DC Hockey Fans Taunt Tea Party Goalie With Images of Obama

"Thomas may skip the White House, and the real Obama may not attend Caps games, but we can still ensure that this issue that Thomas wants to avoid is right in his face when he comes to D.C."

Remember when the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup and President Barack Obama invited them to the White House?

No?

Well, okay, how about this: do you remember when Glenn Beck fan and Bruins goalie Tim Thomas turned down the White House invite in protest of big government?

I bet you do.

You know Thomas: he's the guy with big ‘ol “Don’t Tread On Me” on the back of his helmet.

Washington Capital fans are looking to capitalize (pun fully intended) on Thomas’ anti-big government gesture by urging each other to show up to the D.C.-hosted game with signs, posters, and masks of President Obama.

“With noted White House critic Tim Thomas set to visit town, in a kind of important game, several Caps sites decided that Presidential taunting was in order,” the Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg writes.

Some examples that can be found on the Russian Machine Never Breaks blog.

“Please print out a trillion of these [masks] and camp out in front of the glass during warm-ups,” one site reads.

“Cut out the eyeholes on the mask, tie it in front of your ugly mug, and give Thomas a warm welcome to Washington, D.C., the most powerful city on Earth. This is your moment to shine.”

Another site pleads with its readers:

Print it, Print it, Print it. Take it to Game 3 on Monday. Take it down by the glass during warm-ups. If you’re sitting behind a goal, print out enough for your entire section. Thomas may skip the White House, and the real Obama may not attend Caps games, but we can still ensure that this issue that Thomas wants to avoid is right in his face when he comes to D.C.

And just in case you needed a refresher, here’s what Tim Thomas said in an official statement after turning down the White House invite:

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.
This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.
Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.
This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic. TT

Final thought: there’s no reason to assume it’ll get ugly or that fans will behave any more rowdy than drinking hockey fans usually act. At least, that’s the hope of one of the websites calling for “trillions” of President Obamas to show up at the game:

A parting note: this ain’t about politics. Hockey is for everybody, and that includes tea-partying, Michael Cudlitz-looking fellas like Timmy. We’re just having a laugh and ribbing the other team. As long as we take a deep breath before speaking and keep our senses of humor intact, I think we can do this with some degree of civility. Go team.

Image courtesy Sick, Unbelievable

Update -- Although we're still searching for photos of Caps fans with pictures, masks, and/or signs of the president, it doesn't look like it phased Tim Thomas.

The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals 4-3.

Update II -- Whoa. Okay, definitely found some photos of the game (although it doesn't look like as many fans showed up with pictures of the president as predicted). All photos via Russian Machine Never Breaks:As we used to say in high school: check the scoreboard.