According to hockeymusic.ca, the Chicago Blackhawks were the first to install a goal horn.  They installed a goal horn made by Kahlenberg in January of 1983.

 

Since then, the goal horn has spread throughout the NHL and has worked its way down to the the affiliates of NHL teams as well as colleges.

 

It's a trend that needs to be reversed.  When the Blackhawks did it, it was new and different.  It was something unique.  No other team did it.

 

Now?  All 30 NHL teams have a goal horn.  It's not unique anymore, although some teams try to put their own twist on things.  The Washington Capitals, who get a lot more use out of their goal horn than most teams, also have a siren go off when they score a goal.  And it is the least annoying goal horn in my personal opinion, because it's often the capper to a mind boggling play by Alex Ovechkin which deserves highlighting.

 

 

But instead of just putting a twist on something that so many other hockey teams do, why don't teams do something unique and different?  A lot of the teams have names that lend themselves to celebrations which would be unique.  The Tampa Bay Lightning, for example, could have lightning bolts flash between different points of the rafters.  The San Jose Sharks could use the theme from Jaws.

 

That doesn't work for all teams.  If you're the Ottawa Senators, what are you going to do, run clips of Jimmy Stewart filibustering?  If you're the Toronto Maple Leafs, do you drop leafs from the ceiling?

 

Still, there's got to be something better than just doing what everyone else does.  A few years ago, the Senators used Blur's Song Two to celebrate their goals.  They may still do it, only it's probably drowned out by their goal horn.  And before the Capitals used the goal horn, they used to just have the siren go off.

 

There was a lot wrong with the eighties.  Hair bands.  Corey Feldman and Corey Heim.  Pegged jeans.  Mulletts.  Big hair.  And leg warmers.

 

Still, there was one thing that was right from that decade.

 

The Chicago Stadium was the only NHL arena with a goal horn.

 

Would it be too much to go back to those days?  Are fans so dumb now that they have no clue when a goal is scored?