‘Play Gloria!’ bar seeking payment for NHL craze

The Philadelphia bar that inspired the St. Louis Blues’ “Gloria” fad is seeking money from the items — T-shirts, hats and other small merchandise — that were sold inside and outside of Enterprise Center during the National Hockey League team’s run to its first Stanley Cup.

Attorney Rob McKinley, who represents The Jacks NYB, told USA Today the Blues’ postgame victory song, Laura Branigan’s 1982 disco classic “Gloria,” was only part of the equation.

The fanbase’s rallying cry, “Play Gloria!”, began at The Jacks NYB, and as such, McKinley said that idea comes with a price for others making a profit off it.

“The bottom line is they created this brand and supported the St. Louis Blues and their fans on the Stanley Cup run,” McKinley said Tuesday. “Other people are capitalizing off something of value they created. If you created the Nike swoosh and Nike comes over and says, ‘That’s a great idea. We’re going to take that and use it, promote millions of dollars and goods ... but you get nothing.’ That’s unfair.

“It’s not about the T-shirt, it’s about what’s on it. Common sense shows the answer is to pay for the idea. People are sometimes fortunate with ideas that become profitable every day. It’s about making a fair deal after that.”

ESPN.com was the first to report the news.

Blues team members were inspired to adopt the song after watching the Philadelphia Eagles’ National Football League wild-card game against the Chicago Bears on Jan. 6 at The Jacks NYB.