![]() "My brother, Marcus, who plays for Buffalo, and every guy I know in the league, just says 'that damn cannon.' It's great. If you're not a fan of the Jackets and you don't like the cannon, well, the team is ok with that. That's what you want."ĭavidge says long-time fans quickly come to love the cannon, but he's also heard his colleagues from around the hockey world talk about how they just don't like the big artillery gun. ![]() To have a symbol is one thing, but to have the fire and noise itself is spectacular. "It's a symbol of what the Jackets are all about (the team name pays homage to Ohio's contributions during the Civil War). "When they introduced that a few years ago it caught a lot of people by surprise but to me, the louder the better," said Davidge. He's also watched kids jump, women shriek, and men shiver the first time they hear the signature blast. He says there's always a line of people waiting to get their photo taken with what has become a prominent symbol of Blue Jackets hockey. Jackets pre- and post-game host Bill Davidge works from a broadcast location directly adjacent to the cannon for all home games. The deal was done and the cannon was soon on its way to Nationwide Arena and it's permanent home above section 111. "The cannon recoiled about two feet and people around were hooting and hollering," Todd said. Todd and Kershaw, with Blue Jackets management listening on the phone, took in a demonstration of the cannon fire. "He said, "yeah, I build cannons and I've got one here if you want to take a look at it." "We pull up to this place, it's out of the way, off a gravel road and there's an older gentleman who looked like a civil war soldier himself," recalled Todd. The cannon came to Nationwide Arena in 2007 when arena host Mike Todd and then Director of Game Operations Kimberly Kershaw found a cannon vendor based in Pontoon Beach, Illinois, about 15 miles northeast of St. That's pretty awesome to hear and know you're the team that (causes) it." I've had people come to the arena just to see the cannon. The cannon blast is this whole different entity and it creates such a cool feeling. "It's our own," team captain Nick Foligno said. "The Cannon," or as it is sometimes referred to as "that (bleeping) cannon," belongs to the Blue Jackets, and it's more than just part of the team's celebrations, it's part of their identity. Well, there is one thing that separates Nationwide Arena from other facilities and the Blue Jackets from other teams… an 1857 Napoleon replica cannon. Every NHL arena has a goal horn to celebrate when the home team scores and Nationwide Arena is no different.
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