Fans stoked as Oilers open season
Ah, fall, the time of year when the leaves turn gold, the air turns crisp and hockey fans start dreaming of Stanley Cup parades.
It happens every year in Oiler Country, a renewed optimism ahead of a season of glorious possibilities.
Too often, those buoyant feelings have proven ephemeral and illusory, quickly snowed under in a storm of lopsided losses.
This year, however, Edmonton fans can take heart. The blue and orange optimism may actually be justified. The excitement is real.
“I am so pumped, man; it’s crazy,” said self-proclaimed superfan Blair Gladue. “The beginning of the season this year feels like the end of the season last year when we were about to go to the playoffs. The days of darkness are over.”
Gladue plans to be outside Rogers Place all afternoon Wednesday ahead of the home opener against Calgary, banging his drum to the tune of Let’s Go Oilers.
He remembers being 12 years old and cheering madly during an Oilers’ Stanley Cup parade. Eight months from now, he hopes to do it again — a prediction hockey analysts agree is a legitimate possibility.
Of course, expectations can be a doubled-edged sword.
In past years, fans would hope for the best, but also knew to expect the worst. This season, with expectations sky-high for the team, fans are dealing with pressure they haven’t felt in a long while.
“The anxiety is maybe more positive and a little less sarcastic,” said Paul Sirois, an active member of the Edmonton Oilers Diehards group on Facebook.
“It’s been a long wait since we could have positive anticipation instead of just holding our breath. … But even if it’s a slow start, there is enough rationale to anticipate they may recover.”
Sirois is contemplating getting a new customized Milan Lucic
It’s been a long wait since we could have positive anticipation instead of just holding our breath.
jersey, to accompany his 10 other jerseys.
“At some point, it’s a question of closet capacity and do I have the room to add yet more homage to this team,” he said with a laugh.
The greatest Oiler of all time, Wayne Gretzky, said he, too, can feel a shift in fans’ attitudes this fall.
“I think everybody is a lot more comfortable today than a year ago,” Gretzky said.
“When you’ve got an elite player like Connor (McDavid) and (Leon) Draisaitl on your side and you’ve got an exciting group and a good goaltender, it’s always fun to go to the arena.”