Teal house campaign kicks off
Home is the first among five chosen as the NHL prepares for a Stanley Cup playoff series
LOS GATOS — Theresa Beech had no idea what to expect when she heard the San Jose Sharks chose her house — a black-and-white cottage with a white picket fence — out of 1,000 other homes to be painted bright teal.
“I was like, ‘no way,’” said Beech, a mother of three who’s expecting another son in June. “I had huge reservations. What will the neighbors think? My husband somehow talked me into it.”
The neighbors, for the record, had no comment. But standing in front of it on Wednesday — along with former Sharks player Dan Boyle, the team’s executive vice president Flavil Hampsten and its lovable mascot Sharkie — Beech conceded:
“It’s way better than I thought it would be.”
Beech’s home is one of five selected by the National Hockey League team as part of its inaugural “Sharks For Life” marketing campaign and the first to be painted. Its new coat came as the team prepared to play the Edmonton Oilers in Alberta, Canada, as the defending Western Conference champs in a Stanley Cup playoff series that comes to San Jose on Sunday. The other homes to be painted are in San Jose, San Francisco and Pleasanton, team officials said. The homes will be painted teal — owners have to keep it for a year — and designated “official Sharks territory.”
“It takes a very special, enthusiastic and loyal fan to paint their home teal,” Hampsten said. “And obviously a very supportive spouse. We’re very excited and honored you’re willing to do this.”
It all started when Beech’s oldest son, Evan, 7, saw a message about the teal house contest on the Jumbotron at recent Sharks game. He convinced his dad Robert to submit their Kennedy Road home — without Theresa knowing. It was their first time entering the contest.
“He kind of goaded me into signing up, and we didn’t think we were going to win,” Robert Beech said. “It was a shock to my wife, but we got her on board.”
“It looked really cool and fun,” Evan Beech chimed in. “It’s so awesome that we’ll have a teal house.”
Theresa, whose two sons play ice hockey, eventually warmed up to the idea, though she says she’s got “leverage” over her husband for a while.
The team might paint more Bay Area homes this year. The selected homes receive a plaque designating it as an “Official Teal House of Sharks Territory” and a paint job valued at $6,000. Residents also can paint their own homes to get a plaque — as long as it’s 75 percent teal.
Boyle, a former Sharks defenseman who retired from the NHL in October after 17 years, said he “couldn’t believe someone would go to the extent of painting their house this color.”
“But it shows how much people are willing to do and how passionate they are about the Sharks,” said Boyle, who played in the area for six years and said the fans are the reason he came back. “At the end of the day, it’s not the color you want on your house, but it certainly is pretty amazing and shows the priorities of the family. The fans are passionate.”
But will Boyle, a father of two who lives in the neighborhood, be next to paint his house teal?
“Not a chance,” Boyle said with a chuckle.
Fans interested in learning how to enter the contest can sign-up at www. sjsharks.com/tealhouse.