It started last season, when Anaheim swept the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The eight-member Bear Brass Band made a video playing the song for a "My Playoffs Moment" video.
"I thought it would be cool to record 'Bro Hymn' and see if we could get on the commercial," Corey Simmons, a member of the band told NHL.com.
The video was an immediate hit and the Ducks took notice, inviting the band to perform outside the Honda Center for home games in the second round and Western Conference Final last season. This postseason, Bear Brass Band not only pumps up the crowd outside the Honda Center before the game, it heads into the arena to play after each goal. The band also performs during the second intermission and, if the Ducks win, the band takes to the ice for a postgame performance.
"The fans immediately took to the band," Ducks publicist Keren Lynch said. "In the past two playoff runs, they have been a great story for us and enhanced the in-game and community experience for our fans."
The band has performed regularly throughout Southern California since its founding two years ago, and they even played outside Dodger Stadium during the Dodgers' last homestand in October. But Ducks playoff games have become one of the band's highest-profile gigs, and although many of the members were not hockey fans, they've hopped on the Anaheim bandwagon.
"The rest of the group has become Ducks fans," Simmons said. "It's hard not to get sucked into all the fun that comes with working for the Ducks."
