Winnipeg White Out

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The Winnipeg White Out is a hockey tradition that dates back to 1985 when hockey fans in Winnipeg were asked to wear white clothing to home playoff games in Winnipeg, creating a very intimidating effect and atmosphere. It was created as a response to the "sea of red" created by fans of the Calgary Flames, whom the home town Winnipeg Jets were facing in the first round of the playoffs. The Jets would eliminate the Flames in four games, and fans wore white for every playoff game since. Fans coined it the "White Out".

The tradition has since been carried on in Phoenix, where the Jets relocated in 1996 to become the Phoenix Coyotes.

Several other teams have since tried to replicate the success of this tradition. The Philadelphia Flyers gave away orange t-shirts to create an "orange crush" against their semi-final opponent, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who countered with a white out of their own.

Among other teams, Anaheim Mighty Ducks fans have also attempted the White Out, along with fans of the Buffalo Sabres in the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The tradition is also prevalent in other sports, as the student section at Penn State's Beaver Stadium held a white out during the nationally televised football game between Penn State and Ohio State in October 2005. This revitalized the tradition for fans doing color outs. Additionally, White out was also announced for the game against Wisconsin in November 2005 and against Michigan on October 2006. Penn State also started the Zombie Nation trend.