In February, Philadelphia Eagles fans celebrated their Super Bowl win as if they’d never won one before—because they hadn’t—by climbing every lamp post in sight. In an effort to curtail the madness, Philly’s police department greased down the poles with Crisco, and when that didn’t discourage fans from climbing, officers switched to Bio-Bottle Jack Hydraulic Fluid.
Well, the Capitals haven’t won a Stanley Cup before—if all goes well, it looks like some poles might be a target for the valiant high climbers, decked in red. Is Washington prepared?
We reached out to the planning unit of the DC police department’s Special Operations Division and spoke to Lieutenant Jason Bagshaw, who wouldn’t comment on whether the cops plan to grease the poles.
“We’ll be doing what we’ve done for the past four games—and that’s keeping a strong police presence at the celebrations, keeping things moving,” Bagshaw said. When asked whether he expects any copycats of Philly climbers, Bagshaw said, “No. We’re not expecting a lot of that.”
So, how does one properly climb a non-greased pole? Just ask this guy:
Philly greases its poles.
D.C. security guards gotta get it on Snapchat first 😂
🎥: insert-relevant-user / reddit pic.twitter.com/NPfNJeaVcV
— SB Nation (@SBNation) June 3, 2018
One Caps fan was arrested on Saturday night for climbing a pole after Game 3. He spent two nights in jail and came back for Game 4. Perhaps it’s time to bring out the grease.
Elliot joined Washingtonian in January 2018. An alum of Villanova University, he grew up in the Philadelphia area before earning a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University. His work has also appeared in the Washington Post, TheAtlantic.com, and DCist.com, among others. He lives in Bloomingdale.
