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Fan smuggles catfish into Stanley Cup game in his shorts, tosses it on ice

Tossing catfish on the ice is a real but very strange tradition in Tennessee.

A worker removes a catfish from the ice at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh during the second period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators on Monday, May 29, 2017, in Pittsburgh.
A worker removes a catfish from the ice at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh during the second period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Nashville Predators on Monday, May 29, 2017, in Pittsburgh.Read moreGene J. Puskar / AP

A Tennessee man who smuggled a dead catfish in his compression shorts into Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals will face his day in court after he tossed the decaying carcass onto the ice during the second period.

Predators fan Jacob Wadell, 36, of Nolensville, Tenn., was booted from the Penguins PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on Monday and charged with possessing instruments of crime, disrupting a meeting, and disorderly conduct, PennLive reported.

Tossing catfish on the ice is a tradition in Tennessee.

The Tennessean newspaper has reports dating back to Oct. 30, 2003, of fans tossing catfish on the ice.

Wadell has been hailed as a hero in his home state, with attorneys offering him pro bono help and social media lighting up in his defense.

A Pittsburgh fish store is now asking for identification before selling catfish. If you are from Tennessee you have no chance, TribLive reported.

Once inside the arena, Wadell hid his catch in a free T-shirt and towel that were handed out as promotions at the gate.

He tossed the catfish out onto the ice when the Predators were three goals down. The team rallied but eventually lost to Pittsburgh, 5-3.