Am I a true Oilers fan?
Posted 1:24 AM ET | Comments 11
Through out the past season or two I have rolled with all the punches that have been thrown my way. If anyone has read any of my posts they can attest to me defending the city, the organization, and the players with every single stroke on the keyboard. This past season has been especially tough listening to what seems to be just about very single non-Oiler fan ripping on us.
What has transpired over the past week however has almost been draining. I still will defend Edmonton and the Oilers with every breath that I have. What has really gotten to me is the personal attacks on Edmonton from people that seem to think they have a clue but really do not.
I used to think that all the media coverage on the team has contributed greatly to the preception that Edmonton is not a desirable city to play in. Reading on this site and other sites however I am starting to second guess my thoughts. I am of the opinion that the fans of this organization are playing a larger part than most of us are willing to admit. It all started back during the cup run when Whyte Avenue was vandalized. I remember reading in the papers that "true fans would not do this." Now I am reading a lot of comments that are trying to defend the Oilers that consists of "Ya well your city sucks!" or "your team sucks more." How is this helping any sort of preception of the city, the team or its fans? What is wrong with trying to open the eyes of people to the kind of city that Edmonton is? Why have I not read much (if anything) about the city having some of the largest festivals in the world (i.e. - Fringe festival), or the fact that Edmonton has an amazing river valley filled with trails and parks, or the fact that Edmonton has over 60 golf courses, or West Edmonton Mall, or the Grand Prix, or the dining, museums, the list goes on. Instead of anyone coming up with reasons why Edmonton is one of the greatest cities in the world (IMO) all I seem to read is fans defending a personal insult with one of their own.
I guess I must not be a true Oilers fan since I do not think that the world is against us, but I think "we" think the world is against us and we seem to be giving the world more reason to be against us.
What has transpired over the past week however has almost been draining. I still will defend Edmonton and the Oilers with every breath that I have. What has really gotten to me is the personal attacks on Edmonton from people that seem to think they have a clue but really do not.
I used to think that all the media coverage on the team has contributed greatly to the preception that Edmonton is not a desirable city to play in. Reading on this site and other sites however I am starting to second guess my thoughts. I am of the opinion that the fans of this organization are playing a larger part than most of us are willing to admit. It all started back during the cup run when Whyte Avenue was vandalized. I remember reading in the papers that "true fans would not do this." Now I am reading a lot of comments that are trying to defend the Oilers that consists of "Ya well your city sucks!" or "your team sucks more." How is this helping any sort of preception of the city, the team or its fans? What is wrong with trying to open the eyes of people to the kind of city that Edmonton is? Why have I not read much (if anything) about the city having some of the largest festivals in the world (i.e. - Fringe festival), or the fact that Edmonton has an amazing river valley filled with trails and parks, or the fact that Edmonton has over 60 golf courses, or West Edmonton Mall, or the Grand Prix, or the dining, museums, the list goes on. Instead of anyone coming up with reasons why Edmonton is one of the greatest cities in the world (IMO) all I seem to read is fans defending a personal insult with one of their own.
I guess I must not be a true Oilers fan since I do not think that the world is against us, but I think "we" think the world is against us and we seem to be giving the world more reason to be against us.
I'm sick of defending Edmonton. My view is this: At least all those who dislike Edmonton won't come here. And that, for me anyway, is a good thing. I have been to well over 200 cities and towns on this planet, an lived in 6 different cities and while most have something fascinating about them, I keep getting drawn back to Edmonton. Not because the other places were awful, but because I like Edmonton better.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to those who have never traveled out of their immediate area: don't spout off when you don't know what your talking about. Just because you saw it on TV, or read something doesn't mean you have a clue. If you leave your backyard, you might find that you actually don't know everything and that there are amazing things everywhere in the world. You might still prefer the city you grew up in, but at least you will gain a new appreciation for other people's points of view.
I'm sick of defending Edmonton. My view is this: At least all those who dislike Edmonton won't come here. And that, for me anyway, is a good thing. I have been to well over 200 cities and towns on this planet, an lived in 6 different cities and while most have something fascinating about them, I keep getting drawn back to Edmonton. Not because the other places were awful, but because I like Edmonton better.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to those who have never traveled out of their immediate area: don't spout off when you don't know what your talking about. Just because you saw it on TV, or read something doesn't mean you have a clue. If you leave your backyard, you might find that you actually don't know everything and that there are amazing things everywhere in the world. You might still prefer the city you grew up in, but at least you will gain a new appreciation for other people's points of view.
I'm sick of defending Edmonton. My view is this: At least all those who dislike Edmonton won't come here. And that, for me anyway, is a good thing. I have been to well over 200 cities and towns on this planet, an lived in 6 different cities and while most have something fascinating about them, I keep getting drawn back to Edmonton. Not because the other places were awful, but because I like Edmonton better. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to those who have never traveled out of their immediate area: don't spout off when you don't know what your talking about. Just because you saw it on TV, or read something doesn't mean you have a clue. If you leave your backyard, you might find that you actually don't know everything and that there are amazing things everywhere in the world. You might still prefer the city you grew up in, but at least you will gain a new appreciation for other people's points of view.
(Sorry for the triple post, not used to using IE and was confused by the error message. Yes, I do see the red paragraph above. I am usually using firefox.)(ps: why does delete not work?)
You think so Oilfan? Well, Red Deer SUCKS! lol...just kidding.Seriously though...I think a lot of us resort to bashing people's cities and stuff because usually the ones who are bashing Edmonton are doing so in a discretely trollish way that is meant to evoke an ellicit reaction. We need more discipline...when argueing with these people, bringing up things like the river valley and stuff doesn't work because that's not what they want to hear and they won't respond intelligently to it...I guess we should just try and ignore these douchebags like Strickland who bash Edmonton and try to stick to the hockey talk...no matter how hard it is sometimes. To tell you the truth though...when you even have Calgary fans defending you in a thread, it might just be time to take the gloves off. I'm proud of my ban...when that many Oiler fans stick together and push back enough to get banned it must send a message to some degree...we make up a large demographic on this site and my guess is that Ek probably had some words with Strickland despite the fact that he defended him on his blog. I don't think we will see anymore garbage like that over Strickland for quite a while...at least not about Edmonton anyways.
you guys are getting all worked about nothing. It was a Blog.
And yes you are a true Oilers fan.
One of the reasons I signed up was because of Strickland's blog. It really was horrible writing for a "professional". It appeared, and probably was meant to generate a response from the good people of Edmonton. That being said, I say don't sweat the small stuff! Opinions are like...well...you know...and everyone has one, and as we saw, some people ARE one! And with a computer screen to hide behind, people tend to say things to make themselves feel relevant in a world where they don't mean sh!t in the grand scheme of things!
Pfft, if you can't overpay someone to play in edmonton...I mean come on guys, it hasn't been the first time (Nylander). Ownership should really think about relocating...which hurts to say but its the sad truth. Alberta is only big enough for one hockey team is seems. Houston Oilers...has a nice ring to it. WARREN MOON
goldenj I hope your kidding??? Why would Edmonton move? We sell out every night. Have 5 cups, and a SCF appearance two years ago. If you are implying that we should move because we can't attract free agents, then that is quite ridiculous. Edmonton doesn't want anybody that doesn't want to play there. We will find our free agents, we actually signed 4 this year.