Trading Hockey For Laughs

I'll be completely honest in saying that I'm not even paying attention to hockey today. Normally, I spend a little time reading news stories and scrolling through social media for something that catches my attention, but today is not one of those days as my plans this evening will see me sitting in a park under sunshine while listening to a handful of comedians tell their best jokes. It's not often I buy early for comedy shows, but the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival was one that I couldn't pass up based on tonight's comedians and marquee act!

If you're not aware, Winnipeg will play host to the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival for the next three days as comedians like Aziz Ansari, Pete Davidson, Jeff Arcuri, Matt Rife, and Adam Ray as Dr. Phil take the stage. Undoubtedly, this will be a heckuva weekend for laughs in the Manitoba capital, and it starts tonight with Ryan Hamilton, John Crist, and one my favorite comics in Jim Gaffigan!

I first really figured out who Jim Gaffigan was thanks to the 2001 Broken Lizard film Super Troopers where Jim Gaffigan plays the unsuspecting victim to Mac's and Foster's "Cat Game" in a scene.


According to an interview done with Interview Magazine's Ben Barna, Broken Lizard had given the part for which Gaffigan auditioned to someone else, but offered him the "Cat Game" role as a part to remain in the film. Jay Chandrasekhar, who plays Officer Ramathorn, said in the interview, "Jim was originally going to play one of the local cops, but we ran out of spaces. He was not a famous stand-up at the time. Thank God he did it, because he became massive."

That appearance, along with the corresponding joke, gave Gaffigan some notoriety to the point where people were saying it to him after his shows. Gaffigan told Barna, "There was a stretch when it felt like everyone who approached me after a stand up show would do the 'meow' thing to me. 'Great show, meow. How you doing meow?' Mostly guys in their twenties that were either drunk or stoned or both."

Since that time, Gaffigan's popularity has grown immensely as his comedy delves into being a parent, being married, and observations of things to which virtually everyone can relate. I've watched a number of his comedy specials and found myself in fits of laughter at a lot of his material. When it was announced that he was the headliner for the Friday night lineup of the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival, buying a ticket was a very easy decision for me.

I don't know about John Crist or Ryan Hamilton, pictured in the middle and on the right, respectively, in the lede image, but I did see a few Ryan Hamilton bits on Instagram where he was pretty funny. Crist seems a little edgier in his comedy, but he still has some funny bits as well. In short, tonight should be an entertaining and hilarious night at Assiniboine Park in beautiful weather as the Winnipeg edition of the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival gets underway!

If anything important in the hockey world happens, I'll get caught up tomorrow. Tonight, I'm going to have a great time at the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival. Enjoy your evenings, folks, because I'm expecting a great night of laughs with Jim Gaffigan and friends!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!