Springfield, VA — Saturday afternoon, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin swung by The St. James – a revolutionary new sports complex located in Springfield, Virginia. Ovechkin, a founding member of the gym, skated with two youth hockey teams during the grand opening. The teams featured players 10-years-old or younger.
Afterwards, in the locker room, Ovechkin met with the local media, including myself, to talk about the complex.
But first, I had to give him a gift.
Photos
Photos: Cara Bahniuk
In August, local area Home Depots randomly put up for sale buckets emblazoned with the Capitals’ Stanley Cup champions logo. Capitals Outsider first reported on the buckets and then we did too. The Cup Buckets quickly became A Thing on social media. See the mentions of this tweet to get an idea.
This is both the greatest and dumbest thing I’ve ever bought. #CupBucket pic.twitter.com/NzLbjyNwI7
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) August 14, 2018
Capitals fans, who will never get a chance to raise the NHL championship trophy themselves, saw the bucket as a funny alternative to the Stanley Cup.
And apparently, Ovi did too.
“Oh my gosh,” Ovechkin said beaming as I handed him the gigantic red bucket. “I see them (on social media), but don’t have one.”
I pointed out to the newest Caps papa that the bucket also served as an indispensable item around the house. It could hold his dog supplies, Sergei’s baby toys, or even Sergei himself.
Ovechkin, wearing sweats, then held the bucket up over his head for photos before allowing me to join in, which made me feel like his Blogging Backstrom.
During the proceeding interview, he carefully placed the Cup Bucket on the floor and rotated it around so that the Caps Stanley Cup championship logo showed perfectly in front of his audience.
Once our interview was done, Ovechkin took photos with the owners of The St. James, both of whom were wearing suits, in front of a black background featuring the complex’s logo. Ovechkin then bent down and grabbed the bucket, smiling again.
After saying another thank you, he carried the Cup Bucket out of the room; its future use undetermined, but its value unquantifiable.
