The Ottawa Senators just pulled off a bizarre publicity stunts by sending a fan halfway around the world in an attempt to break a supposed curse. Kyle Ivan, who became an internet sensation after releasing a playoff hype song, is now watching the team’s playoff series from Taiwan courtesy of the Senators organization itself.
The saga began last week when Ivan released a music video celebrating the Senators’ playoff run. The video coincided with a string of misfortunes for the team including controversial goal post incidents and missed opportunities in the crease. Fans quickly turned on Ivan, dubbing him the team’s bad luck charm and blaming him for the Senators falling behind 2-0 in their playoff series.
This week, the Senators posted a video on their official X account with a clip featuring Ivan standing somewhere in Asia, confirming that the video isn’t AI generated.
“Hello Sens fans, Kyle Ivan here. As you can see, I am in Asia. This is not AI, I am actually here,” Ivan says in the video. “I have been sent here by the Ottawa Senators organization because they wanted me as far away from the Canadian Tire Centre as possible before game three tonight.”
Ivan went on to acknowledge his fall from grace:
“As most of you know by now, I’ve become a bit of an internet celebrity over the past week and not in a good way. The video that was intended to share my joy and passion for our team has instead backfired and unleashed a firestorm of negativity, turning me into the biggest Sens villain since Chris Kunitz.”
The social media reaction has been a mix of disbelief and humor. Following are some fan reaction from X:
“This franchise has to run by children. What is this even”
“Dang. The Sens deported this kid 😂,” quipped one fan.
“Banishing a fan to Taiwan because he jinxed your team in the playoffs is the absolute funniest thing a professional sports organization has ever done and I don’t think it’s particularly close,” wrote another user.
Some fans criticized the timing and appropriateness of the team’s decision to focus on social media antics while trailing in a playoff series.
“Okay thank you, extremely necessary,” commented one fan.
“Imagine posting this in the middle of a playoff series, blaming this guy for being down 2-0 🤡,” read one comment.
The Ottawa Senators currently find themselves in a deep hole in their first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes, trailing 2-0. The Hurricanes blanked the Senators 2-0 in Game 1, with Frederik Andersen recording a shutout. Game 2 was a wild 3-2 double-overtime loss saw them blow a late lead and suffer through an overturned goal and a failed penalty shot.
Senators superfan Kyle has happily accepted his “punishment”
In the video, Ivan also took full responsibility for the team’s struggles and accepted his “punishment” with good humor.
“Many of you have blamed me for the goal posts, the crease clears, and the overall bad luck we have faced in the first two games. And upon further reflection, I think you’re right. I realize now what I’ve done is wrong,” he admitted.
“It was wrong of me to put out another music video. It was wrong to film in front of the CTC without the team’s blessing. And it was wrong of me to unleash this string of bad luck on our favorite team.”
Embracing his role as the team’s scapegoat, Ivan shared that he would be watching the rest of the series from Taiwan and cheered “Go Sens Go!”
Whether this elaborate stunt will actually change the Senators’ playoff fortunes remains to be seen.
Edited by Anjum Rajonno
