You may not immediately recognize the name Patrick Warburton. You probably will recognize the name David Puddy.
Warburton played Puddy, one of the most memorable recurring characters from Seinfeld. Arguably his most memorable episode involved his zealous support of the New Jersey Devils, the team for which he painted his face -- and also scared the crap out of a foreign priest who believed Puddy was “El Diablo.”
For Tuesday’s Penguins-Devils game, it was ‘90s night in Newark. So Warburton was there, both with his face painted like El Diablo and, after removing his Devils sweater, a D on his chest. As shown in the attached clip, Warburton slipped and fell on the way off the ice.
“I still get ‘Puddy!’ a lot, or ‘The Devils!’” Warburton said, via NJ.com. “I get that from people who aren’t Devils fans. It has crossed state lines, actually. It’s fun for people. You can’t run from sh-t like this. It does no good.”
Warburton does plenty of good when he periodically returns to New Jersey to reprise his character. Instead of accepting an appearance fee, Warburton asks the Devils to support his charity event for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital with a $25,000 donation and memorabilia for auction.
Ultimately, it didn’t work. The Penguins beat the Devils last night, 4-3.
And, no, this post wasn’t about football. Not one bit. But you read it, and there’s a decent chance you enjoyed it. Especially if you watched the video of the the face-painted Puddy face plant, which may or may not have involved a counterclockwise swirl.