The characters of Smashville are legendary, from the beginning of the franchise the fans have played an important role in the entertainment that goes on at the arena. From groups like Section 303 and the Fur Hat Authority to individuals like Mongo, Eudora, and the Prexican… all have been and some continue to be a big part of the fun at Bridgestone Arena. One of the biggest ones, in both stature and legend… was “Big” Ben Butzbach who passed away suddenly yesterday afternoon at the way too young age of 33.
I am still having trouble processing the news.
Ben was also known as "Big Belly" or the "Belly Guy" at Predators games as he would have his belly painted and at an appointed time during the game, he would be shown on the scoreboard, he would exhort Predator fans to get louder, then lift his jersey to reveal the message painted on his belly, sometimes funny, sometimes touching, and sometimes personal… Ben loved being a part of it and always kept in mind the fun of what he was doing.
Ben used his notoriety well. He was a driving force behind organizing Firehouse Hockey, established as a 501(c)(4) non-profit dedicated to helping public safety hockey teams. Their mission is to provide a free web presence for teams as well as an outlet for them to publicize their events. The teams are made up of everyday heroes off the ice, who give so much on the ice as well. Every year Ben and Firehouse Hockey would put on a weekend of hockey at Ford Ice Center to honor those affected by the attacks on 9/11. He was so driven to honor those that put their lives on the line, Ben’s legacy of giving back to those that protect will live on through Firehouse Hockey.
As I got to know Ben, I learned so many things that we had in common, beyond our shared love for Nashville and the Preds… we both did time in call centers, are huge Philadelphia Eagle fans and would bemoan their inevitable breaking of our football hearts every season. But the thing I got to know about Ben that will never leave me was something much bigger than his famous belly… that gigantic heart of his.
If there was a need to give, he would be there… I don’t think I ever heard a mean word uttered about Ben. He always smiled, always had a crack, a joke, something to share that smile with you. He kept his family close, his love for his son and his wife is just as legendary as his belly and none of the 17,113 in attendance on Valentine’s Day 2015 will forget his proposal to Brandy. Painted on his belly, of course.
We haven’t see Ben at Bridgestone Arena much over the past 14 months, while working on a fundraiser in September 2016, he sustained a serious brain injury, causing him to not be able to work, not be able to attend games because light and noise would make his condition worse and he was not able to come to the studio for his radio show. These last months have been really rough on Ben and his family. The bills began to mount up and back in May, Pred Nation stepped in to help with a GoFundMe page. Almost 200 people donated… another sign of his community impact. He was just starting becoming able to get active and get his health fully restored when he passed away.
Social media is full of tributes and salutes to Ben right now… heartfelt and almost universally describing a time where he had fun with a person, or helped out, or made a child smile. The number of selfies being posted of that belly… It is amazing to see the number of lives he touched, the number of people that were positively impacted by the life Ben Butzbach.
Tonight, as we finish up SlapShot Radio, there will be a big hole in the normal Wednesday night routine. Normally, as we transitioned the studio we would joke and I would get a hug or handshake or high five from Ben as he came in to do Penalty Box Radio with Justin and Glynne. He won’t be coming through that door tonight… or ever again…
And that just sucks.
My heart is broken for his dear wife and son… their loss is so much deeper than I can comprehend. The thoughts and prayers of Pred Nation are with them today and going forward... please know that your Pred family will be there for you.
Pred Nation has lost a good soul… gone way to soon. Rest in Peace Ben… rest well my friend.
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First period efforts
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Random Notes
- The Predators are in San Jose tonight… 9:30pm faceoff, SlapShot Radio will be on at 7pm and a special 30 minute edition of Penalty Box Radio will follow as PBR pays tribute to Big Ben…
- Tonight is the first game of a three games in four nights stretch for the Preds
- Plenty of 5-on-5 work in yesterday’s practice including more shooting.
- Kudos to San Jose game operations on their stirring tribute to Patrick Marleau… lots of feels at the Shark Tank Monday night.
- KHL Watch – Eeli Tolvanen’s Jokerit club lost again Monday, dropping a 4-0 decision to Bayrs. Tolvanen remains at 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 24 games and is tied for 6th in KHL goal scoring. Jokerit plays again today.
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SlapShot Radio has an exciting season in store for our tenth anniversary. As the longest running hockey show in the region, SSR feeds hockey fans what they crave… intelligent, fun, entertaining talk about their favorite sport and we do it from the opening of training camp all the way through UFA day… the only local hockey show that does that.
We are on every Wednesday night at 7pm on the Predators flagship station, 102.5 the Game. Our co-hosts, Dan Keczmer and JP Dumont bring a true insiders perspective to the show. Tonight we are talking to Jeff Marek from Sportsnet and Jim Fox, the TV color analyst for the LA Kings.
We have been delivering great hockey talk to the most energetic and engaged fans in radio and advertising with us drives results at a reasonable price. Just ask our sponsors… including day one sponsor
Dr. Jane Bacon at Hermitage Family and Cosmetic Dentistry … make your appointment at (615) 872-7762, Mark Lonsway at ReMax Fine Homes, call him for all your real estate needs at (615) 207-7799, and TurfMasters… check out their great service at
TurfMasters.com.
We are also welcoming a new sponsor to the SlapShot Radio family… The Crag… Nashville’s premiere location for indoor rock climbing. Newton Dominey and his awesome crew have a great location in Cool Springs and they have opened a new location in South Nashville at the corner of Old Hickory Blvd and Nolensville Rd. Check out their website at
ILoveRockCLimbing.com If you’ve never done it before… you need to try, they specialize on helping first timers.
Advertisers… reach out to me in order to access our activated listener base though great preseason advertising deals available for our tenth season when you email me at paul(@)slapshotradio(dot)com
You can also keep up with all the goings on with SlapShot Radio by following the show on Twitter @SlapShotRadio1 … Also... make sure to "like" SlapShot Radio on Facebook... here's the
link.
If you are outside of the listening area, listen live online at
The Game website or check out the podcast about two hours after the show at
on SoundCloud.
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