Agreed. I assume they are dead given that they don’t do too well out of saltwater. It is, nevertheless, a disgusting “tradition”. If they were twirling around a bucket of phlegm, it would be no less disgusting.
I used to play hockey and I read about the great Detroit teams of the past (terry sawchuck, gordie howe, etc.). I don’t remember ever hearing about this “tradition” until a few years ago. I call BS on the “tradition” claim.
You mean, "... it would be no MORE disgusting."
... because you want to assert that the octopus is just as disgusting as phlegm would be, not that phlegm would be just as disgusting as the octopus.