Oiler's rock!

Hi everyone! I am attempting to emulate my amazing sister by starting my own blog, through which my friends and family can share my experiences in the E-town. That's right, Edmonton. Hey, Edmonton isn't really so bad - after all, we do have the Oilers!

To start of my blog experience, I thought I would write a bit about the Oil craze going on in Edmonton right now. It's really quite amazing - the city is so united and excited about our hockey team. It's like nothing I've ever experienced, even when the Canucks were in the playoffs. Oilers car flags are everywhere - I saw one truck with 6 flags, three per window! Oilers t-shirts and jersey's are impossible to keep stocked in stores. Garrett and I each own t-shirts that we wear to watch every game. I sport Pronger's number (#44) while Garrett proudly wears Peca (#37). We also tattoo ourselves every game with our authentic Oilers fake tattoos. I wore one larger one on my arm for a week and a half - it just washed off in the shower the other day!

Perhaps the best way to describe the Oil craze is to describe the event that occurs on Whyte Avenue after every winning Oilers game. Many of you may have heard about Whyte Avenue on the news the other day, where they displayed much footage showing hooligans and ruffians trashing and burning things in the street. However, this is not the craziness I want to tell you about, because this doesn't represent the majority of Oilers fans. After the game last Saturday, when we won the Western Conference, 35,000 Edmontonians went down to Whyte Avenue to celebrate. Thirty five thousand!! At first, we just walked along the sidewalks, giving high fives to everyone walking in the other direction. At times, we chanted along with other fans: 'Let's go Oilers!' or 'We want the Cup!'. Eventually, there were too many of us and we spilled into the street, filling it for several blocks in either direction. More chanting, more cheering. After awhile, we went home, satisfied in our display of support for our team. Much later, the hooligans took over and caused the chaos, likely because the more rational, responsible individuals had all gone home. Unfortunately, these people seem to be the one portrayed as Oilers fans on the news, which I find frustrating.

Here are some pictures of me and my friends during our trek on Whyte Ave:






I will leave you with the following comment: LET'S GO OILERS! WE WANT THE CUP!