Soon, however, there was trouble. A few Santas ripped off their red jackets to reveal Rangers jerseys underneath. That was too much for the many Santas who were Islanders fans. It was as if the clock had turned back two years, and Theo Fleury, then a Ranger, was back on the Coliseum ice doing the chicken dance to mock the Islanders. Some of the Islanders Santas swarmed the Ranger Santas. A youngster in a Santa suit was seen pulling a Pavel Bure Rangers sweater off one subversive Santa.
«The Islanders had budgeted three and a half minutes for the Santa parade. But the Santas were not cleared from the ice until five minutes had elapsed.»
«The public-address announcer had a script for the Santa parade, Botta said, but not for what happened after that. ‘He kept saying: All Santas will be escorted from the building.'»
«‘The crew assigned to resurface the ice was delayed, but the second period started on time,' Botta said, who added that he hoped a fine from the league might be avoided. ‘I'm hoping we'll get a little break,' Botta said.
