Pearl Jam Steps Up For Minnesota Youth Hockey Program, Sponsors Zamboni Dubbed The ‘Jamboni’

There's no specialized piece of sports playing surface maintenance equipment as revered as the Zamboni (or ice resurfacer, Zamboni is a brand name), and one rink in Minnesota just got an assist on their new one from, of all people, grunge legends Pearl Jam.

Any ice rink needs a Zamboni if it wants to stay in business for any prolonged period of time. However, they're pretty expensive.

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So, a lot of smaller local rinks sell Zamboni sponsorships to help defray the cost of such an expensive piece of equipment.

According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, this was the situation the Two Harbors Youth Hockey Association was facing when executive director Jesse Lundgren had an idea.

He's a member of the official Pearl Jam fan club and decided to hand-write a note to the band in the style of an old concert poster, and asked the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers if they'd be interested in putting their names on a Zamboni.

Somehow, despite what is probably an avalanche of fan mail, Lundgren's poster got into the hands of one of the band's representatives, who happened to be from Canada, which means they certainly appreciate the importance of a good Zamboni.

The band was into the idea and designed their own artwork for what is now known as the Jamboni.

It. Is. Glorious.

"We were very shocked," association secretary Stephanie Aho said. "This is something they’ve never done before. They give back to lots of different types of things. They’ve never done a Zamboni."

There's no word on just how much the band donated to sponsor the Jamboni, but Aho described it as a "sizeable" amount, and it will be enough to keep their name on the ice resurfacer for the next three years.

Alright, the ball is now in your court, other bands. We need some more band-sponsored Zambonis, but good luck coming up with a better name than "Jamboni."

That's gold, Jerry.