Would you touch the Stanley Cup?

I never even gave it a second thought.

The man carrying the Stanley Cup down the street said "This thing is heavy, help me hold it up, c'mon grab it!" I grabbed it by the bowl and the base, the way Mark Messier and so many other captains have, spun the Cup around so I could see the 1994 team, and had my picture taken, three times.

What would you have done?

After the second day of the draft, I was hanging out with the NHL Tweetup crew. We had made the long hike to Old Montreal, and wound up at this very expensive, way out of my league restaurant. (I'm a t-shirt and hat kinda guy, and was dressed as such. I stuck out like a sore American thumb in my NHL Draft hat and Hartford Whalers t-shirt amongst the Montreal elite in this restaurant) After everyone had finished their dinner, my friend Dani and I decided to go downstairs for to enjoy an after dinner smoke.

A guy comes up to me and asks for a light. I let him use my lighter; he uses it and starts to walk away. Noticing my t-shirt, he says "Hey are you guys hockey fans? The Stanley Cup is coming down the street, its right there." We poke our heads around the corner where he was pointing, and sure enough, there it is, all beautiful 30-something pounds of it. Dani goes running up to it to take a picture, and I go to stand next to it for my chance to be photographed with the best looking trophy in all of sports.

I'd had my picture taken once with the Cup before. When I lived in Phoenix, the Phoenix Zoo did a Coyotes promotion, and I put on my Rangers jersey, and wore my "1994 Stanley Cup Champions" hat for the 2^nd (and last, I haven't put it on since) time, and drove down to the Zoo and had my picture taken. The Cup was placed on a table, we weren't able to manhandle it, but I did very gently place my hand on top of it when the picture was snapped.

This time, I had no such inhibitions. I picked it up, and held onto it for dear life. I figured dropping it would probably have me living forever in You Tube infamy.

So upon returning to our table and telling our story, I was immediately under fire from the Islander fans in the group, saying that you should never touch the Cup unless you win it. I told him I disagreed, that Cup celebrations had always been public, and that if Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin could eat oats out of it, that the Hockey Gods would certainly permit me my opportunity.

So let me ask you, if you were in that situation, would you touch the Cup?

If given the opportunity, would you touch the Stanley Cup?