Why do they play ‘All the Small Things’ at Avalanche games?

DENVER (KDVR) — Whether you’re losing your voice cheering at Ball Arena, or watching the Colorado Avalanche from home, you may notice a long-standing tradition that gets the whole crowd involved, singing Blink 182’s “All the Small Things” in unison when the Avs are up.

But when did this tradition start?

The anthem has grown inside the walls of Ball Arena for roughly three years now, according to Sasha Kandrach, who writes for the Avalanche.

“While the tradition is now deployed in an orchestrated fashion, its origin was completely spontaneous,” Kandrach writes on NHL.com. “Back in the fall of 2019, Craig Turney, who has – in his words the, ‘best job in the world’ – as the Avalanche’s DJ since 2007 and is fondly known by Avs Faithful as DJ Triple T, was ideating a new way to engage the fanbase during games. One afternoon while listening to a throwback radio station “All The Small Things” bopped through the speaker of his car.”

“They just loved it,” Turney told Kandrach. “It was organic. It wasn’t staged. Everyone was into it and it was like, ‘Wow, OK I think we’re really on to something here.’”

Turney tinkered with Avalanche Executive Producer and Director of Game Presentation Steve Johnston to find the best time to play the anthem: midway through the third period when the Avs have a strong lead during a stop in the game, according to Kandrach.