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Colorado Avalanche Looking for a Whiteout During Home Games

By Nadia Archuleta

DENVER, CO - APRIL 07: Fans line up outside of the Pepsi Center prior to the game between the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues on April 7, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 07: Fans line up outside of the Pepsi Center prior to the game between the Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues on April 7, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Colorado Avalanche may be planning on implementing the whiteout, a playoff tradition that dates back to 1980s Canada.

The Colorado Avalanche haven’t officially stated so, but it looks like the giveaway at the Colorado Avalanche playoff games, or at least the first one, is going to be a T-shirt:

Now, I don’t want to get my hopes up too high. It could be these T-shirts are for sale. However, the Toyota tag under the logo suggests the shirts have been sponsored. The T-shirts for sale in the Altitude Authentics gift shop don’t include the Toyota logo.

If this truly is the giveaway, it’s one of the best ones the team has had in a while. Traditional playoff game giveaways have been white pom poms. Now, the white pom poms do look sharp when we’re all shaking them, but it’s not quite as useful an item as a T-shirt.

colorado avalanche
DENVER, CO – APRIL 19: Fans of the Colorado Avalanche enjoy Game Two of the First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Minnesota Wild in at the Pepsi Center on April 19, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /

And if the Avalanche are giving away these white T-shirts for the game, then they’re probably looking for a whiteout.

The tradition of the whiteout dates back to the 1987 Winnipeg Jets. It’s a pretty simple tradition — fans are encouraged to wear white to to the game so you see a blanket of white in the crowd.

They still maintain the tradition:

colorado avalanche
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA – APRIL 13: Fans of the Winnipeg Jets cheer their team against the Minnesota Wild in Game Two of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 13, 2018 at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Jason Halstead /Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

The Jets started the tradition as a response to the Calgary Flame’s “C of Red,” which is the same concept but with Calgary’s signature red:

colorado avalanche
CALGARY, CANADA – APRIL 22: Dion Phaneuf /

Now, I don’t know that the Nashville Predators have named their tradition, for obvious reasons, but they seem to be attempting the same but with yellow:

colorado avalanche
NASHVILLE, TN – APRIL 12: Nashville Predators fans celebrate a goal by Austin Watson /

Sea of Yellow? Yellowout? No matter what you call it, that’s an eyesore.

Next: Playoff Series Predictions for the Avs

To be honest, I’m not sure why the Jets started the tradition of the whiteout specifically since their main color is blue. However, it makes more sense for the Colorado Avalanche — what color, after all, is an avalanche?

Side note: The city has implemented its longtime tradition of decorating Larimer Square for the playoffs:

In any case, in anticipation of the whiteout at Pepsi Center, I’m going to wear my home Patrick Roy jersey from back in the day when home teams wore white. I’ll use the white giveaway T-shirt to

whack opponent fans

whip around as a rally towel.

Imagine the image of the smattering of Preds fans wearing home yellow amidst an expanse of Colorado Avalanche white. We all know what makes yellow on snow. Really, Preds fans coming to the game should probably stick to their away white jerseys.

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