Canucks: Catching up with Adam Forsythe of the Green Men

Part 2

5. Were there any behind the scenes stories with guys who took penalties?

There were three different types of players in the penalty box. The majority never looked over, never acknowledged us, and never said a word, no matter what we said. Another type featured the player on a horrible team well out of the playoff race, who just wanted his season to end and would joke around with us. Mike Cammalleri, Drew Doughty, Mike Komisarek, and Paul Stastny were among the players who were willing to have a laugh with us. They realized the absurdity of having a dude only wearing green spandex dancing just two feet away. The final type of player was the chirp talker. They were heated after taking a penalty and furious they might have just cost their team a goal. Duncan Keith was ruthless to us during the 2010 playoffs. He called us every name in the book. I still take pride in that because he was focused on us, instead of focusing on helping his team win.

My favorite player interaction was with Milan Lucic during the 2011 final. He took a penalty and we had a prop prepared for him. We wanted to poke fun at how big his nose was, so we bought these two huge plastic witch noses from a dollar store. He immediately started laughing and even joked saying “you guys my nose is even bigger than that”. When he said that he made the gesture with his fingers indicating how big his nose was. When the game ended, we checked our social media and we were flooded with messages making fun of us because the incident was shown on TV and everyone thought when Lucic made the finger gesture he was talking about our “packages”!

6. Did the Canucks players like you as much as the fans did? Did you get to meet them?

The Canucks players kept their distance for the first little bit of our Greenmen tenure, but near the start of the 2010 playoffs, the Canucks staff asked us to film some pump-up videos with Fin, and once we were seen around the dressing room, I think they warmed up to us a little bit. A lot of the Canucks would hold autograph signings around Vancouver, and we had a company reach out to us about coming to the signings and entertaining the crowd while they waited in line. It gave us the opportunity to become acquaintances with Bieksa, Ryan Kesler, and Trevor Linden. They all took a liking to us, and anytime they had an event we would be there. Bieksa even discussed hiring us for his son’s birthday party, but that eventually fell thru. When we told the Canucks we were going to retire from attending their games, Bieksa immediately agreed to be part of our retirement video which we really appreciated.

The oddest encounter we had was during the 2011 Cup run. Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson declared a day “Canucks Day in Vancouver” and asked us to come down for the press conference. We went down to city hall and were brought in to the Mayor’s office where we were in a room alone with Robinson, Mike Gillis, and Francesco Aquilini. Gillis and Aquilini clearly weren’t told we were going to be there so there were some awkward handshakes and hellos!

7. Who is your favorite Canucks player of the past, present, and future? Why?

Growing up my favorite player was Pavel Bure. It’s a super generic and obvious answer, but he was truly one of the most impressive hockey players I’ve ever witnessed. He could FLY around the rink. My childhood bedroom was essentially a shrine to the Russian Rocket. My favorite current Canucks player is probably Quinn Hughes. Switching from being a fan to working in the media, you kind of get a peek behind the curtain on the hockey world and it gets easy to become jaded on the sport. Watching Hughes this season has sparked my love of the sport again. It has been very rare a player has made me stop what I am doing and simply focus on his every move. I can’t wait to see what he brings to the Canucks as he gets further into his career. Looking to the future, I am excited about a lot of Canucks, but I really like Mikey Dipietro. I could care less about his talents (which I think he plenty of), but he might honestly be the nicest and most well-spoken person I’ve ever met. He is extremely mature and very self-aware. He has all the traits you would hope to see in a hockey player.

8. What are your thoughts on the Canucks team this year? Think they got what it takes?

I personally don’t think the NHL resumes this season. There is just too much risk involved. If the playoffs somehow get held, I like the Canucks chances against the Wild, but I think their summer experience will be a short one because there is a minimal chance they are able to get through Vegas, St Louis, or Colorado.

9. The Green Men versus Gritty. Who’s more popular? Who wins in a fight?

Hmmm… tough question. Full credit to that Orange freak of nature. The dude has skills. I think he has surpassed us in popularity, but it is definitely thanks to social media. When we launched, Twitter was just starting and Facebook fan pages weren’t even a thing. He was able to amass a massive following because EVERYONE has a social media account now. So… while he is more popular than us, we would CRUSH him in a fight. He’s got the size, but we have the numbers. I would serve as the distraction and Sully would use his agility to end things quickly! Come at us Gritty! You don’t want this heat!

Final thoughts

Mr. Forsythe had plenty to say about the Green Men, the Canucks of the past, and the Canucks of today! You can keep an eye out for him on GreenMen Radio! Thanks again for being one of the world’s most beloved sports fans!