On the left is an aluminum foil-covered Stanley Cup replica that fans lug to playoff games every postseason. Some are defined by intricate internal structure and intense attention to detail. Others look like someone crumpled up a PB&J wrapper and stuck a logo on it.
On the right is a Stanley Cup made entirely of Legos, which is exponentially cooler. This brings us to our latest Puck Daddy Reader contest, in the grand tradition of "Gary Bettman: Portraits in Heroism" and "Puck Daddy Create-a-Card":
The No-Foil Stanley Cup Replica Competition.
Very important first point: This is not a Photoshop contest. We want replicas of the Cup that can be touched, smelled and/or thrown onto the ice during the post-series handshake (not that we'd advocate that, mind you). Again: This is not a Photoshop contest.
What we want are 3-D handmade Stanley Cup replicas that stray far away from the usual foil-wrap jobs. Build one with matchsticks. Build one with marshmallows. Build one with three dozen people contorting their bodies in a field. We want the most outlandish, creative and inventive "replicas" of the Stanley Cup you can conceive -- as long as you don't create a traditional "foil" version and, in the end, it looks like the Cup.
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Judges (TBA) will determine the winners based on creativity and execution of concept. If you want to place your No-Foil Replica in some sort of scene, that's fine; just know that in the end, the Cup's the thing. Since this contest requires more than a few mouse clicks and a silhouette of Gary Bettman's head, we have some actual, pretty cool prizes for the top placers:
First Place: A one-year subscription to The Hockey News that includes The Hockey News Yearbook. Prize courtesy of THN and THN.com.
Second Place: Author Ross Bernstein has penned over 40 sports books, and he's put together four good ones for a Puck Daddy prize pack: "Slap Shot Original," his book on Dave Hanson of the Hanson Bros.; "The Code," his classic examination of hockey pugilism; "America's Coach," a biography on Herb Brooks; and "Old Time Hockey," with scout and broadcaster Glen Sonmar.
Third Place: In honor of the Chicago Blackhawks' last Stanley Cup championship: $48 cold hard cash and a Blackhawks T-shirt of our choosing.
HOW TO ENTER: Send us a photo or a video (this can be a YouTube clip) on e-mail that proves you've actually built something, and feel free to sell us on the complexity of its construction. The deadline for entries is Friday, June 12 at noon EST. Either teams or individuals can enter, and enter as many times as you'd like. Hit us on e-mail with any questions. Good luck, and we'll see you at Home Depot.
