Though the team name was lambasted in a sketch on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” the Nashville Predators have no plans on changing it anytime soon.
“I’ve been here 15 years and never once thought about changing the name,” Predators CEO Sean Henry told The Tennessean in an interview on Nov. 3.
On Nov. 1, the Predators were the subject of a sketch in which host Miles Teller played a Predators player forced to read an NHL charity promotion with phrases like “I’m a Predator in my community” and “When you see this face, just know that a Predator is in your community.”
Henry, who saw the sketch the night it aired and admitted he saw the humor in it, explained that the team is not embarrassed about the viral moment. Quite the opposite.
“For those that didn’t know about the Nashville Predators before, thank goodness (“Saturday Night Live” producer) Lorne Michaels decided to air it,” Henry said. “Our internet traffic blew up. We had more visits to our Preds Foundation page. I think we’ve gotten close to $1,000 in donations since then.”
The Predators Foundation is the team’s charitable arm. According to their website, the foundation has awarded more than $11.2 million in grants to the greater Nashville community since 1998.
Incidentally, the idea for the sketch was likely sourced from another viral moment put on by the foundation during the summer. On July 3, Nashville players wore “Preds in the Community” shirts during an outreach event held by the foundation.
“If that’s the story that people are going to focus on and not the 3,000 hours of time we donated that day, then I don’t know what to tell you,” Henry said. “We will be building our 14th playground in the community next week.”
Henry added that the team has worn “Preds in the Community” shirts for at least the past 10 years. It wasn’t until a few months ago that it became associated with something much darker.
No organization wants to be associated with criminal activity, especially one with such connotations. It makes for an uncomfortable reality for the Predators, whose team name origins are quite innocent.
In 1971, construction crews found the remains of a long-extinct, saber-toothed cat during blasting along 4th and Union. The discovery of the ancient predator, which included a nine-inch long fang, was displayed downtown for nearly 30 years, until it was finally immortalized with the naming of the city’s NHL franchise in 1997.
Henry added that the Predators, like “Saturday Night Live,” are an entertainment product, meant to provide joy to fans. He views the sketch as a fortunate stroke of luck for the team, knowing the potential impact it could have for the brand.
“We’re a joy factory. ‘Saturday Night Live’ is a joy factory. They combined the two, which is really cool,” he said. “We may have sent a few jerseys to the actor, Miles Teller. We also may have sent some ‘Preds in the Community’ shirts to our friends at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.”
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.