Lightning brings pressure Bear

The Stanley Cup-chasing Boston Bruins [team stats] removed a billboard poking fun at Tampa Bay fans after staffers at the TD Garden got harassing phone calls — and even some death threats — from enraged Lightning lovers.

Bruins spokesguy Matt Chmura told the Track that a Tampa Bay radio station gave out the phone numbers to the Bruins front office and staffers were inundated with calls from Lightning fans protesting a billboard at the Garden that read, “The Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Tampa Bay Lightning Fans.”

“They were homophobic, racist and went as far as death threats,” Chmura said. “At the end of the day, we don’t want to put our staff through that. We want them to be comfortable. So we just decided to take (the billboard) down.”


Wow, who knew the geriatric Tampa peeps were so hostile! And soooo overly sensitive about their fair-weather fandom!

The brouhaha began earlier this week when Tampa Bay rock radio bomb-tosser Cowhead, aka Mike Calta, fired up his listeners to call the Bruins marketing department to protest the billboard. On Wednesday, the team took it down.

“In a swift and strong attack we showed the Bruins organization that not only do we exist, but we are ready to fight for our team,” Calta told the St. Petersburg Times. “We moved in like Seal Team 6 and shut them down in a way that other teams they attacked have never been able to do.”

The billboard was part of the Bruins’ long-running promotion featuring Bear, a furry enforcer who does not tolerate boobish behavior. For the Philadelphia series, a similar billboard read, “Black and Gold Runs Through Boston’s Veins. In Philly, It’s Just Cholesterol.”

Which was a lot better than last year’s salvo at the City of Brotherly Love. That one said, “Never, Ever Date A Flyers fan. Even If She Shaves Her Mustache.”

Chmura said Bear fans should not fret about his temporary exile. When the Bruins advance to the Stanley Cup finals, the billboard will be back.

“I fully expect the campaign to move forward,” he said. “The Bear will be here for the foreseeable future. But for now we’re just going to focus on hockey and winning games.”