The Florida Panthers are mourning the loss of dedicated super fan Steve Elario, a yacht broker who resided in Fort Lauderdale who became a favorite of those attending games in Sunrise.
Elario was a fixture sitting in the lower bowl of Florida’s Sunrise arena, his resemblance to wrestling superstar Ric Flair often bringing him onto the center scoreboard whenever the team scored.
This tradition at Florida games came years ago when someone in game presentation spotted the light-haired Elario for one of those ‘Looks Like’ games on the scoreboard.
Soon, every time the Panthers scored, the team would play Flair’s patented ‘Whoo!’ and show Elario to uproarious cheers.
Elario, who was born in Newburyport, Mass. and moved to Florida in 1979, loved being a part of the Panthers.
“They do a ‘whoo!’,” Elario told Florida play-by-play voice Steve Goldstein for a CBS-4 news piece during the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs when asked how fans interact with him.
“I’m on Las Olas, I get a ‘whoo!’ I was in Moscow, got a ‘whoo!’ I have met people all over the world, and they still do it.’’
Elario was a big fan of the Panthers — and they were big fans of his.
“If you had a big moment in a game, you knew he was going to be there,” Florida general manager Bill Zito said.
“Beyond that, just a wonderful man. Whenever you saw him before a game he was so excited. ‘We’re going to do great!’ And if you saw him after a game and things didn’t go so well, he was like ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get ‘em next time!’ He was always positive. Everyone loved him. He was one of us.”
An enduring tradition that will carry on.
You will be missed.
Reply with “woo!” in memory of Steve Elario. 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/ssGsVs1Apq
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) September 5, 2025
Elario not only got to see his favorite team win the Stanley Cup, but also got to take part in the celebration.
He was on the ice for the Stanley Cup celebrations after the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in the Final, and was also part of the Cup celebration on Fort Lauderdale beach.
“But of course he was,’’ Zito said. “Where else would he be? He’s the guy. There’s only one. And he is going to be missed. Absolutely going to be missed. A really nice guy who was fun to be around. I was always happy to speak with him.
“You could not support the Florida Panthers better than he did.’’
News of Elario’s passing spread throughout social media on Thursday evening.
A cause of death and word of services have not been made public.
This story will be updated when services for Mr. Elario are announced.
Elario’s final Facebook post, which was published on Wednesday, was a picture with the words:
Money can’t buy happiness
but it can buy hockey tickets and that’s basically the same thing
