By: Trent Leith / February 25, 2024
On Saturday night, the Vancouver Canucks hosted the Boston Bruins for a heavyweight bout that would determine the number one team in the NHL. If the Bruins won, they would remain atop the standings, and if the Canucks won, they would take back the top spot once again.
Canucks fans were in for quite a treat, however, and no one saw it coming. 14:48 into the first period, James van Riemsdyk took a high-sticking penalty. Then everything changed.
Eight years since hanging up the spandex, Sully and Force were back. These were not impersonators as we’ve seen in the past. No these were The Green Men.
And we at StadiumChinatown.ca got an exclusive interview with Adam Forsythe, more commonly known as “Force”, of the Green Men.
“We were SO fired up to run down to our seats. I never get nervous wearing the green suit, but my throat was so dry as we waited for our entrance.” Force told us “We had specifically asked to enter to the Stone Cold Steve Austin music, but we had no idea how the fans would receive us.”
Needless to say, they were a big hit, getting national attention on social media. The NHL, Sportsnet, and Barstool Sports all shared photos and videos of the big return. These guys were everywhere last night.
Of course, a lot can change in one’s life in eight years. After the Green Men retired, they both moved on, got married and started having kids.
“When we started the Green Men, we were in our early 20âs and single. We are now married. Sully has two kids, and my wife and I are expecting our first in June.” Adam told us.
Sully had moved to Halifax for work and has since moved to Saskatoon, which is partially why they hadn’t made a comeback before Saturday.
“We had been debating a comeback for a couple of years now, but logistically it was tough. Sully moved to Halifax for work and now lives in Saskatoon.”
The Canucks have wanted a return for a while, and Force and Sully decided now was the time.
“The Canucks had periodically reached out over the years and asked us if we would be interested in returning for a game. In October, we told them if they could secure our old seats we would love to make a surprise appearance for the Bruins game.”
It was just as important to the Green Men to make a return to Rogers Arena, as it was for the fans.
“We hadnât been to a game in eight years and our lives are completely different, so we also wanted to share it with the people in our lives” Adam continued, “My wife was in university in the US at the height of Green Men so she never really experienced it. I wanted her to see what all the hype was about.”
It is clear what being the Green Men meant to Force and Sully,
“After the overwhelming response to our return, it has really made me reflect on what weâve accomplished. We are two goofy dudes who wore green spandex. It shouldnât have become a thing, but the fact that Canucks Nation embraced it and wanted us back even after all these years is a really cool feeling. It is something I will cherish for the rest of my life and something I canât wait to share with my future kids.”
But how did this all start? The best parts of sports fandom are the strange things that organically start. The Octopus on the ice in Detroit, the Rat-Trick in Florida and the Green Men in Vancouver, to name a few. With something so strange and unique, I asked Adam where the idea originated from.
“Sully and I met at BCIT and we both landed an internship at TSN in Toronto for 6 weeks. We spent a lot of time hanging out together and watching the show Always Sunny in Philadelphia. On the show, a character wears a green suit and goes to a Philadelphia Eagles game. Over a couple of drinks, we had enough liquid courage to order our own suits and mapped out a plan to go to a Canucks game when we returned home.”
However, the success and fan love was more than they could have ever expected.
“It was supposed to be a one-time thing and it blew up overnight, so we kept coming back!”
The Green Men won the hearts of Vancouverites all over the province. After they announced their retirement in 2015, they went on tour to visit fans around the province.
“We had been going to games for six years, and thought it was an appropriate time to hang it up. We ended with an epic tour of BC. We announced at the beginning of the season that we were going to 6 Canucks games, and in between travelling to different cities around BC to hang out at WHL and BCHL games. We had a blast hanging out in the smaller communities and meeting fans that we normally wouldnât have met.”
We wondered what made the Green Men call it a career. All good things must come to an end, and you should always end while leaving the fans wanting more.
“Our final season was in 2015, and the Canucks struggles at that point were pretty well documented. We were still having fun, but being in a green suit for four hours in a 6-0 loss isnât as thrilling as when they are winning.”
There were only two Boston penalties Saturday night. A James van Riemsdyk’s penalty that introduced the Green Men, and an overtime penalty on Trent Frederic.
“The lack of penalties was so stressful. We kept holding up a sign that said âMore penalties!!!!â. Late in the 3rd period, we started burning through our props to entertain the crowd.”
When asked what they had up their sleeve for us, Adam told us:
We had a box of waffles (A callback to our most famous âbitâ), Sully wore a huge inflatable unicorn costume and I âwashedâ him with a big mop, we dressed up like former Patriots coach Bill Belichick (complete with headset, clipboard and Patriots hoodies), and the one we knew would never get shown on TV was a sign that said âBigger Homer?â with a photo of Homer Simpson and Bruins announcer Jack Edwards.”
Brad Marchand is the last player on the Bruins who was a part of the 2011 run to the playoffs, and who the Green Men thought about targeting.
“We actually debated getting huge prosthetic noses, but we had already done that bit when Lucic was in the box in 2011, so I think we had discussed just dancing and gyrating on the glass to see if we could make him laugh”
Unfortunately, Marchand has cleaned up his act and managed to stay out of the penalty box. For most of the game, the Canucks were trailing and the Bruins were not taking penalties.
“Down 2-0, we were extremely nervous the game would end in a loss with only one penalty. It would have been such a waste of a Greenmen return,” Adam said of the game. “but it was a true storybook ending! When the Bruins took that penalty in overtime and took their time sending over a player to serve it, you could hear the buzz in the building starting to build. As soon as Trent Frederic came over, we knew we had to bust out the waffles.”
The Canucks won the game when Boeser redirected a shot past Swayman in overtime on the powerplay. It was truly the storybook ending Force described.
But most importantly, will the Green Men return? Especially with the playoffs just over the horizon.
“As of now, it was a one-time cameo, but after last nightâs reception, we arenât ruling out a return! Logistically it would be a little bit tough, but never say never!”