
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