Oilers devotee has advice for Habs’ fans
Coping mechanisms include tanking to get a superstar and dark humour
In Montreal, when the Canadiens go on a terrible two-month losing streak, it’s a horrible aberration.
In Edmonton when it happens, it’s any two months out of any season in the past decade.
When it comes to winning, the once proud Oilers organization has been clueless since 2006. This, in turn, has made for an angry, desperate fan base.
Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary manager of Manchester United, once said that losing is the price we pay for cheering for a team. One perfectly rational response for a fan repeatedly experiencing the agony of defeat is to give up caring. Many in Edmonton have done just that, but the tens of thousands who have stuck with the team know more than a thing or two about losing, and how to endure the darkest days of a franchise.
Take the ethics around a team tanking. Discussions about the advisability of tanking are popping up in Montreal, but in Edmonton we hashed out the matter long ago.
Some fans are vehemently opposed to their team tanking to get a higher draft pick, mainly because it offends their sense of fair play. Others dislike it because they feel it breeds a losing mentality.
The compromise position is that it’s not proper for the coach and the players themselves to tank, but when it comes to the general manager and the fans — who often like to pretend to be the general manager — it’s OK to embrace the tank in the hopes of getting a superstar phenom.
Sports researchers have studied pro leagues such as the National Basketball Association and found that once teams are eliminated from the playoffs they tend to lose one-third more games than they should, clear evidence of widespread organizational tanking. Almost every team does it, shortterm pain for long-term gain.
So if you find yourself starting to feel good after losses in the hopes of getting Auston Matthews, well, you won’t be alone.
Another coping mechanism is dark humour.
In the most painful moment of the Oilers’ wretched run — late October 2013 when it became clear the new core group of Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was already out of playoff contention just a month into the season — Oilers fans took to Twitter in the face of ugly defeats to sarcastically list “Oilers Positives.”
“Less than 70 games to go!” tweeted fan Shawn Stanley.
“By the time the Oilers start winning, my son and I will be able to legally have beers while watching the games. He is 4,” said another fan, Aaron Fehlauer.
Another deliciously dark moment came when fans hopelessly addicted to watching the team formed a mock online support group, Oilers Fans Anonymous, holding their first meeting on Twitter.
“Hi, I just turned down an offer to buy my tickets so I can go tonight ... in a snowstorm ... from out of town,” fan Corwin Chormay said.
“I have secretly checked the score of an Oilers game during church. I’m a pastor,” said another, Pedro Escamilla.
“My wife has asked I don’t watch it in front of the children,” said a third, Ahmed Assaf.
Of course, things are looking up in Edmonton, even as the Oilers are still lower than the Habs in the standings.
What changed? Connor McDavid.
On the day of that draft lottery win, the sun suddenly got warmer, the beer colder and the flowers more fragrant.
Of course, one could reasonably argue that past Oilers management should not be rewarded for incompetence, even if that’s the way the league and the players’ association have set up business. But no such argument can be made that devoted Oilers fans aren’t deserving of McDavid.
Having endured the sales of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier, as well the near economic collapse and departure of the franchise during the late 1990s, and the loss of star players Curtis Joseph and Doug Weight due to the tough local economy, then having been cursed with superstar Chris Pronger and his wife spurning Edmonton in 2006, Oilers fans have been asked to remain faithful through a decade of incompetence and defeat.
The McDavid lottery win is our payback. Winning it was our good karma. So despair not, Habs fans. Good things come to those who wait.
And when Carey Price recovers, you won’t have to wait a full decade for a superstar to save your team.