Learning To Love The Flyers

This is Dan. Dan is a fantastic individual, an annual participant in the HBIC Playoff Pool, and a friend of HBIC. Dan is also an accomplished actor, having appeared in wide range of productions including Veep, The Wire, and The Replacements. While he's not a full-fledged leading man on a drama series or sitcom yet, I have a feeling we're not far from seeing Dan grab a permanent role on a major television network. Dan grew up in Maryland, though, so he's a die-hard Washington Capitals fan. In saying that, you know he'd never cheer for the hated Philadelphia Flyers no matter what, right? Well, Dan took a job that required him to change allegiances!

Here's how Dan describes the experience from his website.

How do you get a Caps fan to root for the Flyers to make the playoffs? Cast him in a short film about the Flyers making the playoffs.

I recently worked on a very funny short film called, Playoffs, Baby! It's about a dysfunctional group of Flyers fans getting ready to watch the Orange & Black’s opening playoff game.

I play "Dan," a fan who takes his superstitious routine to a bit of an extreme. (Let's say it's a very 'revealing' role.)

Playoffs, Baby! was written and directed by Chris Perillo (who also stars in it) and co-stars Ken Arnold, Rasik Ohal, Mikael Johnson, Art Bookout... and me. (Also pictured: John Zadeh was our DP, and Jason Kenny ran sound.)

I've worked with Ken, Rasik, and Mikael on several past projects, including, Lovely Molly, ParaAbnormal, Cordially invited, Click!, and Naked Radio. They’re always great to act/play with. This was my first time working with Chris and Art, and it was a blast. We spent the entire shoot laughing. If even a third of the laughs we had making it translate to the final…it’s going to be hilarious!

Special thanks to Karen Kraus for loaning me an old-school Terry Carkner Flyers jersey for the shoot. Having an early 90's jersey for wardrobe really added some authenticity to the shoot.

The NHL Playoffs start in mid-April. Playoffs, Baby! will debut in the days leading up to the Flyers playoff opener.

Sounds interesting, right? I mean, how bad could Philadelphia Flyers fans be during the playoffs? I mean, they're like everyone else, right?

In all seriousness, there are some things to watch for when this debuts. The uniform that Dan is wearing (second from right) is actually a borrowed jersey. Karen, who Dan mentions above, lent him the jersey, but she's also a Capitals fan! Clearly, there's something strange going on here as Capitals fans are being assimilated as Flyers fans! So why does she have a Flyers jersey? Ironically, because of Flyers fans!

The Flyers t-shirt worn on the gentleman in the middle is reportedly from a 2012 playoff game that featured the Devils and Flyers. And the man in the Flyers jersey to the right of him? He's wearing Dan's Flyers jersey won through the HBIC Playoff Pool! How cool is that?!?

When the debut episode appears on TV or the web, I will link to it here in HBIC. I think Dan's a great guy, a talented actor, and a die-hard Capitals fan. However, learning to love the Flyers is another great addition to the acting resumé, and here's hoping Playoffs, Baby! goes viral and blows up all over the world!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!