When I was little, there was no bigger game in town than the minor league hockey team, the Fort Wayne Komets.

It doesn’t seem like a minor league team would be any big deal, but I’m telling you, people had signs hanging in their window. Every game was packed. We talked about the Komets at school. Everyone knew the names of the players. I think I still have a puck or two lying around somewhere.

But of all the excitement provided by the team, there was one thing that was a bigger deal: The Twister.

The Twister was a gentleman of, ::ahem:: generous proportions who sat somewhere in the stands. At some point during the game, they would play “The Twist” over the loudspeaker, and the Twister would leap to his feet and start doing the twist.

The Twister

I know it doesn’t sound like much, but I’m telling you, when I was a kid, this was probably the most famous guy in Fort Wayne (thinner than I remembered, by the way…maybe this was a more recent picture). When the song started up, the entire arena would freeze and begin frantically searching for the Twister. Spot lights would come on, people would be pointing. He had an official Komet’s jersey with the name “Twister” written across the back. You might go to the bathroom during the game, but as soon as you heard, “Come on baby!” rip out over the loudspeaker, you dropped what you were doing and ran in to see him.

You wouldn’t think it would be such a big deal. I couldn’t tell you why it was. Even now I’m scratching my head a little bit over it. The guy just liked doing the twist. He always had a big grin plastered all over his face. You might think that people were just mocking the fat guy doing the twist. Maybe they were at first, but I’m telling you, the guy was beloved. You could be famous just by association to the Twister, like, “The Twister is my neighbor!” “No waaaay, dude!”

I don’t know what his real name was, or if he’s still around. From some searches I did, it sounds like he’s still out there, twisting the good fight. Obviously, only the people from Fort Wayne are going to understand how awesome the Twister was. But all I can tell you is, look at the other people in the crowd. Look how happy they are. Look at how happy the Twister is. Think about how much joy the Twister has spread in his days. What have you done to make the world a better place?