[QUOTE=Sublight]
Still, there’s something to be said for a trophy so big that only the winner is strong enough to hold it.
[/QUOTE]
That’s practically trophy fundamentalism. (Warning: Linked picture contains dead creatures. Someone will probably yell at me if I don’t note that.)
Really, what else is a trophy but an evolved, symbolic way of carrying off the skull of a beast you slew, and keeping it in your cave? (Or wearing it as a hat…depending on the trophy and the weather.)
[QUOTE=Sunspace]
I didn’t know that either. 
I agree with stuyguy’s approach: they should lop off all the rings and put them in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and then mount the Cup on a block of crystal or something, with a plaque bearing only the current holders’ names. Each year after the Cup final, the NHL could place a new plaque on the Cup and retire the old one to the HHoF as well.
[/QUOTE]
That’s a horrible idea. The Cup is just the right size to be hefted two-handed overhead. It just wouldn’t look right to see the NHL champs pressing a little cup over their heads.
I went to a local martial arts competition (as a spectator). They had many different groups - boys 7-10, girls 7-10, boys 10-13, girls 10-13, boys 13-15, girls 13-15, etc etc etc. They also had many different events. Open-hand kata, weapons kata, sparring, etc. there was a 1st place trophy for each event for each group.
A 4-foot-tall trophy. Very shiny.
Some of the events, like women’s sparring had about er…2 people in them. TWO. Meaning that if you signed up for this event you had a 50/50 chance of getting a 4-foot trophy just for showing up.
After surveying the situation I told my instructor we’d definitely be back next year and I’d be entering the women’s sparring competition. I liked my chances for getting a 4-foot trophy 
