It may not be listed in the top ten most extreme sports, but streaking at a sporting event is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Yes, they'll grab attention, that's a given. But sometimes a streaker can meet more resistance than they may have expected, and it's not always from stadium security either.

I understand, it's an odd topic for a sports column, however as I was recently reading the sports news I saw a small article about a streaker at an Australian cricket match last week who was taken out by one of the Aussie players. And it definitely looked like it hurt. The streaker charged straight at the Australian batman, but wasn't expecting the player to not only stand his ground, but who wound up leveling the man with a nice, clean rugby shoulder check.

Beautiful.

But to be fair, it's not very often that a player goes out of their way to take down a streaker, it is usually a job reserved for stadium security, and I can only assume it's a job they do not look forward to. But for the fans, there's very little that's more entertaining than watching a security guard get deked out of his, or her, pants by a naked fan.


The first recorded incident of streaking at a professional sporting event supposedly took place at a rugby game in 1974, but the most famous ones are soccer and tennis matches. I mean who can forget the look on Maria Sharapova's face when her 2006 Wimbledon quarter-finals were interrupted by a streaker - can you say priceless?

Then again, maybe Canadian sports fans would readily remember the streaker at a 2002 Calgary Flames game. I mean, logistically speaking, streaking at a hockey game might not have been this guy's smartest move. Firstly, it's cold, already that should be a deterrent for most guys. On top of that you need to scale a pane of glass, naked remember, before dropping to the ice a good eight feet below. And this guy was wearing socks. Is it any wonder he slipped and knocked himself unconscious on the ice?

This guy wasn't the only hockey streaker though. At the 2003 Heritage Classic, you know, the outdoor hockey game, a streaker made an appearance. But since it was —25 degrees Celsius, we won't blame him for its brevity.

So between being tackled by burly, and annoyed, security and the risks of frost-bite eliminating any chances of your reproduction, I'd have to say that the job of a streaker is definitely not an enviable ¨one.

The Calgary Flames streaker gets transported off the ice on a stretch to a standing ovation from the crowd and players alike.