Fastest Game on Ice, eh?

So now that the Eskimoes have backed into the Grey Cup in the most akward and stumbling way possible, let's talk about hockey.

Remember what I said a few days ago about Edmonton being blue-collar, and having a football team to match? Well throw that away when you get to the Oilers. The Oilers are the antithesis of a blue-collar squad...unlike the teams you see in places like Philedelphia, Chicago, or even Detroit, for the entirety of its history in the NHL, the Oilers have been about speed, grace, and pure skill.

It's almost like the Oilers are the epitome, the representation of what Edmontonians would like their city to be, and during the golden years of the 80's, they were just that. They were glamourous. Flashy. Exciting. And with an undercurrent of grit beneath it...look at how Semenko became a minor hero in the city, even if noone else ever heard of him. The ice at the Colessium has been carefully tended over the years to be the best in the league to match it, the head of the ice plant acknowledged now as the best in the world. Even in the 90's, as the stars faded away, too expensive for the little blue-collar city, the spirit was maintained. Even as the league itself folded in and collapsed under the weight of slow-paced, defensive hockey, Edmonton stubbornly held on almost to the end. Only in the last couple of years before the strike was it finally ended, but the illusion was powerful still.

A lot of people wondered what was going to happen post-strike, and I must say that I'm a bit surprised by how forgiving this industrial city was. But maybe the workers understood here better than other cities might have. This is a labour town...perhaps the strike/lockout was seen in a more understanding light. Or maybe it's just that we have nothing better. Or maybe...we'll accept nothing better.

That's kinda where I want to move in the near future. Why has Edmonton clung stubbornly to the Oilers, a franchise that has faded, a franchise that, according to the 'media' broke public trust last year. Why did they keep that team, while rejecting the Roadrunners, and the Ice before them. What is it about Edmonton that makes it a Big League Only town?

Minor-league sports are a rising passion of mine...but I can't seem to find many of them here. Soon, we'll take a look at why that might be.

Giant Robots, considering labour action againt Getta Star Shine hazard pay.