2 weeks Ago
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Grand Rapids Griffins hockey game on Friday, April 11, started like any other game. Collin Gibisas, 31, was enjoying his third year as a season ticket holder in the third row by the arena entrance when the game paused for a goal review. That’s when ‘I Want It That Way’ by the Backstreet Boys started blasting through the speakers.
His lip sync performance of the 3-minute and 33-second song had the entire crowd captivated. “That was the big one that went viral,” Gibisas said about his recent lip-syncing stint captured by a fellow fan. “I’ve watched hockey a long time, and a goal review takes at least a minute or two, so I knew pretty quickly it was probably going to be the whole song.
” But it wasn’t his first rodeo. Gibisas got on the jumbotron at Van Andel for his lip-syncing skills in 2022. His initial performance lasted only 20 to 30 seconds.
The cameraman, who stood about 10 feet from him, spotted him quickly. Brandon Nelson, senior director of creative entertainment for the Griffins and Rise teams, said parts of each game are scripted down to the timing of the lighting and the music, but what’s not are people’s reactions. “We just played the song and he started doing his thing,” Nelson said.
“One of our camera people was like, ‘Hey, I got a guy who’s just going all out for this.’ It just became a schtick, but it happened naturally and wasn’t planned.” He said the creative entertainment team is always looking for fun ways to entertain the audience and keep them engaged, whether that’s through sing-alongs and dance cams or T-shirt cannons and trivia.
Nelson told MLive that Gibisas fit the bill. Ever since that day three years ago, the outgoing lip-sync king has taken on the spotlight at each game he attends. “Every time that we do it, we make sure that he’s here,” Nelson said.
“We put the camera right on him and let him do his thing. The fans love it.” Gibisas has been attending Grand Rapids Griffins hockey games with his mom since he was an introverted kid.
He had no idea that he’d one day go viral on TikTok for lip syncing to a ’90s boy band jam on the Van Andel Arena jumbotron. “It was one of those things of learning how to go with it instead of shying away,” Gibisas told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “Once I noticed I was on the screen, I was like, ‘Well, I might as well just give it my all,’ and people seem to like it.
” The TikTok video of Gibisas’s performance from the April 11 game has gotten just shy of 150,000 likes. Gibisas said he’s prepared to attend every home playoff game this year, and if the moment calls for it, put on his best lip sync show yet. The Griffins’ regular season ends Saturday, April 19, with an away game against the Iowa Wild.
The AHL playoffs schedule will be released in the days following the end of the regular season. Gibias said it still feels surreal that thousands of people across social media have seen him sing his favorite songs. Still, it’s a reminder for him not to take things so seriously and to enjoy life.
“There’s a lot of negative stuff in the world today, and if you can just take some time to do something you love and get away for a bit, it’s a blessing to have,” Gibisas said. Want more Grand Rapids-area news? Bookmark the local Grand Rapids news page or sign up for the free “ 3@3 Grand Rapids ” daily newsletter..
