The Seattle Kraken have gotten off to a rough start in the NHL having won just one of the first six games, but events took an even darker turn on Saturday when an electrical problem resulted in the dimming of lights on one end of the rink.
In a scenario you simply cannot make up, the team competed in Climate Pledge Arena, which is billed as “the most progressive, responsible, and sustainable arena in the world.”
A section of lighting at Climate Pledge Arena has gone out so there’s a noticeable dark area at one end of the ice pic.twitter.com/gH3tmQFmEt — Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 22, 2023
Looking past the lighting problem being a perfect metaphor for what you can expect from “progressive” and “sustainable” policy, the comedic value didn’t stop with the name of the arena.
More from the Seattle Times:
Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke was even spotted up in the arena’s rafters trying unsuccessfully to resolve the partially dimmed lights in the rink’s eastern portion, which caused an early 10-minute delay and then more stoppages as both teams kept changing ends midway through each period to offset any disadvantages. Leiweke and company will have plenty of time to resolve the situation as the Kraken’s 4-1 loss to the visiting New York Rangers was their final home game before an upcoming four-city, cross-continent road trip.
Now that’s equity in action. In a further development that has a certain Star Wars feel to it, the first two goals scored during the lighting problem occurred on the “dark side” of the ice:
Currently going on in Seattle: due to arena electrical issues, one side of the ice is darker than the other… Both goals in the game so far have been scored on the dark-side of the ice pic.twitter.com/rdqzduSESm — B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 22, 2023
The incident prompted plenty of much-needed jocularity on social media… here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
Found your problem. “Climate Pledge Arena” is powered by unicorn wishes. pic.twitter.com/XeHg8MyrOS — Donny Ferguson (donnyferguson.substack.com) (@DonnyFerguson) October 22, 2023
Maybe if they made a Climate Pledge, this wouldn’t happen. — JWF (@JammieWF) October 22, 2023
The arena is powered by Christmas lights. So when one light goes out they all go out. — VGK Dean (@VgkDean) October 22, 2023
The Force is not so strong in this arena. — Stephanie Adams (@StephTweet) October 22, 2023
Maybe they should have went with Functional Lighting Pledge Arena. — laundrytv (@laundrytv) October 22, 2023
Shocking the climate pledge arena can’t power their own lights…… — Jake (@JCMF2424) October 22, 2023
pic.twitter.com/rtBg9ldXMT — Nikola Pusara (@Alokin_4c) October 22, 2023