Possibly inspired by our own Dallas Stars April Fool’s Day prank earlier in the day, the Stars started circulating images around social media suggesting they would be unveiling their new uniforms during the third period of their game that night against the Anaheim Ducks.
We eventually went ahead and tweeted out that the Stars were doing something, making sure to mention it very well could be their own attempt at pulling an AFD prank. I was so sure it was fake that I didn’t even bother keeping an eye on their feed during the third period, instead tuning back in about a half hour after the game ended. What did I see? Nothing. Dallas wasn’t saying a word, I wondered why they wouldn’t even mention the prank again after hyping it up on that very feed.
It turns out the Stars did indeed do something during the third period, and we’ll let Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News describe what went down:
It might have been the worst decision of the year by the Stars’ organization — and that’s saying something.
With the team’s playoff hopes circling the drain in the third period Monday en route to a 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, the Stars promised a glimpse of the new uniforms that have been approved by the NHL for wear next season. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the new threads, as they promise a new era under Stars owner Tom Gaglardi, and are a sign of the change that has been so anxiously anticipated by those who have stuck through the dark days of this franchise.
And, then, out of a curtain jumped a guy in a horse head wearing the old alternate sweater — “The Mooterus,” [ed. it’s the logo seen at the very top of the post — Chris] as it is called in disgust by fans.
April Fools!
Ouch.
Ouch indeed. I get the thought behind it, the idea is pretty funny actually, but the timing was *horrible*. There’s nothing worse than trolling your own paying fans as they watch their season go down in flames yet again.
Reaction on the Stars official Facebook page was understandably harsh:
True, some of these guys probably just need to learn to laugh at things now and then, but typically a fun prank isn’t meant to elicit such strong negative reactions.
Dallas, if you’re ever considering pulling an April Fool’s Day prank like this again I’ll start off by saying “Good! Go for it, the world needs more laughter”, but some things to consider…
First, the prank has to be done early in the morning – pranksters know the rules, no April Fool’s Day gags after 12 noon. That’s pretty much set in stone.
Second, just throw up an article, or put out a fake press release, a Tweet or Instagram post, whatever… don’t promote it as taking place at a paid event, it’s very conceivable somebody went and paid money for a ticket just to see this unveiling in person – if I was a hardcore Stars fan (and not so much a skeptic), I would have.
Finally, I think once the game was in the crapper you should have just bailed on the whole thing – your fans were miserable, they didn’t need any more piling on at that moment.
I’m sure the actual new Stars uniforms for 2013-14 won’t be nearly as horrible as the ‘Mooterus’ was, rumours are that it’s to be predominantly green – that’s a good start. Check back in the summer, probably around the NHL Draft. Keep your chin up Stars fans.
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